Bags with essential Equipment removed from flight. Trip in Vain?

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Warning: Rant Below

So this year is the first year I have flown enough to break free of PS and last week I finally qualified for a shiny new QF gold card (well I'm assuming it's shiny, the welcome pack hasn't actually arrived yet ;) ).

So Saturday was my first flight with my freshly minted SG status. I was travelling for work to complete a quick earthing compliance test of a substation. This does require a fair bit of equipment (3x22.999999kg bags to be exact ;) ). I was travelling with a NB colleague and up until this trip we would be headed to the sales counter to pay for the extra bag, but not this time. I happily attached my two complimentary tags and my colleague's one to our luggage and noticed for the first time the black "priorty" circle had been added to them. I then took them to the bag drop thinking maybe these circles would mean we would have a quick departure from the baggage claim at the other end.

We headed to the domestic business lounge (QP wasn't open yet) for a quick coffee and a snack and then headed to the gate. As I got to the gate and went to hand over my boarding pass, the gate attendant asked me to wait as they had been instructed by ground staff to hold further boarding. I then heard over the radio the flight was overbooked by 1pax and overweight by 250kg of freight. We were boarding near to the middle of the croud so I wasn't too concerned about being bumped, but as I boarded I said to my colleague "let's hope they don't unload our luggage or we'll be screwed.".

You can probably guess the next bit I was sitting in 9F glued to the window watching the three ground staff unloading the bags and checking them off on their manifest as they went. At first I was pleased to see that they closed the door without removing my bags. But then they opened up the next compartment and the first two bags off were 2 of ours. They pulled out a couple more then closed it up and we were pushing back, as I watch my bags, as well as at least 2 other "priorty" tagged and a couple of SG and WP qtags drive back to the terminal.

I knew that the next flight was midday the following day (the one I had booked as my return). So there we were flying to a test that we knew we couldn't complete without that equipment knowing that the earliest it would arrive was the inbound flight for our departure.

The thing that annoyed me the most is that if those bags didn't have that "priorty" circle they would have made it to the destination, just as they have every time I flew as a PS.

How does Qantas think it makes sense to remove the baggage of their most loyal customers over those of pax who may fly with them once a year? If this this their standard approach to correcting an overweight A/C then pax with high status will experience delayed baggage far more often then the average pax. As not only are they in the air more often, but their bags are always the ones targeted for unloading. This is simply punishing customers for their loyalty.

Tl;dr - Why does Qantas punish customers for their loyalty by unloading their priorty bags first when an A/C is overweight?
 
re: First experience with QF "Priority" baggage.

Warning: Rant Below

How does Qantas think it makes sense to remove the baggage of their most loyal customers over those of pax who may fly with them once a year? If this this their standard approach to correcting an overweight A/C then pax with high status will experience delayed baggage far more often then the average pax. As not only are they in the air more often, but their bags are always the ones targeted for unloading. This is simply punishing customers for their loyalty.

Tl;dr - Why does Qantas punish customers for their loyalty by unloading their priorty bags first when an A/C is overweight?

That's pretty bad. They definitely shouldn't be pulling priority bags off IMO.

Have you complained to QF? They'll likely throw you some points in comp.
 
re: First experience with QF "Priority" baggage.

Priority means nothing, it's simply a made up tag which they place onto bags to make the owner feel special over the non-status pax.
It doesn't make the bags come out faster, and as you've just experienced it doesn't even prevent the bags from been offloaded.
 
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re: First experience with QF "Priority" baggage.

Unfortunately the priority in these situations is not the baggage - it's to get the flight away as close to on-time as possible.

If it's overweight they will grab the first bags they can; if that happens to be priority baggage it's just bad luck.
 
re: First experience with QF "Priority" baggage.

That's pretty bad. They definitely shouldn't be pulling priority bags off IMO.

Have you complained to QF? They'll likely throw you some points in comp.

I am not usually one to complain but this did seriously inconvenience us (and our client who is one of their major customers) so I might actually bring it to their attention.

Unfortunately the priority in these situations is not the baggage - it's to get the flight away as close to on-time as possible.

If it's overweight they will grab the first bags they can; if that happens to be priority baggage it's just bad luck.

I do understand the first priorty is to get the wheels in the well asap. However, as priorty bags are meant to be loaded last so they will be the first off, this means if ground staff simply pull off the first bag they see it will likely be that of a high status pax. Meaning the passengers flying with the carrier more often are more likely to be affected.
 
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re: First experience with QF "Priority" baggage.

I am not usually one to complain but this did seriously inconvenience us (and our client who is one of their major customers) so I might actually bring it to theit attention.

I do understand the first priorty is to get the wheels in the well asap however as priorty bags are meant to be loaded last so they will be the first off, this means if ground staff simply pull off the first bag they see it will likely be that of a high status pax meaning the passengers flying with the carrier more often are more likely to be affected.

Do complain - if everyone just lies down and takes it, then there is no hope of change. Make sure you ask for a response, including Qantas' policy on unloading bags / priority tagged bags, and don't be brushed off with a generic answer.

That said, in practice, priority tagging means nothing. Sometimes your bags will come off towards the front, but that's just random chance, in my experience. After hundreds of Qantas flights with priority tagged bags (QFF plat), there is no trend or predictability in where the bags will appear.

Unfortunately you'll find that Qantas 'priority boarding' also doesn't mean what you think it might (or is promised).
 
re: First experience with QF "Priority" baggage.

[h=2]First experience with QF "Priorty" baggage.[/h]

So is priorty (sic) baggage where you pray for it to arrive prior to leaving the priory? :mrgreen:
 
re: First experience with QF "Priority" baggage.

So is priorty (sic) baggage where you pray for it to arrive prior to leaving the priory? :mrgreen:

Haha yeah I was waiting for someone to comment on that Typo. But priorty baggage may actually work better.
 
re: First experience with QF "Priority" baggage.

Playing devil's advocate here to thrown in another perspective. Unfortunately the extra baggage allowance offered to status pax isn't a guarantee, nor is the extra bag that you pay for. If a plane is overweight these will be the first to go. The other issue with priority bags is if you're traveling with someone who isn't of status pax they'll group all the bags under the pax with status so that the priority status is applied (which would mean this pax is now carrying X number of bags over the standard allowance). Did it look like they were looking for select bags and ticking them off a list or did they just grab any bags and then tick it off the list (a bit hard to tell as if it's the former they might have already done the searching under the floor and you wouldn't have been able to see).

And now back to bashing QF, as a WP with the square business label, my bags (not just one but both) were left behind in Cairns on a CNS-BNE-SYD. Was loaded on the next CNS-SYD flight coming in 15mins after I did in SYD.
 
re: First experience with QF "Priority" baggage.

Why does Qantas punish customers for their loyalty by unloading their priorty bags first when an A/C is overweight?

Because priority bags *should* be the last on, so they can be the first off. On a non-containerised aircraft, it could be a time-consuming exercise to offload all the priority bags so they could get to the non-priority ones, then offload whatever is required then reload the priority bags again.

I get that you're unhappy, but if they'd done it your way, then other pax would probably be complaining here about the delay involved in moving all those bags in and out, and saying 'why didn't they just take the closest ones off?'.

For the airline, this is a no-win situation.
 
re: First experience with QF "Priority" baggage.

You were flying to complete a job with equipment ( checked in luggage ) that was removed from the plane. And because you couldn't do your job, the trip was a waste of time, have you asked for refund or another return flight as compensation ?
The whole priority bags is a hit and miss on nearly every airline, the great leveller when all pax are standing around the baggage carousel ;)
 
re: First experience with QF "Priority" baggage.

My recent BNE/CNS return in J resulted in my bag being >30th on the CNS carousel and 1st on BNE!!
In BNE I was waiting at the carousel expecting "normal" priority when my bag happily and unexpectedly sailed past me as No.1, and required some chasing.
 
re: First experience with QF "Priority" baggage.

Playing devil's advocate here to thrown in another perspective. Unfortunately the extra baggage allowance offered to status pax isn't a guarantee, nor is the extra bag that you pay for. If a plane is overweight these will be the first to go. The other issue with priority bags is if you're traveling with someone who isn't of status pax they'll group all the bags under the pax with status so that the priority status is applied (which would mean this pax is now carrying X number of bags over the standard allowance). Did it look like they were looking for select bags and ticking them off a list or did they just grab any bags and then tick it off the list (a bit hard to tell as if it's the former they might have already done the searching under the floor and you wouldn't have been able to see).

I couldn't say if they were searching for bags based on the list or if they were simply marking off the ones they had removed and tallying up the weights. As for whether the extra baggage is a guarantee I would agree with that to the point that receiving any baggage after your flight isn't a guarantee. However, as I mentioned, the thing that most annoyed me is had the bags not been marked priority they wouldn't have been unloaded and this seems to fly in the face of of the benefit the airline is attempting to provide its passengers with its offer of priority baggage.

Because priority bags *should* be the last on, so they can be the first off. On a non-containerised aircraft, it could be a time-consuming exercise to offload all the priority bags so they could get to the non-priority ones, then offload whatever is required then reload the priority bags again.

I get that you're unhappy, but if they'd done it your way, then other pax would probably be complaining here about the delay involved in moving all those bags in and out, and saying 'why didn't they just take the closest ones off?'.

For the airline, this is a no-win situation.

I don't believe I have suggested they way the airline should be managing this so I am not sure what you mean by "my way". I am sure there are a number of ways to approach the problem (they do have the weights of all bags as soon as they are checked in, the last of which can be dropped of half an hour before the departure). I do not want to start arguing how the airline should be handling this as I'm sure they have much better knowledge of the process than I have. However, the point I will make again is if they is how they plan to treat "priority" baggage then they are going to be inconveniencing their loyal customers far more often than necessary.

You were flying to complete a job with equipment ( checked in luggage ) that was removed from the plane. And because you couldn't do your job, the trip was a waste of time, have you asked for refund or another return flight as compensation ?
The whole priority bags is a hit and miss on nearly every airline, the great leveller when all pax are standing around the baggage carousel ;)

I haven't asked for anything at this stage, the main point I want to clarify is what their policies are surrounding this so I will know if this might become a frequent experience for me on upcoming trips.
 
re: First experience with QF "Priority" baggage.

I couldn't say if they were searching for bags based on the list or if they were simply marking off the ones they had removed and tallying up the weights. As for whether the extra baggage is a guarantee I would agree with that to the point that receiving any baggage after your flight isn't a guarantee. However, as I mentioned, the thing that most annoyed me is had the bags not been marked priority they wouldn't have been unloaded and this seems to fly in the face of of the benefit the airline is attempting to provide its passengers with its offer of priority baggage.

It could be that those with status all checked in a second bag (or more) as part of their status recognition and everyone else only checked one bag. You did say that one of your three bags did go through. But I would agree that just like status pax should be the last to be bumped off a flight, their bags should be one of the last to be offloaded (if it's not the additional bags that is above the standard allowance).
 
re: First experience with QF "Priority" baggage.

Sorry cant help with the QF policy, but rather then removing a persons luggage, I would've thought, that they might have asked for volunteers to travel the next day and or their luggage?
 
re: First experience with QF "Priority" baggage.

Sorry cant help with the QF policy, but rather then removing a persons luggage, I would've thought, that they might have asked for volunteers to travel the next day and or their luggage?

Takes way too much time. I was flying VA SYD-CNS a few years back and that's what they did, started asking for volunteers, the entire process took over 30mins to solve and we pushed back about 30-45mins late.
 
re: First experience with QF "Priority" baggage.

Takes way too much time. I was flying VA SYD-CNS a few years back and that's what they did, started asking for volunteers, the entire process took over 30mins to solve and we pushed back about 30-45mins late.

but better then leaving a poor sod without his work tools there to do a job?
 
re: First experience with QF "Priority" baggage.

Priority means nothing, it's simply a made up tag which they place onto bags to make the owner feel special over the non-status pax.
It doesn't make the bags come out faster, and as you've just experienced it doesn't even prevent the bags from been offloaded.

In my opinion this is why it's even more important that more tangible, visible benefits that are more easily controlled - like priority boarding - are executed properly.

Because priority bags *should* be the last on, so they can be the first off. On a non-containerised aircraft, it could be a time-consuming exercise to offload all the priority bags so they could get to the non-priority ones, then offload whatever is required then reload the priority bags again.

I get that you're unhappy, but if they'd done it your way, then other pax would probably be complaining here about the delay involved in moving all those bags in and out, and saying 'why didn't they just take the closest ones off?'.

For the airline, this is a no-win situation.

Why did it get to the point where the aircraft was closed up but still overweight? I would argue, just as Flyer noted, that they should have the weight before the aircraft is even loaded. That's the point at which the decision is made.
 
but better then leaving a poor sod without his work tools there to do a job?

QF and the baggage handlers don't know what's in the bag, they wouldn't know that the guy needed his bags for work or if he's returning from holidays with lots of clothes.

Why did it get to the point where the aircraft was closed up but still overweight? I would argue, just as Flyer noted, that they should have the weight before the aircraft is even loaded. That's the point at which the decision is made.

The final decision to go or not would be up to the pilot after factoring in weather conditions and fuel. The baggage team and operating crew will not know that until they input the performance data and the factors that affect that can change significantly even after push-back.
 
I have had this happen to me twice (as a WP) - both at BNE, where my bags arrived on either the next flight or the one after that. Once was with a child seat so i couldnt have left if i wanted to.

Not much you can really do about it, there are worse things that could happen than priority baggage not working.

Egads, next thing you know they wont enforce priorty boarding and then you will hear the complaints :D
 
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