U.S. travelers file class action suit against British Airways over lost luggage

After suffering a lot of bad press and passenger complaints about baggage that got lost during transfers at London Heathrow this summer, British Airways claimed a few weeks ago that it had unclogged the backlog of bags by transferring scores of employees to the baggage department. But three U.S. travelers have raised the issue anew with a class action lawsuit filed in federal court in Seattle. It charges that BA bungled the Heathrow bag transfer badly enough to have violated the Montreal Convention, which governs international airlines’ passenger services. The three are seeking compensation in excess of the $1,500 maximum lost-luggage reimbursement permitted by the Montreal Convention, and the suit also seeks redress for any other U.S. travelers who had bags lost, delayed or damaged on LHR connections between September 5, 2005 and September 5, 2007. The suit claims that British Airways’ lost baggage record is 23 bags per 1,000 passengers, which it said is 60 percent worse than the industry average. “The infrastructure of this company’s ability to provide services to passengers has collapsed and British Airways needs to step up and take responsibility for its actions,” said Steve Berman, attorney for the plaintiffs. Details are available at http://www.hbsslaw.com.