BBC Watchdog: bmibaby Baggage Blunder...

Tony

What Consumer Founder
Apr 7, 2008
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3
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Bolton
When flying with a budget airline, passengers are restricted by the amount and size of bags they can take on board as hand luggage. More often than not, hand luggage gauges are used to establish that the baggage is of the correct size to take on board. If it's too big to fit in the gauge, passengers can expect to be charged to put the bag in the hold.

bmibaby stipulate on their website the maximum size of bag that can be taken on board their planes as hand luggage is 55cmx40cmx20cm. But what if bmibaby are measuring hand luggage in gauges that are too small?



(Do you have something to say about this story? Tell us what you think by emailing us here. Don't forget to include 'bmibaby baggage' in the subject line. Watchdog will publish a selection of viewers' comments underneath each story, both throughout and after the programme is on air. Please remember to include your name as you would like to see it published).

Kiran Somaiya told us how he had recently booked a return flight to Amsterdam. Paying for the ticket online he took a bag that met bmibaby's maximum dimensions. At check-in his bag was put in a bmibaby gauge where it didn't fit so he was told he must pay to place it in the hold, which he did for both the outward and return part of his journey. But on his return to the UK he tried his bag at the bmibaby gauge at Amsterdam only to find this time it fit. He told us:

'It fitted in with loads of room to spare and that really got me angry as I thought hold on I've paid money to check this bag in but its gone in with space to spare.'

Watchdog decided to investigate just how big the bmibaby gauges really were, so designed a box exactly to bmibaby's hand luggage specifications. We then took the box to the National Measurement Office so its dimensions could be independently verified.

Once verified, we took the box on bmibaby flights from three airports - East Midlands Airport, Jersey, and Schiphol to test their gauges. We found that bmibaby were using at least three different designs of gauge with two of these different gauges too small to fit our box.

On one of the flights - from East Midlands Airport to Jersey - we were charged £30 to put our box in the hold despite it being the right size for hand luggage.

We were also contacted by a bmibaby insider who told us that that some bmibaby staff were questioning whether their gauges were big enough to fit a 55cmx40cmx20cm bag. She said:

'I think all staff were aware when the new gauges first came in at bmibaby that they looked too small and everybody was gossiping amongst each other, talking about it

And I'm aware that somebody actually got a physical measuring tape out and checked the size and found out that it was too small.'

The insider also suggested that bmibaby line managers were aware of the size of the gauges and had told staff it would be passed up to senior managers. She said:

'I know that it has been talked too them about the size of it and they're aware they know that they're too small and they passed it on higher.'

bmibaby response:

- All gauges have been designed to ensure a standard bag of 55x40x20 cm dimensions can be accommodated.
- The discrepancy you have potentially identified comes with respect to the curved corners of these gauges.
- The gauge curves slightly at the 'top' which impacts marginally at the corners on the 20cm and 55cm dimension points - meaning that a hard cornered box of exactly 55cm length and 20cm depth would not fit between the curves.
- bmibaby is now looking to replace all its gauges with a version that removes this anomaly, by increasing the size of the gauges to compensate for this problem.

1. Do bmibaby staff or management receive extra income from charging passengers for excess baggage? How is this income calculated?

As part of their salary package, staff do receive commission for baggage weight related excess charges made during check-in. The practice of incentivising staff to collect weight related excess baggage charges is a standard practice across airlines globally.



However fees collected for bags which are too large to fit onboard (i.e. those bags that do not fit in the gauges) are not included in this commission structure. Therefore staff do not get financial incentives with respect to bags that are too large for the gauges at the airport gate.



2. Are bmibaby staff or management encouraged in any other way to raise money through excess baggage at the airport gates?

Staff are trained in the company terms and conditions as part of their role. It is part of their day to day duty to ensure that the company policies are adhered to where appropriate. Therefore the encouragement to ensure policies are adhered to is simply a part of the role, and as pointed out above they are only financially incentivised with respect to excess baggage weight collection - a policy which is standard through most airlines globally.


3. What are the dimensions of the different gauges used by bmibaby at check-in and at the gates?

All gauges have been designed to ensure a standard bag of 55x40x20 cm dimensions can be accommodated. There are three different 'types' of gauge - vertical, horizontal, and those attached to a sign. Each has the same dimensions. The discrepancy you have potentially identified comes with respect to the curved corners of these gauges and is described in full in answer to your question 4 below.


4. Why do bmibaby use different sized hand luggage gauges, some of which are smaller than the sizes stipulated on your website?

There has never been an intent to use different size gauges. However the physical structure of the three types of gauge leads to the 'curved' design having different effects. On the horizontal gauge (which is 55cm 'wide', 40cm 'high', and 20cm 'deep' when placed upright on the floor), the curvature of the 'top' of the gauge means that a hard cornered box of the exact dimensions has trouble fitting between the curves. This is because the gauge curves slightly at the 'top' which impacts marginally at the corners on the 20cm and 55cm dimension points - meaning that a hard cornered box of exactly 55cm length and 20cm depth would not fit between the curves. The reason the gauges are curved is to remove the sharp corners which could cause a safety hazard. However the vast majority of passengers do not travel with hard cornered boxes of the exact dimensions 55x40x20cm, and travel with pliable bags of these dimensions. The vast majority of such bags are designed in a way that the corners taper in line with our gauges, and hence the vast majority of our passengers have no problem fitting their luggage into the gauges.


Our vertical gauges have a similar issue with curved edges, although the impact would be on the 20cm and 40cm sides. The third type of gauge (the one attached to a sign), does not have a curved edge on one side of the gauge - the edge attached to the sign - and hence removes this problem.


It is assumed that the watchdog investigation encountered each of these gauges through the course of its investigation. The gauges have been designed as a safe and practical way of ensuring that baggage is only allowed onto the aircraft that can be safely accommodated. A bag longer than 55cm will not fit length-ways into the overhead locker, and hence a longer bag would need to be stored side-ways, and would greatly reduce the overall baggage capacity of the aircraft. The limits imposed by bmibaby are consistent with the rest of the airline industry, and are universally imposed in order to ensure the aircraft is loaded with an amount of baggage that can be safely accommodated, and also is fair to all passengers by ensuring there is room for everyone travelling to take a reasonable amount of hand luggage.


bmibaby does recognise though the point that Watchdog raises with respect to having an exact size hard edged (inflexible) box of dimensions 55x40x20cm, and that this may not fit due to the curved design of the gauges. As a result of this finding, bmibaby is now looking to replace all its gauges with a version that removes this anomaly, by increasing the size of the gauges to compensate for this problem. Therefore passengers carrying such a hard edged box of such dimensions will soon have no problem bring such on the aircraft.


5. How long have bmibaby been aware that some hand luggage gauges are smaller than 55cmx40cmx20cm?

There are no gauges smaller than these dimensions - only the curvature anomaly which this investigation has brought to our attention.


6. Do bmibaby plan to compensate passengers who have been charged to take hand luggage onto the plane as a result of their luggage not fitting into some hand luggage gauges?

bmibaby has very few complaints with respect to our baggage gauges, and treats all complaints seriously. We strive to have great service, and will always seek to improve procedures and policies in order to improve our customer experience. We are going to replace our current gauges with slightly larger ones as soon as these can be produced and rolled out across our network to resolve any anomalies. However we are confident that passengers with standard luggage of dimensions 55x40x20cm would have had no problem fitting them in the gauges, and thus bringing them with them onboard our aircraft. However if anyone has travelled with a hard edged, inflexible box, of dimensions 55x40x20cm, and were not allowed to take it onboard as a result of the curved corner on our baggage gauge then we will be happy to offer a refund, subject to proof of such being provided.

Watchdog viewers' responses:


The very same thing happened to me and my husband flying back to the mainland from Belfast. I also had to put my bag in the measuring rack and got charged £30 so that a "jobsworth" could take my bag to the hold. My husband had the same type of bag, from the same manufacturer and the same colour, his passed the test!!!!

I wrote a letter of complaint and didn't even get a reply.

I won't fly BMI baby again!
Val Surfield


The Arline should be fined without any question - they knew exactly what they were doing - if staff knew
then of course the man at the top knew!!!! And as for proof/ For as loing as those gauges have been in
use then every single passenger who had to put their luggage in their hold regardless should be
compensated with £100 each - for the stress and aggravation caused for having to go back and check
in luggage - then we will see how quickly BMI Baby will move - FINE THE COMPANY end of!!!!
Anonymous Watchdog viewer


I have experienced the problem hightlighted on this evening's programme. I was travelling from Birmingham to Amsterdam and had checked in online, when I got to the gate I had to put my small case (which complies with their regulations) into the cage. It did not fit and therefore I was told I had to check it in which incurred an additional cost. I was furious when I boarded that aircraft to see that another passenger had been allowed through the gate with a case identical to mine and other which were larger than mine had been allowed through.

I am sure that I am not alone in having experienced this problem.
Jane Horwood

We went on honeymoon last week to Paris. This was a present from our friends as we had no money from a honeymoon.
Our case fitted in the check in gauge but then wouldn't fit at the gate - this meant we had to pay £30 per bag, we thought we had no choice to pay £30 per bag on the way back plus they charged us £10 admin charge.
In total we had to pay £130 extra despite knowing that our cases were "cabin" size and fitted in the check in gauge.
We did speak to the BMIbaby worker at the gate and explain but she was "disninterested" and did not even flinch when the situatrion made me cry (we only had £300 spending money for the honeymoon) - £130 of which we had to spend on the bags!
We are so glad you highlighted this issue and we will be complaining to BMIBaby straightaway.

Anna and Philip Waterworth

I was had recently at Alicante Airport; when we got to the actual boarding part where they rip up your boarding ticket, I notice a kind lady bring out a cage which was upright and looked very small and my first thought was my daughter's bag will never fit in there; even though she has taken the same bag with us for the last four years and it always fit in the oblong cage they have at check out; I was very annoyed and tried to explain that this bag always fits in the oblong cage they have and contains only clothes which are soft, so the bag always fits in; but as usual they send the hard faced........person......who will not budge....I was about to right a letter this week to BMI but I am very pleased that this scam has been brought to the attention of the public. I have taken a photo of the cage that was in the boarding part of the exercise and I;ll let you know how I get on; I'm sure you'll have some correspondence about this SCAM......I have travelled with BMI for many years and am sorry they have lowered their standards to extract money from their travellers.
Ros


No problems flying with BMI to Barcelona from Birmingham in May - but on return trip was told my case needed to go into the hold - I refused & they made me put it into the cage (as you showed) & it wouldn't fit! I explained it was the same bag I'd taken through coming into Spain, but a row ensued. This was only resolved when a male passenger got frustrated, grabbed my case, turned it upside down & rammed it into the cage till it fitted. The two women at the desk backed down, due more to the rage of the male customer rather than the fact I was in the right! We saw several others going through the same problems.
Anonymous Watchdog viewer

Hi

I travelled with BMI Baby Belfast to Birminghan on a short business trip in January 2010. I booked and checked in online with a small trolly case, which I had checked was within the required size.

This fitted and was accepted at Belfast and refused at the gate in Birmingham on my return, £30 being demanded if I wished to fly, which I paid under protest.

I had a laptop in my case, (which I advised them of) On my return home I found this to have the screen smashed.

I subsuently lodged a claim which their agents refused and have failed to reply to my subsequent correspondence
Yours sincerely
David Alexander


Dear Watchdog,
We travel from Birmingham to Faro regularly and can tell you that the under size cages have been operation there for over a year We only use hand luggage because we have property in portugal, we were very carefull to buy luggage several cms inside their published requirements but still had problems last year. They should use smooth sided boxes to measure hand luggage because often zips and locks get catch on the cage style measures, we have damage several cases trying to get them through the cage measures. I threaten to take a tape measure a over a year ago because I was convinced the cages were unsized at Birmingham.
Chris from Warwickshire




bmibaby Baggage Blunder...