T5 helps BA improve baggage handling

British Airways is improving its baggage performance now that most of its flights have been switched to Heathrow Terminal 5.

November was the first month of full capacity operations for BA at Terminal 5. The airline says that by having more than 90% of its Heathrow operations in one terminal it was able to improve its baggage performance to the extent that only 12 bags per 1000 customers were delayed in November. This compares to the worst performance of 38 delayed bags per 1000 customers in summer 2007.

BA says the majority of delayed bags are bags belonging to transfer passengers which are not delivered from airlines at other terminals at Heathrow in time to meet their onward flights.

"Our punctuality and baggage performance continues to improve every month and our customers are really noticing the difference," says BA operations director, Andy Lord.

"Terminal 5, after eight months of use, is already delivering levels of performance well in advance of what was expected and well in advance of other major airports or terminals so early in their life. The improvements have come despite continued runway and air traffic capacity issues at Heathrow and this is the biggest cause of delays we face," continues Lord.

"Customer feedback is consistently really good and we have never had such positive feedback from our monthly customer surveys," Lord concludes.

The airline's punctuality in November was the best it has recorded globally for seven years. Almost 87% of BA short haul flights departed on time in November.

BA recorded its best ever performance at Gatwick airport as 94% of flights left on time. Punctuality for the airline has improved every month for the past six months and the performance in November was 12% better than that in June.

Written by: Nick Purdom

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