Cruise ship passenger’s 3 weeks in same outfit after BA lost his bag
IT was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime – a £5,000 cruise from Los Angeles to the Panama Canal, stopping at Mexico and Costa Rica on the way.
But it turned into a disaster for pensioner David Dell when British Airways lost his luggage, leaving him stuck with the same clothes for three weeks.
To make matters worse, he was only offered two £25 vouchers as compensation – which could only be spent on BA products.
Mr Dell, 71, from Benfleet, Essex, caught a flight from London to Los Angeles in January this year with his partner. When they landed, another passenger took his luggage by mistake.
Staff assured him that he would be reunited with the bag before their cruise ship, the Norwegian Jewel, left. But the bag never turned up and so he was forced to set off without it.
Mr Dell was forced to borrow clothes off other passengers and use time scheduled for day trips to rush to local markets and buy underwear. He said: ‘ I was told at least four times by the company that they would deliver my bags to me as the boat stopped at ports, but it never turned up.
‘After a few days some of the other passengers had heard about what happened and were joking around, asking if I was having to wear my partner’s clothes. A few of them lent me items of clothing like t-shirts, which was nice as it shows a bit of British spirit.’
He added: ‘Several more days went past and BA told me they would just send my luggage home.
‘It was a major holiday for us and turned into a bit of a disaster. We made the most of it but it’s just not what you want.’
When the couple returned home they were reimbursed for the items they were forced to buy on the trip after spending over £500. But when Mr Dell got in touch with the company regarding compensation for the disruption, he was sent just £50 in BA vouchers.
‘It’s disgusting’, he said. ‘I didn’t ask for a particular amount of money because I’m not like that, but I thought I would be entitled to some as it really ruined the holiday ... but they just sent through two vouchers.’
‘I’ll never fly with BA again, so the vouchers won’t even get used,’ he added.
A spokesman for the airline said: ‘ We’re very sorry that another customer accidentally picked up Mr Dell’s bag and for the frustration and difficulties that caused ... We did everything we could to find his bag and send it on to him.’
An IT failure at BA caused chaos for more than 75,000 passengers on the May bank holiday weekend, leaving many stranded or with lost luggage.
The company is facing losses of over £100million for the glitch, which boss Alex Cruz blamed on a ‘power surge’.