Airlines luggage liability

[theboyfold]

I've put in a claim from BA for about £7k worth of kit they managed to smash when flying from Spain to the UK. They have sent me this as a reply:

"Thank you for the details of your claim. As with all UK airlines, our liability for luggage is limited to a maximum of £1101.52."

Is this the case? It does seem a bit odd that high value items aren't covered by a major airline...

[ColinM50]

You mean you don't carry your own insurance? Why should the airline, and hence it's "normal" passengers pay for your expensive kit, surely it's down to you?

In all honesty I'm surprised they cover you that much, I was always under the impression it's £20 a kilo, so on the basis they "lost" a 33Kg bag, then you'd get around £660 so their offer is very fair IMHO

[theboyfold]

ColinM50 said:

You mean you don't carry your own insurance? Why should the airline, and hence it's "normal" passengers pay for your expensive kit, surely it's down to you?

In all honesty I'm surprised they cover you that much, I was always under the impression it's £20 a kilo, so on the basis they "lost" a 33Kg bag, then you'd get around £660 so their offer is very fair IMHO

Of course we carry our own insurance, I'm not sure where you made that assumption from.

My question was about the obligations of the airline. However, I've done a little reading and it would seem this is defined in the Warsaw Convention.

Edited by theboyfold on Friday 17th May 18:41

[theboyfold]

A lex said:

Very fair??

In an ideal world they'd be liable for all of it, but alas, they are not.

I dont know the specifics, but I would be very surprised if what they have quoted you is wrong. The baggage compensation limits are ridiculously low compared to what they 'average' passenger is carting around these days.

Im paranoid about it, and have extra insurance(s) to cover our bags, but come the time to claim im 99% certain we will be out of pocket one way or another We went to Mexico 3 weeks ago and the OH had over £2k of shoes in one suitcase

That's why I never put my camera gear in the hold, always my hand luggage. I dread to think what the total cost would be, plus it will be hard to claim it all back as most of the cost is in old lenses that are out of production.

As for the limit, I'm surprised too. I would have thought that they would have had insurances to cover such things.

[sneijder]

Was it a fragile item ?

BA do still have fragile stickers for handlers to exercise extra caution, however in asking for one you'd be instantly asked to sign the limited release waiver on the back of the bag tag.

[theboyfold]

sneijder said:

Was it a fragile item ?

BA do still have fragile stickers for handlers to exercise extra caution, however in asking for one you'd be instantly asked to sign the limited release waiver on the back of the bag tag.

It was, but as I wasn't carrying it I don't know what was signed.