Luggage left behind

Last September I went to Bordeaux with a group of friends. The first part of the journey was with Air Malta to Paris. My luggage did not make it to Bordeaux airport although my friends' did even though we had all checked-in at the same time.

I reported the matter to the luggage claims desk in Bordeaux and after a computer check I was very surprised to be informed that the luggage never left Malta in the first place. The luggage arrived in my Bordeaux hotel a day later.

More recently the same thing happened to my wife's luggage, this time concerning a trip to Australia, the first part of the journey being to Rome with Air Malta, followed by Malaysian Airlines for the rest of the journey. Ironically, my luggage did make it to the other end even though I checked it in at the same time as my wife.

A computer check at the Malaysian Airlines luggage claim desk in Melbourne revealed that my wife's luggage was still in Malta. The missing luggage was delivered to our hotel in Melbourne three days later. In both instances no form of compensation was offered for the inconvenience.

It may be partly understandable if a piece of luggage does not make it from one plane to another when a connection is involved, especially if the connection is a short one.

However I find it totally inexcusable that it does not get loaded onto the plane at the point of origin. Even more suspicious is the fact that in my case I had direct experience of such a situation on two occasions in the space of three months and concerning the same airline.

Who knows how many others have gone through a similar experience with Air Malta? I am sure that Air Malta can do much better. Indeed it is in the interest of our national airline to do so especially in this age of increasing competition in the field of air travel.