quote:Originally posted by Nottingham Nick
VS will send you the labels if you ask, but normally PE and UC bag tags are put on your bags at check in to indicate they are supposed to be given priority handling!
Nick
A friend on mine used to be a baggage handler and he told me that at LHR and LGW the bar code that is printed out and put on your baggage at check-in will identify which loading area your bags are sent to and hence it's priority, this is all done automatically by in-line bar code scanners once your bags have passed through multiple security screening x-ray scanners.
Once the bag arrives at the loading area it is scanned again using a hand-held scanner and is loaded into the correct hold on the A/C so really the PE and Upper tags are not the main thing that identifies which cabin you are travelling in and hence which hold they are loaded onto although it helps. Upper Class bags are held back and loaded last so they are first off. I'm not sure how PE bags are handled though [?] I think they may be loaded last into the economy baggage hold....not sure.
This is why if you are connecting onto a VS flight in the UK from another carrier, no prioriry is given for the VS sector as only the flight number is available from the bar code and also why even if you were travelling in economy from the UK and you get hold of an Upper Class bag tag, you bag would not be given UC priority.
However, for US airports this is not the case and the UC and PE tags are the only thing that determines it's priority so make sure they are put on at check-in if you dont already have them on!!! (as I found out on my return from SFO this year flying UC and my bags came off nearly last at LHR as UC tags were not attached at SFO)
Regards
