A follow up to my missing bag story: I got it back, in Montreal, with an hour to spare before my rebooked flight to London.

When I arrived this afternoon at the airport top check in at British Airways the (very friendly) agent told me (a) that BA didn’t have my bag and (b) that Air Canada had mistakenly only checked it as far as London, so even if they did send it on, it would be waiting for me in London, where I’m only transiting through for an hour.

She advised against the Air Canada-mandated “just see what happens when you get to Berlin” approach and instead suggested that I go back down into the AC baggage dungeon where I’d spent so many happy hours last night for another try.

As with all such endeavours in life, most customer service success depends on the random chance of who happens to take on your case, and how passionately. I lucked in: curly-haired baggage agent didn’t stop until he tracked down a guy who might find my bag. After 15 minutes of waiting, the radio crackled to life with “Oui” and my man’s face lit up. Five minutes later my bag came rolling out:

As soon as I had it in my hands I removed the liquids and gels and resolved never to let it out of my sight again (British Airways staff encouraged this approach when I stopped by to thank them for their help).

Amazing that a old PC keyboard and a collection of shirts, socks and underwear can involve so much stress.