 Poster: A snowHead
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Has anyone tried this service where you check your luggage in at the UK airport and don't need to reclaim it until the rail station in resort? And vice versa for the return.
I imagine it works ok as the Swiss are efficient at such things but I would appreciate any info as to how likely it is your luggage gets lost and/or delayed.
Thanks!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Not personally, but a Danish mate of mine use dit twice and it did exactly what it said it would do. No other experiences, so not much of a survey.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Very good experiences and yes it works very well but you must land before 1pm to make sure your luggage arrives in your resort the same day.
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I've used it loads of times. You don't have to collect your luggage from the railway station if you're staying in a hotel - just ask at reception and they'll send a porter for it when it arrives. If you're lucky they may even hang your clothes up whilst you're out for dinner. It's absolutely brilliant, it has never failed for me.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Sarah,
I have used it several times while traveling from California to Switzerland. At the Swissair counter, and possibly others, they sell you a green tag, one for each bag. This green tag has two functions: firstly to indicate that it is a FlyRail bag, and so it is removed from the plane and sent directly to the train station (and never goes around the luggage conveyor belt) and secondly it means Nothing to Declare. I would imagine you could purchase these tags through the Swiss tourist office in London in advance if you were not sure they were available at your particular checkin counter.
I have also found that not all airlines are aware of how the service operates. It may be a bad example, but when we were checking in here in Los Angeles for a Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt and then onwards to Geneva, the Lufthansa counter had no idea as to how the program worked. I told them that I was going to attach the tag to the bag, and they should just ignore it. They still attach their tags as well. Presumably in Europe this is less of an issue. They can work on any airline, regardless of what the airline tells you; it is not a function of the airlines, but rather a function of the Swiss train system.
My free advice to you is to not FlyRail all your bags, but just the heavy ones, i. e. skis, ski clothes, and not the stuff you will need for dinner the first night, or things you need that night and next morning. It is unlikely your bags will be on your same train, and they will usually arrive a few hours later, or possibly the next morning if there is a problem somewhere.
Also, be aware that this delay for the return journey may mean that your bags don't make your flight home. It's best to take them to the train station the evening before your departure so they are sure to be on your flight. We took this concept a step farther, and checked our bags in the evening before, spent the next day taking a leisurely trip back from Zermatt to Geneva, had a nice dinner out in Geneva, and then caught an early morning flight back to Los Angeles. I think your bags can sit in the airport luggage holding area for 24 hours max, and this arrangement was pretty close to that.
John Cacavas
Los Angeles.
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I've got more statistically significant (if somewhat out of date) experience of this, when I was a part-time porter in a hotel in Saas-Fee, and spent quite a bit of time picking up bags in a glorified milk-float.
In most cases the bags would turn up on the bus after the punters - bus is the only public transport up the hill to Saas-Fee, and they ran every hour. Sometimes the bags would be on the same bus, sometimes 2 buses later, and only very occasionally later than that. From what I remember, the lost/delayed baggage rate on airlines is around 10-15 per 1000, and I wouldn't put FlyRail noticeably worse than that.
I don't remember ever taking bags to be checked in early for the return trip, but maybe things have changed...
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I think the early check-in is recommended for certain rail stations (departure town). The Fly-rail website specifies which (or Swiss booking will).
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Yes have used it - very civilised.
I have never had a bag delayed. Check them in at Heathrow and they arrive outside your hotel door.
On the way back, check them in at the railway station and you can do some sightseeing in Zurich, Berne etc. on the journey home.
It certainly beats the weekend scrum at Geneva and spending three hours in a dreadful charabanc to the big French resorts. Another reason to go to Switzeland. Unfortunately they seem to be cutting back on the number of resorts that you can use fly rail for. Crans Montana does not have the facility, for example.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Many of the Luggage departments of Swiss stations shut at about 8pm and one or two may be earlier, If you expect to arrive at your destination after 7pm then do not expect any fly rail bags to arrive that night and pack hand luggage accordingly, in general everything I've heard concerning the system is positive, you are far more likely to have your bags lost by the airline than by the fly rail system.
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