Online Travel Booking and Bidding Agencies - Travelocity interaries on mixed carriers, how do they work?

I looked on travelocity for a ticket and it combined an Alaska Air flight with a United flight. How do these work? Are they treated as different tickets on the different airlines? Does my status on each airline come into play for seating and upgrades? Do I have to pick up my bags mid-route or do they get checked to the final destination?

Does anyone have any experience with this? Any input appreciated. Thanks.

Seating and upgrades are determined by your status on the operating carrier, and are completely separate for each flight.

Baggage depends on whether or not the two airlines have an interlining agreement. Most airlines do these days, so it should not be a problem, but ask when you check in your bag just to make sure.

I looked on travelocity for a ticket and it combined an Alaska Air flight with a United flight. How do these work? Are they treated as different tickets on the different airlines? Does my status on each airline come into play for seating and upgrades? Do I have to pick up my bags mid-route or do they get checked to the final destination?

Does anyone have any experience with this? Any input appreciated. Thanks.
Call the originating carrier to determine whether they interline with the connecting carrier. If they don't, make sure that the connection time is sufficient to permit you to pickup your bag at the connecting station, check it and re-clear security. Also, make certain that the connection is at the same airport (NYC=LGA/JFK/EWR or WAS=DCA/IAD or CHI = ORD/MDW).

If something goes wrong the airlines refer you to Travelocity and Travelocity then refers u back to the airline. No one takes responsibility for resolving your concern.

Use then to search for air fares and the book directly on the airline website.

Please continue to follow this thread in the Online booking and bidding Forum.
Thanks...
Obscure2k
TravelBuzz Moderator

If something goes wrong the airlines refer you to Travelocity and Travelocity then refers u back to the airline. No one takes responsibility for resolving your concern.

Use then to search for air fares and the book directly on the airline website.

Good luck booking an itinerary including UA and AS either of the carriers websites.

To give an example in my recent experience: last year I booked SFO-xxx-ZRH; FCO-xxx-SFO. I did so on Orbitz and got SFO-IAD-ZRH (UA); FCO-LHR (AZ) LHR-SFO (UA). In this case UA was the ticketing carrier (charge was by UA, they sold the AZ ticket as part of the whole ticket). That option allowed me to depart FCO around 11am instead of 6am, as the UA operated morning flight was sold out, and the other star alliance options in a similar price range were all the earliest flight out.

It is true that even though Orbitz "passes through" the ticket order to another airline, in my case UA, the ticket is considered to be issued through a travel agent, and you can have trouble sometimes with passing the buck. I've experienced this kind of thing multiple times, but it tends more to be an inconvenience, nothing unresolvable. Sometimes I have to check in at the airport because things get screwed up with schedule changes or the like.

As an example that such things are not fatal; the AZ flight was 2.5 hrs late, causing us to miss the LHR connection, but since UA had sold the ticket in the end and it was all part of the same PNR in their system, they re-routed us without trouble.

I did something similar on a flight to Australia a few years back via Orbitz. The flight from YYJ to SYD was via SEA and LAX on 3 different carriers. It was a 'legal' flight, meaning X minutes between each flight (40 minutes or so). I had to pick up my bags and re-check them in SEA, but that is standard practice now anyway.

Could have gotten messy if one of my flights was delayed. Generally, I would avoid combo-flights like this, but I saved a few hundred dollars so I chanced it.

UA and AS do interline. You'll have one ticket and your bags will be checked to your destination.

I can't speak for UA, but I just had a combined DL/AS ticket.

I learned that AS first gives upgrades to all AS folks.

Then at the 24 hour mark, if you do on-line check-in though AS, you can request an upgrade.

If you check in via DL, you can ask at an AS desk for an upgrade. HOWEVER, if you don't mention your DL status they might offer to sell you an upgrade, but won't give you one. If you say "DL-your medallion status", they will give you an upgrade free if they still have one available.

Romelle

PS - Also can't speak for all AS flights, but the one I rode really had great coffee!