Travel with Children - Delta-Emirates-AA baggage policies

Hi Everybody,

I have a question regarding the baggage policies of Delta, Emirates and AA. I will be flying in January next year to India with my wife and my 20 month old son.

We are going to fly from ORD to JFK via Delta Airlines. We have a 5 hour layover at JFK. We will be flying with Emirates Airlines from JFK to AMD via DXB.

We will be flying back from AMD to JFK via DXB with Emirates Airlines and will be flying from JFK to ORD with American Airlines.

The tickets for me and my wife were booked on Emirates website. I had to add my son's name later by calling Emirates as it did not allow me to add him because the itinerary involved connections with Delta and American Airlines.

Emirates allows me to check-in 5 bags (50 lbs each) - 2 for me, 2 for my wife, 1 for my son. Now I can understand that Delta and American Airlines won't allow the 5th bag (for my son) and I have to pay extra for that.

But do I have to pay for the other 4 bags also with Delta and American Airlines even if our tickets were booked on Emirates website and it basically comes under one single reservation as we will be just taking those connections. Again, I did not book those tickets separately on Delta and AA websites. They are part of a single itinerary.

The other question that I had was that, when I check in the bags at ORD, do I have to collect them at JFK and then recheck-in them JFK or do I get the bags at AMD (final destination) only.

Any help would be appreciated. :confused:

Hopefully, someone with experience will chime in. I assume you're flying with your son as a lap baby (no seat) and foreign airlines often allow one checked bag for a lap baby. American companies allow an extra carry-on, and the stroller but there is no baggage allowance for lap babies.

I will say that in principal, the fact that you booked through Emirates, you are an Emirates customer, the number of bags should be allowed for all legs.

But do I have to pay for the other 4 bags also with Delta and American Airlines even if our tickets were booked on Emirates website?

First of all, international customers on Delta get one free bag so your question will be about the second bag for each of you and the one allowed for your son. You definitely wont have to pay for all 5. At least two are free.

http://www.delta.com/traveling_checkin/baggage/checked/index.jsp

AA has a slightly different policy. They say directly on their website that they allow two bags for those traveling to Asia (which I assume includes South Asia).

You might have to use the drop-down menu to indicate that you're going from the U.S. to Asia.

http://www.aa.com/i18n/travelInformation/baggage/baggageAllowance.jsp

Email Emirates, Delta and AA and ask them these questions directly. Don't call. An email reply means that you can print it up and show them if there is a problem at the airport, if their stories don't match up. Anything said over the phone can't be proven.

Here is Emirates' lap baby baggage policy, which you may want to include in your correspondence. They might honor the extra bag for the baby because you're an Emirates customer, or not. Get the story straight.

Annoyingly, they call lap babies "infants" (which your son is hardly anymore lol!) I flew with infants too... with their own seat, who, by the way, have the full adult baggage allowance. A good idea is to make it clear that he is a lap baby or "infant in arms", as some airlines call them.

http://www.emirates.com/english/help/faqs/FAQDetails.aspx?faqId=391781

I did not find any mention of connecting/code shared flight customers and how the limitations apply to them.

You need to be aware that American has a strict 20lbs stroller policy. We had an earlier thread talking about this so that is yet again, another issue. Luckily, you will only be flying AA the last leg of your journey home so if your stroller is taken from you and checked through to baggage claim, it will only be for that one flight. When you contact AA about the bag, mention this as well.

Be sure to have a good quality baby carrier (the better ones go at least to 2 years) because it's useful for travel in general. That way you wont break your arms and back walking all the way to baggage claim to get your bags and stroller. I see a lot of parents pushing strollers while clutching toddlers in airports or stuffing unhappy toddlers in strollers who want to be in their parents' arms in airports full of strangers. It's easy for them to get tired and clingy at this age, and you all will certainly be tired at the end of this long flight.

The other question that I had was that, when I check in the bags at ORD, do I have to collect them at JFK and then recheck-in them JFK or do I get the bags at AMD (final destination) only.

Again, the normal procedure is that you collect your bags at your final destination. Ask at check-in to be sure and note the airport code on your checked bags. They will tell you clearly if you do have to take the bags to Emirates yourselves. Luckily, you have 5 hours to do this, if it is the case (bummer you couldn't fly out of ORD directly :/ )

By contrast, you do have to go through U.S. Customs at your first port of entry coming into the U.S. You don't have to actually recheck the bags. They are already tagged to ORD. You just collect them and take them through Customs yourselves and then you'll see that for connecting passengers, there will be a counter outside Customs that takes them back again. I think you've done this before and know that it's quick. The agent will just grab the bag and throw it on the belt.

Hopefully, again, someone with recent experience connecting off of Emirates and/or through JFK with a lap baby perhaps can share what the real deal is...

You may want to ask about this over on the Emirates board. FT has a strict no-cross posting rule so you need to reword your question entirely (do not copy & paste). You can ask about baggage policies on U.S. companies when connecting to and from Emirates in general and I believe that would be Kosher. It doesn't have to be because of a lap baby checked bag, but others might know the deal just flying with one, vs. two checked bags on both Emirates and a U.S. company in general.

Wait to see if anyone can help here first and then post there with a link to this thread (so that no one repeats any information on both).

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/emirates-airlines-skywards-490/

Apparently incorrect advice removed.

A tip for the future is (if possible, it definitely isn't always) if you live near a hub/major airport, when travelling with little ones,t ry to make your arrival city the city you enter the US. So if you live in ORD try to get to ORD as your first US city. We live near LAX so we were usually, but not always, able to. After going thru US Customs and Imigration and collecting all our bags and stuff, the last thing we wanted to do is get on another flight!

Lots of incorrect advice given.

OP - this is how is works if you are on one ticket. The baggage allowance that will apply is for the airline that operates the geographically longest or most significant stretch of the journey. For you, that would be Emirates, even if you'd booked the entire ticket on another airline's webpage.

This is IATA Resolution 302 that requires the baggage policies of the “most significant carrier” to apply if there is a conflict between the marketing and operating carrier.

Suggest you have a printout of this policy to avoid problems at check in. If you are still incorrectly charged for bags, you may file a complaint here:

http://airconsumer.dot.gov/escomplaint/es.cfm

This is IATA Resolution 302 that requires the baggage policies of the “most significant carrier” to apply if there is a conflict between the marketing and operating carrier.

Wow; definitely a new one for me. Thanks! Wish I'd known to refer to this many years ago, as I have certainly lost this battle with the operating carrier of the first segment several times.

ETA: Just noticed that 302 only went into effect this year, so not surprising many haven't yet heard of it.

OP - this is how is works if you are on one ticket. The baggage allowance that will apply is for the airline that operates the geographically longest or most significant stretch of the journey. For you, that would be Emirates, even if you'd booked the entire ticket on another airline's webpage.

^

I have done this before. Flew AA from ORD to JFK and connected to EK to MAA (via DXB).

1. As mentioned by 6rugrats, your EK baggage allowance holds for the entire journey. If EK mentions that you can carry 5 pieces, you are eligible for 5 pieces on DL and AA too.

2. When you check-in at ORD, your bags are tagged all the way to AMD. You need not pick up your bags at JFK. You'll see them only at AMD. Your AA flight will land at Terminal 8 and EK departs from Terminal 4. Exit the airport, follow signs to the air train and get off at T4. Then you need to re-clear security at T4, before your EK flight.

3. While returning, your bags will be tagged all the way to ORD, but you WILL NEED to pick up the bags at JFK and clear customs. You'll pick up your bags, pass through customs and immediately after exiting customs, you'll see the DL counters. You drop your bags there and then proceed to T 2/3/4 depending on your flight.

Hope this helps! :)

Thanks so much to both of you! Rugrats and Jetche. You rock!!!

That's what I suspected but now have confirmation. So it's only recently that they respect the rules of the "most significant carrier"?? That means, if anyone posts saying they've been charged, they may or may not have a case for compensation based on when this happened?

Here's my question. The OP is taking AA on the last leg. How does this apply to that awful 20lb. limit rule on the gate-checked stroller? Does the "significant carrier" rule apply here as well? Or is it exempted because it's a gate-checked item and doesn't involve any fees?

I'm just having trouble picturing a family coming off a long trip like this and being denied their stroller at their final destination until baggage claim. Any experience?

I haven't done anything quite so exausting, but when we went to Hong Kong when my daughter was 20 months, the stroller was checked to the final destination both ways and we had 5 hour layovers in Doha on both the outbound and the inbound (lhr-doh-hkg rtn) the bigger nightmare was my stroller getting damaged in transit on the way home, but thankfully the airline compensated

Thanks so much to both of you! Rugrats and Jetche. You rock!!!

That's what I suspected but now have confirmation. So it's only recently that they respect the rules of the "most significant carrier"?? That means, if anyone posts saying they've been charged, they may or may not have a case for compensation based on when this happened?

Here's my question. The OP is taking AA on the last leg. How does this apply to that awful 20lb. limit rule on the gate-checked stroller? Does the "significant carrier" rule apply here as well? Or is it exempted because it's a gate-checked item and doesn't involve any fees?

I'm just having trouble picturing a family coming off a long trip like this and being denied their stroller at their final destination until baggage claim. Any experience?

You're welcome, Eclipsepearl! We're all here to help :)

1. Yes! Recently the "most significant carrier" rule came into effect. But before this, they had the policy of the airline issuing the ticket, i.e, the baggage rules of the airline issuing the ticket comes into force. So in this case, since the OP booked a small portion of their journey via the Emirates website, they will have the Emirates baggage allowance for the entire journey.

I've been traveling between India and the US since 2005. I used to fly Jet Airways till JFK and then American / Delta domestic. But I was still allowed 2 pieces (Jet Airways policy) for the domestic sectors.

2. Regarding the stroller, Emirates will give the stroller back to the OP when they land in JFK. They can take it with them. Unfortunately the 20lb rule of AA will apply for the domestic segment. So the family can have the stroller after the long flight for a while, before checking in for the AA flight.

You're welcome, Eclipsepearl! We're all here to help :)

1. Yes! Recently the "most significant carrier" rule came into effect. But before this, they had the policy of the airline issuing the ticket, i.e, the baggage rules of the airline issuing the ticket comes into force. So in this case, since the OP booked a small portion of their journey via the Emirates website, they will have the Emirates baggage allowance for the entire journey.

I've been traveling between India and the US since 2005. I used to fly Jet Airways till JFK and then American / Delta domestic. But I was still allowed 2 pieces (Jet Airways policy) for the domestic sectors.


The IATA resolution 302 is here:
http://www.ana.co.jp/wws/sg/e/asw_common/guide/baggage_rule_2011/iata_302.html

jetche:

when looked under this section

U.S. Exception (US DOT Order 2009-9-20 <05Oct09>)

(a) For passengers whose ultimate ticketed origin or destination is a U.S. point, the baggage provisions selected at the beginning of the itinerary shall apply throughout the itinerary, regardless of stopovers,

Does that mean that the First Carrier's baggage allowance is applicable for US origin / Destination Trips.


Like you mentioned, I've used to fly the same sector AA(US Domestic) - Connecting to Jet Airways in JFK and back. I used to enjoy the liberal baggage allowance provided by Jet Airways.

But last week, my cousin flown STL-ORD-AUH-India and charged for extra bags in the STL-ORD sector in US airways.

So, it's better to call & confirm.

This cousin sounds like they are elible for some compensation. Opinions? Perhaps inform them with the info from this thread?

I just told an African friend with U.S. relatives this news and they were really happy to hear this. A connection is necessary so this will be their case.

The U.S. companies usually have more generous baggage allowances for int'l travel. Is this a dumb question but are you charged for the extra bags on a domestic connection to an int'l flight on the same U.S. company? I didn't think so. Correct me if I'm mistaken.

This cousin sounds like they are elible for some compensation. Opinions? Perhaps inform them with the info from this thread?

I just told an African friend with U.S. relatives this news and they were really happy to hear this. A connection is necessary so this will be their case.

The U.S. companies usually have more generous baggage allowances for int'l travel. Is this a dumb question but are you charged for the extra bags on a domestic connection to an int'l flight on the same U.S. company? I didn't think so. Correct me if I'm mistaken.

May be he is, but the US exception section I've quoted earlier makes it complex.

And reg the Iten, the STL-ORD was on US and ORD-AUH-India was on AY.