HIDDY

Indeed. ^

thadocta

Sums it up beautifully, and I have worked for airlines (QF, AN (may they rest in peace) and TN (before it was subsumed into QF).

When buying separate tickets, you are contracting with airline A to get you and your baggage from point A to point B, you are then contracting with airline B to get you and your baggage from point B to point C Your responsibility to get your bags transferred at point B. Some airlines will do this as a courtesy within an alliance, but they legally don't have to.

When you buy a ticket from point A to point C via B, using airline A first, airline B second, it is one contract, from A to C, so they are obliged to get you and your bags from A to C (they can even send your bags via D if they want).

But by buying the A to C ticket, albeit via B, you are buying the interlining. By buying separate tickets, you aren't.

Dave

jmastron

Has that changed over the years? In 2001, My wife and I had 2 separate BMI round trip tickets from LHR-DUB-LHR, then 3-4 hours later LHR-FCO-LHR. The DUB agent checked our bags all the way to FCO without hesitation (but I didn't assume they would; I asked nicely but made sure we had time in case they wouldn't)


AFAIK, it's usually the final airline that bears the responsibility of mistransferred bags, at least on the USA. Once when UA cancelled a flight and put us on AA, the agent who printed the paper tickets told us not to tell AA we had checked bags with UA, just to make a lost bag claim with AA at our destination. I wasn't really comfortable with that, but in the end AA got them to us (though I believe UA brought them to the destination)

Jenbel

The airline as an entity?

If staff are simply enforcing the policies of the entity they work for, then the staff are not treating me like crap, the airline is.

So in the post I've just made above, it is not crap for the airline staff to refuse to interline my bag if it's on one PNR (as they are enforcing the rules of the airline), but it is crap of the airline to have a rule not permitting that.

You know, someone can complain about BA without it being any slight, slur, blame or comment on the staff who work for BA? As indeed I just did, even though you incorrectly assumed that I was complaining about staff? There's a line between the stupid stuff you have to follow because that's what BA ask you to do, and which you may not like, but you still have to do, and when a staff member provides bad service because that is their choice (or in some cases, because they may not know any better - cf. the lounge access thread).

Right. So you don't like it when people make personal commentary about you. I can understand that. What I'm failing to understand is why then, if you feel that way, you assume it's fine for you to do that to others?

sunrisegirl

No, it probably doesn't but I found your post so rude and unnecessary that I just had to respond.

Yesterday I was being deliberately goaded by those who've done it in the past. As a Mod I'm amazed you didn't realise that - or perhaps you did.

HIDDY

Well you would have the option to tell them to get stuffed....which I'm sure you are perfectly capable of doing in whatever way you wish Jen.

I'm not sure why you insist on accusing BA of refusing to interline bags when it's obvious they are not the only ones who don't?

Jenbel

Can you see now why what you assumed about me having a go at staff is not actually how it was meant to be read?

Well, this is the BA board. If I want to grouse about airlines generally, I go to Travelbuzz!

Possibly because only on BA have I had calls from one hysterical sister on her honeymoon worried she was about to miss her honeymoon flight because she had to do a T1/T4 transfer with bags and a short connection time because although she was booked on one PNR, the stupid TA had booked her on separate tickets within the PNR - so BA wouldn't interline them for her So I've dealt with the personal cost of this policy, which does make it more personal for me.

As I said, my issue is mainly on the fact they say 'ticket', when IME, most other airlines say 'PNR'. So I do feel BA are more restrictive than other airlines (although I haven't tried connecting with BD recently so I'm willing to admit they could be as bad or worse).

sunrisegirl

To be fair to you, yes.

BUT when you go on to say

I think you also need to realise that BA is not to blame for such an incident, but your TA is. (Though I do see you've called them stupid!) Perhaps the mad symbol should be directed at them rather than BA? @:-)

Thus I don't think your comments against BA are always fair.

buyjalapenos

Because the IATA was created for you to excersize your rights in traveling in one of their member airlines. Fool on you for not envoking them.

Hint... interlining is one of the IATA's regulations. If you don't understand, go to Montreal.. It's in Canada.

sunrisegirl

And many airlines don't interline baggage - not quite sure why you're finding that so hard to understand instead of insulting people by calling them a fool.

I have no desire to go to Canada thank you.


What is happening to the world (including FT) these days - why are so many people being so rude just because they don't get their own way. Poor show.

HIDDY

He hasn't a clue what he's talking about.....keeps changing the story.

stifle

I do wonder what they would attempt to charge someone who used first class for a terminal transfer, as there's no fare defined for the journey!

FenLandK

During last week's fog disruption me and my colleague were put onto LHR-FRA-OSL on Monday rather than LHR-OSL, which was full until Tuesday. When we checked in I asked if the bags could be interlined and the agent asked which airline. BA had actually booked us on an SK code, but it was an LH flight. We handed over our bags and lounged until our flight. However, when we got to FRA we did wonder about the luggage and whether it would be merrily going round the carousel at FRA T2.

We toyed with the idea of going through immigration in T2 and checking to see if our bags came out, but eventually we braved it out and transferred airside to T1. We breathed a collective sigh of relief when the bags eventually appeared in OSL.

Now, whether the bags were interlined because of the SK codeshare (which is still *A anyway), or because of the disruption, or whether it was because I asked nicely , I don't really know...

littlefish

I have been known to check interlining arrangements before purchasing flights, sometimes the fact that there isn't one rules out an itinerary.

On the other hand. One time I was going BA LHR-FRA then FRA-somewhere exotic. I positively didn't want to single ticket or interline as I wanted 100% to be sure my bag was (checked-in) on the 2nd flight. I think I even got an earlier flight to do it to avoid bad old LHR holding.
Ah the days of long-haul Y and whiling away the hours in terminals.

LTN Phobia

Probably because they were on a single ticket, rather than either of the above.