Multi-City and Baggage Fees

Hi Everyone,

I have a colleague flying multiple segments on different days that are all on the same itinerary - LHR-ATL, ATL-STL, STL-MSP-DEN, DEN-ATL-LHR - next month over the course of a few weeks.

He did sign up for a Skymiles account, but we were talking about stuff and the issue of bag fees came up, so I called the DM line and asked about what he would have to pay.

As expected, the agent said 1 bag would be free on the LHR-ATL/DEN-ATL-LHR legs..as is normal. He will have to pay the $25 fee for ATL-STL and another fee for the STL-DEN, as they are on different days.

I just figured I'd point this out, as I'm sure there are folks out there looking to do similar sorts of trips over the holidays and people are not always aware of how baggage fees apply.

cheers,
robin

I realize this is an old thread but when I searched and didn't find an answer I thought I'd post what I found. I have a multi city itinerary booked NRT-LAX-PDX-SEA-NRT. One of the legs is intentional - I wanted to stop in LA and see a friend - and one was unplanned - they gave me an overnight layover in Seattle on the way back to NRT.

I am a lowly Silver so just about the only perk I get is extra baggage allowance and I want to use it, darn it! I have been hassled in the past by Alaska for my extra bag, even though that itin was booked through Delta and was a codeshare. So I wanted to make sure.

I found this: https://www.delta.com/content/www/en...gage-faqs.html

Specifically:
WHAT BAG FEES APPLY TO INTERNATIONAL PASSENGERS WHO HAVE CONNECTIONS/STOPOVERS WITHIN THE U.S.?
If all flights are on the same itinerary, international fees and rules apply to passengers traveling internationally with a connection or stopover the U.S.
If an international passenger travels to the U.S. and continues their travel within the U.S. on a separate ticket, domestic rules apply.

I wanted to make absolutely sure so I called the Skymiles hotline, and the agent confirmed that I was allowed 2 bags on all legs of my itinerary.

U.S. Department of Transportation rules on baggage in effect from January 2012 have greatly changed the landscape since the OP started this thread.

DL relationship with AS changed earlier this year. It my understanding that if your 1st leg is on AS, you will be charged baggage fees regardless of it is a DL codeshare or not.

US law provides that for itineraries which touch the US, the baggage allowance for the marketing carrier of the first segment is the baggage allowance for all segments of the entire ticket.

Thus, presuming that you are on a DL-marketed ticket, whatever your allowance for NRT-LAX, will remain your allowance for all other segments.

The exception to this would be that if DL waives certain extra bag fees due to status and some of those other segments are not on DL, the status would not apply.

Just as an example: IF your NRT-LAX allowance is 3 bags (2 + 1 as a Silver), your allowance will remain 3 for all segments on DL. If there is a non-DL segment, your allowance will be 2 for that segment.

Are you sure of this? I agree that DL's rule will govern with the first flight be marketed by DL. However for the portions that are domestic only, domestic rules will prevail. In general international is more restrictive then domestic so it shouldn't be a problem most times. However DL rules are clearly based on if you're flying domestic/international. DL rules will apply, but those rules are clear that you get different amount of bags if you're domestic/international. Just as if you fly Business on outbound and coach return. You're still subject to the 1st carriers rules, but the rules have a waiver for class of service. You no longer qualify for the waiver on the return.

I've done some searching and can't find an authoritative answer. However, most hits I find agree with this. If someone has a better idea please post.

Hi all,

A quick one, please.
US Multi-city trip, layover 24h+
1x $30 for 1st bag or 2x $30?

5 DL4836 K 27MAR 5 TYSMSP HK1 0636 0810 *1A/E*
6 DL3505 T 28MAR 6 MSPGRR HK1 1328 1551 *1A/E*

Thank you!

You say “layover” and “multi-city” which is a little confusing. I’m presuming you mean “multi-city” as a nearly 30 hour layover wouldn’t be returned as a bookable option on an international ticket, never mind a domestic one, not even by a third party site offering some crazy stuff/connections.

So if you do mean multi-city which you booked as TYS-MSP and then MSP-GRR as separate city pairs, you will pay the checked bag fee(s) for at check-in for TYS-MSP and then again the next day at check-in for MSP-GRR.

Two. You pay each time you must check bag in. Any stop/connection over 24hrs requires checking in again.