zakman

Hey,

I'm booking an AA flight that's YYZ-LGA-JFK-LHR-AUH and planning to add an EY award ticket to KHI at the end. My incoming BA codeshare flight from LHR lands at 8:35 pm and the KHI flight is at 11:15 pm.

I understand AA won't interline my checked bag through to KHI because EY isn't a OW carrier. How long will it take to pick it up and re-clear immigration and security?

Thanks!

zakman

C'mon, surely someone here has picked up bags in AUH before

edy4eva

I thought you'd be able to check through from JFK provided the TA flight is on AA metal.

zakman

The TA flight IS on AA metal, but they don't interline bags on separate tickets anymore unless the connecting carrier is OW. The AA booking agent confirmed this on the phone yesterday when I was buying the ticket.

m0hamed

AA does interline to EY. See http://flyerguide.com/Interline_Tick...gs_and_BPs_(AA)

There is no restriction for OW members to only interline to OW, in fact most airlines interline far beyond their alliance.

SeeBuyFly

Irrelevant. AA has interline agreements with most carriers; however, most OW carriers including AA will not interline bags IF there are two separate tickets, unless it is OW to OW. This has something to do with collecting multiple checked bag fees.

Now AA has a special relationship with EY and that may be an unpublished exception. But the stated policy is what the OP has correctly described.

zakman

Precisely. So, has ANYONE on this forum ever had to pick up bags and re-clear security? Would I need to go through immigration again?

edy4eva

If you must then after clearing immigration and collecting baggage, you'll need to clear customs, then proceed to check in, then clear immigration, then security (which is the EXACT same security point for transit passengers, but the entry point is different).

But then you may not need to do that, as you could proceed to the Etihad transit desk just before transit security and explain the situation. EY may be able to locate your bags, tag them for you while you wait without having to go through immigration/customs.

Going through security is mandatory.

EtihadHelp

Hi Zahman, if it's in one ticket, you can ask the check-in counter staff to transfer the baggage to your final destination and they will be able to advise you accordingly. *ES

SeeBuyFly

This kind of thoughtless response makes the whole company look bad.

SeeBuyFly

I have not done this at AUH, but I have done this elsewhere, and I see that you are eager for responses.

At 99.999% of the world's airports you will have to pass immigration (which may need a visa depending on your nationality) to get to where you collect your luggage. You will then have to recheck it and pass immigration and security. You have asked how long it will take, but it is not reasonable to expect an answer; it depends on how many people there are in line, which depends on time of day and many random factors. I simply do not believe you will be able to persuade any staff member to go and get your luggage for you; there are too many legal red flags there.

As you probably know, it is not smart to buy two separate tickets. Everyone always assumes that things will happen like clockwork, but that is not always so. If your incoming flight is late and you have a single ticket, it's the airline's problem. If you have separate tickets, it's your problem. As far as EY is concerned, you are starting in AUH and missed your flight.

Combined with the need to collect and recheck your luggage, it would not be wise to allow less than 6 hours for the transfer. Sure you may arrive on time and breeze through immigration and luggage collection and check-in and security, and find yourself with hours to kill. But then again, you may not.

Or you may get lucky and find someone at AA during check-in who will send your bags through to the final destination. Certainly you should plead your case, pointing out EY's special relationship with AA. But don't hold your breath.

zakman

Thank you. I guess I needed to hear that before deciding not to take any bags. It's made more complicated by the fact that my itinerary includes YYZ-LGA-JFK which means I can't rely on the goodwill of the agent at my departure point- I'd have to risk leaving my bag in NYC if the agent in JFK said no. If my flight from LHR arrives late for any reason, that's just asking for trouble when connecting. Carry-on it is, then.

The choice of the tickets was dictated by the fact that I have to complete an AA challenge by May, which means I have to travel on AA/BA metal as far as possible. Adding KHI on that final leg would have almost doubled the cost of the ticket, and I had plenty of EY points to burn, so I figured I'd give it a shot. Who needs a checked bag anyway?

On a final note- do you have any idea if EY would check through a bag from AUH to JFK? Or do they have the same policy as AA?

edy4eva

This is offered as a service at a lot of airports. I have been even offered this in DXB, BEY, TIP, KHI, and DAM. At DXB you could even pre-purchase the service. I've seen scores of passengers queuing up to pay for it as they were transiting from FZ to EK but didn't have the right citizenship/visa to clear UAE immigration. I would expect AUH has a similar setup.

6 hours would be an overkill for AUH. Sure we have the issue of missing connections but I reckon the whole process can be completed in less than 1 hour for AUH with spare time! But a lot of factors need to align properly. 3 hours will be more than adequate.

zakman

Just to provide an update for anyone who was curious about this topic, while sitting in AUH and waiting for my connection.

After landing I went straight to the EY Desk in Terminal 1 for my connecting boarding pass. I asked them what would have happened if I had checked my bag in at JFK, to AUH.

He informed me that all I would have needed to do was inform the Transfer Desk nearby and if there was a minimum of 1 hour for my connection, they would transfer the bag themselves, even if it was on a separate ticket. I would not have needed to clear immigration and check in again.

I'm not sure if that's accurate, and it still won't help you if your inbound leg to AUH is delayed, but it seems it's at least theoretically possible.

He also informed me that I would be able to check a bag straight through to JFK on my return leg, even if I was on 2 tickets, as long as I made sure to inform the check in desk at KHI about the final destination. I might just try that in a few weeks

edy4eva

Thanks for confirming my views/experience. As for checking through on the way back, EY will do it without question.