livious

He/she was probably just pissed that the 4U flights don't offer the normal *A lounge benefits.

hawklx

This might be a long shot.

I am planning to buy separate tickets:

• SK LHR-(SVG)-OSL
• TK OSL-IST-PVG

My questions are:

1. Would I be able to through check my luggages all the way to PVG when checking in with SK with LHR? I understand it should be ok for simplier routing, but as mine involves 3/4 flights would it be tricky?
2. The stop at SVG is only 40 mins. Is it very risky for my bags to make the connection? I could fly direct SK LHR-OSL but also contemplating adding a stop in SVG to extract some extra miles...
3. I need to check in 2 pieces of luggages ( 1 piece free as *G). The TK flights allow 30kg baggage while SAS GO allows 23kg. Assuming I can through check the luggages, when I check in with SK would the 23kg cap apply?

UltraRant

To answer your questions as good as I can:

- You probably wouldn't be able to check your luggage all the way from LHR to PVG. I've only experienced a few times within *A that staff was able (or willing) to check luggage from two different tickets all the way through.
- You probably won't make a 40 minute connection in SVG. First of all, you have to go through pass port control and then you have to pick up your bag for the domestic flight in Norway and check it in again. Then you have to go through security again and run to your gate. I wouldn't bet on making the connection. Isn't there an option with a bit more time in SVG?
- If you check in with SK on a flight with SK, then the SK rules count for your baggage, even if other carriers have bigger allowances. I've once been told that I should always look for the carrier with the least allowance in the booking and use that one as the default for the trip.

I hope this helps.

ksu

UltraRant has already given you an excellent answer, but to add to his:

Remember that ALL luggage from an international flight checked on to a domestic Norwegian flight still has to be picked up and custom cleared at the Norwegian point of entry (as UltraRant describes). This does not apply for INT-INT connections, but as you (if you were able to check the luggage through) have an INT-DOM-INT connection (something probably quite rare in Norway!) I would expect your luggage to be treated as other luggage connecting to domestic flights.

Now 40 minutes is sufficient for INT-DOM connections at Norwegian airports except OSL and if your final destination were in Norway, I would have no hesitation recommending you to book this. Worst vase, you would have to forget the luggage at SVG, and have it delivered the nest day, but as you are connecting at OSL to a different airine, this is simply too risky to contemplate. Guaranteed through check.in would reduce the risk of course.

IMHO the extra points for OSL-SVG is simply not worth the risk

hawklx

Thanks UltraRant and ksu. I read it here one needs to recheck luggage at OSL for INT-DOM but I didn't know this was a countrywide policy.

Regarding through checking baggages, I have called both SK and TK, and as expected, got useless answers. In my two and only experience I have through checked LHR-FRA-PVG on seperate PNRs where LHR-FRA is on LH and FRA-PVG is on CA with no problem at all, so thought this was standard *A practice.

There is another LHR-SVG-OSL which has 1 hour connection. But the trouble is it reduces my time at OSL for the TK flight to slightly over 1 hour...I can't really risking my luggages so I will just fly LHR-OSL direct on an earlier flight and leave plenty of time at OSL (>5 hours!!) to recheck bags and enjoy the "fine" lounge(s)


By the way, why does SK sell LHR-SVG-OSL with 40 mins connection? If one needs to recheck bags and clear security in SVG this looks to me like asking for trouble. I have only been to SVG once, and though admittedly it is a very small airport, 40 mins is just dancing on very thin ice...

ksu

This is certainly a nationwide policy, but other airports than Oslo are far more rarely used for INT/DOM connections (except for UK connections, especially ABZ). The logic is probably that Norway has a very high density of airports, and to have customs officers to meet each and every domestic flight would be prohibitively expensive! This policy is set to change, at least at OSL.

40 minutes is sufficient for connections INT-DOM at SVG. Remember, if you are on a through connection, SK knows that you are there, and they are responsible for getting you to your final ticketed destination. If the incoming flight is late, they will do one of three (as well as having the GA/FA tell you to hurry):

1. Hold the connecting flight (happens quite often, especially if the last flight of the day)
2. Rebook you to the next flight. SVG-OSL is one of the densest routes in Europe, so usually the next flight is an hour later
3. Tell you to run to the gate without the luggage and report it missing at final destination, and have it delivered the next day (quite reliable, often done for last flight of the day, especially on Saturdays).

The risk is quite low for not getting oneself and luggage onto alternative 1 or 2, so I would certainly risk it when destination is in Norway, but not with same-day connection to another airline

hawklx

Thanks for the explanation. It actually makes sense. I guess I was thinking from UK's perspective. Certainly Norway is very different geographically with the much lower population density and larger number of (albeit small) airports.

Yearh if my final destination was OSL then I wouldn't worry a thing, but with a tight conncetion onto TK S/H and then L/H, it is simply too risky for a few hundred extra status miles.

Out of interest I checked flightstat and counted 12 SK and 7 DY SVG-OSL flights on 09/01!

ectuohy

Can guest one person into the CPH lounge on 22 January from 07.30-11.00.

avioshunter

Did anybody else come across the SAS EuroBonus/Budget competition that was run earlier in the month? http://eurobonus.budgettravelpromotion.co.uk/

I entered because I thought that it would get me 1,000 free points. No sign of them as of yet. Has anybody else had any luck?

gojko88

SAS targeted advertising:

CPH-Flyer

Ups, but I guess the Google words would be related... Though they should kind of look in to that at Google.... Unfortunate combination.

UltraRant

Well, in the good old days you were almost guaranteed to get a similar experience on their Dash8, which is comparable to this aircraft type: it saved you just a long flight into Taiwan first...

Have you also entered a picture with a Budget rental car? It seems that that is a prerequisite. And I can imagine that it takes a bit of time to get through all the pictures before giving the points...
Otherwise you can try to contact Budget or EuroBonus.

livious

Anyone have any experience connecting with AA/US? Tried this for the first time flying ARN-ORD-PHX and was less than impressed. No option to select a seat our US flight, so we got stuck in the last row of an A321...no chance to recline and right by the lav. The also managed to put one of the kids in the middle seat opposite the aisle from us despite booking together (although we sorted this out on board). The short transfer at ORD was a mess as the bags took 30 minutes to arrive, which negated the fact that there were no lines at immigration. Bags with priority tags came sporatically, with ours coming out near the end. US/AA staff managed to not load any of the bags from Stockholm, so there were a number of Swedes at the service center in PHX. Despite the bags arriving on the next flight (20:15), the service center made it clear that they would not deliver the bags after 22:00 and we would get them tomorrow. The contact info we were given was a useless automated response, so we had. no idea when the bags would arrive. and nobody contacted us. We eventually heard a car pull up at 16:00, but the driver did not bother to knock or ring. It literally was a guy in a beaten up pick up truck with the luggage tossed in the back...who did not want to see the paperwork or have us sign anything. I suspect that he was just going to drop the bags at the door and leave. Quite strange and unprofessional.

I am no fan of United, but will not be keen to use the US/AA connections in the future.

GUWonder

When my itineraries cross airlines like this, I try to get the operating airlines' PNRs and update seats manually in each of the records. Otherwise the risk of getting the worst seats on the interline downstream flights rise substantially -- more so if the airline checking you in can't issue or doesn't issue boarding passes for all the connecting flights too.

In the US, UA and DL also often just drop the bags at the door of houses, sometimes without even knocking or ringing the gate/bell. They contract out these things to get the bag to the doors/hotels; and sometimes (actually very often) multiple airlines at a given airport use the same contractor for these deliveries and so there is no noticeable difference between the carriers in this regard.

livious

Oddly enough, this was the first time that I have had delayed baggage in the US. Scary to see that many airlines handle the delivery of delayed bags in such a poor manner. I am still trying to figure out what took so long, given that the online status showed that the status of the bags was "closed" at 10:00. I can understand if we were last on the delivery route, but the pick up truck that delivered the bags could not hold more than 6 bags