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UA will not Short Check bags (but some loopholes)

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Old Nov 25, 2016, 11:53 am
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Last edit by: WineCountryUA
"Short Checking" -- the practice of checking bags to a location short of your travel destination is no longer permitted by UA (and many airlines). It is believed one reason for this is to discourage "Hidden City Ticketing."

There are a couple of exceptions / loopholes
-- Over nights in route stays -- you are overnight at a connecting city.
Long layover/connection check through baggage question (consolidated) (>12 hours)
UA policy on connecting bags requiring recheck

-- Port of entry for USA arrivals
At most USA port of entries, you will have clear customs and you then can exit with your baggage (or recheck).
This does not work at IAD mid-field arrivals since must clear TSA to exit.
Also PreClearance airports (where you clear immigration and customs at the departure international city -- such as most Canada-USA flights and DUB and some Caribbean)

Originally Posted by Lux Flyer
Default time is 12 hours. A small number of individual stations are enabled to allow bags to be checked thru for connections greater than 12 hours. Maybe we can build a list based on people's experiences for certain connection points.

I know FCO is up to 16 hours. SIN, HND, FRA, MUC, ZRH, BRU should all allow up to 24 hours.
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UA will not Short Check bags (but some loopholes)

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Old Jul 23, 2008, 9:05 am
  #1  
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UA will not Short Check bags (but some loopholes)

Wirelessly posted (Blackberry 8800: Opera/9.50 (J2ME/MIDP; Opera Mini/4.1.11355/546; U; en))

Was told by the sup in sfo today that you cannot short check bags anymore. A liability risk for united as you xan get to your final destination and say you never wanted you bag to be short checked. I think its total crap. Now I have to store my bag in sfo airport for another day and a half, pay the fee and if my incoming flight is delayed run a risk of not being able to check it in.
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Old Jul 23, 2008, 9:08 am
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Over the years, I've been given all sorts of excuses by a variety of US airlines on why they can't short-check bags. If they want to short-check the bag and think about it some, they can .... even if it requires handwriting the tag or toying with bookings.
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Old Jul 23, 2008, 9:12 am
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GAs and sups make up stories all the time when either don't want to do something or don't know how to. I've got a classic case of "we can't check bags through to LH anymore" floating around FT somewhere. I was told an entire story about new security regulations, special processes at LHR to assist me with the recheck, etc. etc. All totally bogus. They just make rules up as they go.
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Old Jul 23, 2008, 9:15 am
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Was that no short check UA to UA, or UA to OA?
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Old Jul 23, 2008, 9:26 am
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Originally Posted by Eastbay1K
Was that no short check UA to UA, or UA to OA?
I can't speak for the OP's circumstances, but for mine it includes both UA to UA and UA to OA.

Last edited by GUWonder; Jul 23, 2008 at 9:32 am
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Old Jul 23, 2008, 9:32 am
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Ok, I'll be the one to play the naive role.

What do you mean by short checking of bags?
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Old Jul 23, 2008, 9:38 am
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Originally Posted by MrAOK
What do you mean by short checking of bags?
You're flying A-> B -> C, with a 3 hour layover in B.
You check a bag A -> B.
That is short checking.
IMO, the OP reflecting that this is now "officially" not doable is simply a case of an individual in SFO not wanting to do something.
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Old Jul 23, 2008, 9:38 am
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I've been told as plausible a reason as any other: To prevent "Point beyond" ticketing.

Specific scenario was SFO-IAD-KWI-AUH. UA couldn't interline my bag through to AUH. However, a bag pick in KWI results in a obtaining a VISA ($). To avoid this, I asked to pick my bag in IAD so I could take as carry-on and gate check in KWI.

The response: "Well I don't think you bought a 9-thousand dollar ticket just to get to Washington. No problem." Seems logical.

Last edited by climmy; Jul 23, 2008 at 9:48 am
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Old Jul 23, 2008, 9:46 am
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Originally Posted by climmy
I've been told as plausible a reason as any other: To prevent "Point beyond" ticketing.
That is clearly one of the reasons that a given Agent would not do a short check.
Throw away ticketing is the same.
Dave
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Old Jul 23, 2008, 10:29 am
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What is the purpose of short checking?
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Old Jul 23, 2008, 12:27 pm
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Originally Posted by 1KChinito
What is the purpose of short checking?
Just a few possibilities... there are others:
  • If you have a long layover and want to have access to your bag.
  • If you don't want to deal with a carryon because you know the first flight of an itin will be full, but you don't want to wait at baggage claim at your final destination.
  • If you are doing throw away ticketing
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Old Jul 23, 2008, 1:07 pm
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UA's Contract of Carriage prohibits this. If they informally allowed it before, that was lagniappe (now in short supply in the aviation industry).
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Old Jul 23, 2008, 1:11 pm
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Originally Posted by climmy
I've been told as plausible a reason as any other: To prevent "Point beyond" ticketing.

Specific scenario was SFO-IAD-KWI-AUH. UA couldn't interline my bag through to AUH. However, a bag pick in KWI results in a obtaining a VISA ($). To avoid this, I asked to pick my bag in IAD so I could take as carry-on and gate check in KWI.

The response: "Well I don't think you bought a 9-thousand dollar ticket just to get to Washington. No problem." Seems logical.
That makes sense to me.
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Old Jul 23, 2008, 1:28 pm
  #14  
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Originally Posted by Explore
UA's Contract of Carriage prohibits this. If they informally allowed it before, that was lagniappe (now in short supply in the aviation industry).
And here it is on page 24 of the Contract of Carriage:

C) BAGGAGE WILL NOT BE CHECKED:
I) TO A POINT THAT IS NOT ON THE PASSENGER'S ROUTING.
II) BEYOND THE PASSENGER'S NEXT POINT OF STOPOVER OR, IF THERE
IS NO STOPOVER, BEYOND THE FINAL DESTINATION DESIGNATED ON THE TICKET.
III) BEYOND A POINT AT WHICH THE PASSENGER WANTS TO RECLAIM THE
BAGGAGE OR ANY PORTION THEREOF.
IV) BEYOND THE POINT TO WHICH ALL APPLICABLE CHARGES HAVE BEEN
PAID.
V) BEYOND A POINT AT WHICH THE PASSENGER IS TO TRANSFER TO A
CONNECTING FLIGHT, IF THAT FLIGHT IS SCHEDULED TO DEPART FROM AN
AIRPORT DIFFERENT FROM THE ONE AT WHICH THE PASSENGER IS SCHEDULED TO
ARRIVE.
VI) TO A POINT WHICH IS INTERMEDIATE TO THE PASSENGER'S NEXT
POINT OF STOPOVER, OR IF NONE, INTERMEDIATE TO THE FINAL DESTINATION.
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Old Jul 23, 2008, 1:40 pm
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Originally Posted by g_leyser
Just a few possibilities... there are others:
  • If you have a long layover and want to have access to your bag.
  • If you don't want to deal with a carryon because you know the first flight of an itin will be full, but you don't want to wait at baggage claim at your final destination.
  • If you are doing throw away ticketing
Even for rather short layovers, I use short-checking of bags.

If I have items I don't want to take with me on my entire trip but want to drop off for someone else or for myself at an intermediate point before heading on to my ticketed stop/destination, then I do this. If I want to swap attire/gear used in one locality for fresh attire/gear for a different environment, then I do this -- this includes dropping off my laundry/dry cleaning.
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