Originally Posted by
Gardyloo
This is the best and most accurate answer. If the BRU check-in people can see the onward reservation, they may be able to include those flights on the bag tag. Or, they may have a strict policy NOT to do so. I've had it go both ways.
Because the two reservations are more than just your name. They include separate tariff and tax conditions, change and cancellation rules, fare classes, and many more types of data that can't be "merged." The counter people can put a comment or notation on the "PNR" (passenger name record - the actual "reservation") for the first flight that mentions the onward reservation/PNR, but they can't merge them.
Iberia have an earlier flight on that day. You might think about absorbing the change fee and moving to that flight to give you more of a cushion at MAD.
Not a way to know for sure if they could/would do it in BRU?
I checked the change fee yesterday evening. It was a whopping 157 euros to take an earlier flight. I paid 107 euros total for the round trip. It would be cheaper to cancel the whole roundtrip and just buy a new roundtrip.
Maybe they can help me out more by phone, maybe they can do it for free since it doesn't cost them anything probably.
It's just too bad I can't know *for sure* how the bags will go. I maybe could make it with the 2h5min, but it's risky. And the other option of an earlier flight leaves a 6 hour layover.
*edit: appearantly the price they show is the total price, it would cost me an extra 50 euros to have that earlier flight. Maybe I could have more luck doing it over the phone? If you tell them they can't check your bags for your following Iberia flight? The quotes from IB mainly said that the problems lie because there are also flights with AA. I'd be happy as well if they could check them to JFK(Iberia flight). I have a 2h30min layover there, but to a domestic flight. Gives me more space to recheck them there.
*edit2: for the return trip I have 2h25min layover. So need to get a domestic flight from MAD-BRU then. Would that be enough time? I see the fare change is €50 if I change 1 flight or 2 flights(weird...), but the next flight to BRU is at 16:00, and I come in from Boston at 06:20 ( now I have the 8:45 to BRU).
And what happens if I would only change the first flight, but I would miss the return flight. Would I have to pay again for them to put me on the next flight, probably so..