Originally Posted by
HNLbasedFlyer
The marketing carrier is the carrier that sold the ticket. HA is the operating carrier. This is regardless if your ticket says a HA or UA flight number - if the ticket stock is 016 then UA is the marketing carrier.
There seems to be some confusion about the definition of the "marketing carrier" with respect to baggage fees:
(1) Is it the airline whose ticket number/stock was used? (UA in the OP's case.)
(2) Or is it the airline whose code and flight number were used? (HA in the OP's case.)
An answer lies in the
DOT FAQ on Rule #2, which is available here:
http://airconsumer.dot.gov/rules/rules.htm
35. How is the rule applied to domestic single-ticket interline and code-share itineraries?
Example 2 (domestic interline): Passenger books a ticket from Miami, with a stopover in Washington, continuing to New York, and returning to Miami via New York. The ticket indicates the operating carrier’s code and flight number for each segment. Carrier A operates the Miami-Washington and New York-Miami segments, and Carrier B operates the Washington-New York segment. The baggage allowances and fees of Carrier A, the first operating carrier, apply throughout the itinerary.
Example 3 (domestic code-share): As in example 2, Carrier A operates the Miami-Washington and New York-Miami segments, and Carrier B operates the Washington-New York segment. However, Carrier B’s code and flight number are shown on the ticket for the Miami-Washington and Washington-New Yorksegments, and Carrier A’s code and flight number are shown for the New York-Miami segment. Because the first flight is a code-share and Carrier B is the marketing carrier for that flight, Carrier B will determine the baggage allowances and fees that apply throughout the passenger’s itinerary.
Because the OP's ticket shows HA's code and flight number as the
first operating carrier, it is clear that the DOT considers HA to be the marketing carrier for the first segment, and HA's baggage rules apply. So,
Phoenixtinct's analysis is correct, and HA violated DOT regulations by collecting UA's baggage fees in this case.
OP, hope this information helps you to make things right!