Originally Posted by
thesaints
Long story short:
Flying LAX-LHR on DL
I'll be taking a BA flight to FCO a few hours later (separate ticket)
Will DL be able to tag my checked baggage to its final destination in LAX, or will I have to go through immigration, collect and ferry baggage between terminals, and go through security again ?
DL does not check bags through to BA. So yes, you have to go through immigration, collect bags, and recheck them. You'd have to go through security anyways.
However, I'd really suggest you just fly with carry-on only. That way you can just go through flight connections (taking the airside bus to Terminal 5 I suppose) and clear security there.
Baggage can take anywhere from 30min-4hours (or ++) based on some reports on the BA forum so I personally wouldn't want to do deal with the hassle of picking it up at Terminal 3, then taking the train landside to Terminal 5 and then checking it there.
If you can have the second legs on KL/AF and fly through AMS or CDG the through-checking shouldn't be a problem.