Originally Posted by
lookatthenameyo
So I'm in a bit of a conundrum here. I got an AI award ticket thru TK before the devaluation from SFO to MAA, and booked a separate (UA award) ticket from AUS to SFO with UA. The current itinerary has a gap of 4 hrs 15 mins between the UA flight landing and the first AI flight departing. Should I be good on having UA interline bags? Could I ask them before over the phone to link the two so the agent at AUS knows? Or would it be better to book the morning flight out of AUS (pretty much 13 hours in SFO)? The only apprehension with the latter is that it is far more expensive and it might be too overkill, along with the greater than 12 hour rule for UA. What would you recommend?
There’s no way to link them, so there’s point in calling. A 4h15m connection would be plenty of time in most situations. A 13 hour connection is overkill and, as you point out, prevents them from being able to check through anyway.
If you’re not comfortable with the 4h15m, and the next earliest nonstop flight gives you a 13-hour gap, then you need to look at one-stop itineraries to get you to SFO. Personally, I’d stick with your existing ticket and just keep an eye on operations on the day of your flight, and it a massive delay looks like a possibility, I’d get to the airport early and ask about being rerouted.