Extra charge for retrieving luggage mid way
May 23, 2016, 8:24 am
#1
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Extra charge for retrieving luggage mid way
Was told by AF check-in staff, that they now charge 250 euro for checking in the luggage only to CDG when flying on a connecting itinerary.
Any experience on this? I asked to see the conditions of carriage, but none where provided to back the new fee.
Considering the often ridiculous pricing for flights to CDG, I can understand that a lot of people drop the last segment, but how they can justify the extra charge for the luggage only?
Any experience on this? I asked to see the conditions of carriage, but none where provided to back the new fee.
Considering the often ridiculous pricing for flights to CDG, I can understand that a lot of people drop the last segment, but how they can justify the extra charge for the luggage only?
May 23, 2016, 8:28 am
#2
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Yes - but the fee you were quoted has seemingly been reduced from what it was.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/air-f...stination.html
Request to mods to merge threads.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/air-f...stination.html
Request to mods to merge threads.
Originally Posted by Air France Conditions of Carriage
3.4. Flight Coupon Order of Use
(d)If the Passenger does not use all their Flight Coupons and prematurely interrupts their journey, the Passenger may be required to pay a fixed amount, specified by the Carrier when the Reservation was made, in order to be able to retrieve their Checked Baggage.
(d)If the Passenger does not use all their Flight Coupons and prematurely interrupts their journey, the Passenger may be required to pay a fixed amount, specified by the Carrier when the Reservation was made, in order to be able to retrieve their Checked Baggage.
Last edited by irishguy28; May 23, 2016 at 8:34 am
May 23, 2016, 9:08 am
#3
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By the way if your layover justifies a night in CDG they should accept to check the bag to CDG only.
It is cheaper to add a stopover (from 0 to 150 EUR in most cases).
May 24, 2016, 7:50 am
#6
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If you actually spent a night in Paris, then this of course would be no issue.
Given the greater cost of tickets that involve connecting from long-haul to long-haul at Paris - and given the airline's willingness to attract such customers by allowing free stopovers - having baggage shortchecked on a long-haul connecting itinerary will not raise the same alarm bells as it would when the passenger requesting shortchecking is booked on an additional shorthaul sector.
We all know that airlines charge less for indirect routings than they do for direct flights. If you are booked to travel to say, Hamburg, but you ask to have your bag delivered in Paris, it is highly likely that you never wanted to travel to Hamburg, and therefore do not qualify for the discount that Air France offers to customers travelling to/from Germany - instead, you should have paid the "direct" fare for Paris. You have effectively cheated Air France out of an amount that could run to the hundreds of Euro.
If you are booked to travel to Tokyo, but you ask to have your bag delivered in Paris, then even if you don't show up for that Tokyo flight (which you then lose, together with any further sectors), then you are throwing away a substantial portion of your booked travel, and you are unlikely to have "undercut" what Air France would have asked you to pay had you initially bought a ticket just to/from Paris. As such, there is no real indication here that your goal was to "game" Air France and pay a reduced fare.
May 24, 2016, 8:56 am
#8
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Indeed - and the OP appears to understand that this issue would arise most frequently on the return segment.
But there may be the case where someone wants to retrieve a checked bag at CDG for entirely genuine reasons - in order to pass something on to someone - and then to check it in again and continue on their journey (whether on an outbound or an inbound leg); however, access to your bag at CDG is prevented in such cases as per item 3.4 of the conditions of carriage without any further reference to whether the passenger continues their journey or not.
Anyone who misses a sector will have all further sectors cancelled (or at least blocked), regardless of whether a bag has been checked in or not. But most people who short-check a bag probably wanted to drop the last segment, anyway - and would not have done this on the outbound flight, because they know they have to travel on each coupon as booked, or else there is no ticket on which to travel, and the ticket was booked by themselves to get them to their chosen destination (but from a "different" origin).
While the issue of short-checking is usually associated with dropping a sector, the two topics may also occur separately, and therefore they have separate penalties!!!
Anyone who misses a sector will have all further sectors cancelled (or at least blocked), regardless of whether a bag has been checked in or not. But most people who short-check a bag probably wanted to drop the last segment, anyway - and would not have done this on the outbound flight, because they know they have to travel on each coupon as booked, or else there is no ticket on which to travel, and the ticket was booked by themselves to get them to their chosen destination (but from a "different" origin).
While the issue of short-checking is usually associated with dropping a sector, the two topics may also occur separately, and therefore they have separate penalties!!!
May 24, 2016, 11:29 am
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May 24, 2016, 12:11 pm
#10
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How long was your stopover?
If you actually spent a night in Paris, then this of course would be no issue.
Given the greater cost of tickets that involve connecting from long-haul to long-haul at Paris - and given the airline's willingness to attract such customers by allowing free stopovers - having baggage shortchecked on a long-haul connecting itinerary will not raise the same alarm bells as it would when the passenger requesting shortchecking is booked on an additional shorthaul sector.
We all know that airlines charge less for indirect routings than they do for direct flights. If you are booked to travel to say, Hamburg, but you ask to have your bag delivered in Paris, it is highly likely that you never wanted to travel to Hamburg, and therefore do not qualify for the discount that Air France offers to customers travelling to/from Germany - instead, you should have paid the "direct" fare for Paris. You have effectively cheated Air France out of an amount that could run to the hundreds of Euro.
If you are booked to travel to Tokyo, but you ask to have your bag delivered in Paris, then even if you don't show up for that Tokyo flight (which you then lose, together with any further sectors), then you are throwing away a substantial portion of your booked travel, and you are unlikely to have "undercut" what Air France would have asked you to pay had you initially bought a ticket just to/from Paris. As such, there is no real indication here that your goal was to "game" Air France and pay a reduced fare.
If you actually spent a night in Paris, then this of course would be no issue.
Given the greater cost of tickets that involve connecting from long-haul to long-haul at Paris - and given the airline's willingness to attract such customers by allowing free stopovers - having baggage shortchecked on a long-haul connecting itinerary will not raise the same alarm bells as it would when the passenger requesting shortchecking is booked on an additional shorthaul sector.
We all know that airlines charge less for indirect routings than they do for direct flights. If you are booked to travel to say, Hamburg, but you ask to have your bag delivered in Paris, it is highly likely that you never wanted to travel to Hamburg, and therefore do not qualify for the discount that Air France offers to customers travelling to/from Germany - instead, you should have paid the "direct" fare for Paris. You have effectively cheated Air France out of an amount that could run to the hundreds of Euro.
If you are booked to travel to Tokyo, but you ask to have your bag delivered in Paris, then even if you don't show up for that Tokyo flight (which you then lose, together with any further sectors), then you are throwing away a substantial portion of your booked travel, and you are unlikely to have "undercut" what Air France would have asked you to pay had you initially bought a ticket just to/from Paris. As such, there is no real indication here that your goal was to "game" Air France and pay a reduced fare.
You are right about that pax will intentionally drop their last segment in a intra-EU flight. And I believe it is the disadvantage of so far the "hidden-city" fare, can't get bags checked, right?
May 24, 2016, 12:20 pm
#11
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As there are only 1 flight to CDG-HKG per day, and AF did not permit stopover on my PE ticket fare, so my layover in CDG was 16 hrs outbound and 8 hrs inbound. They are all not overnight (YUL-CDG arrives at 6:00am connecting to HKG at around 11:00pm)
You are right about that pax will intentionally drop their last segment in a intra-EU flight. And I believe it is the disadvantage of so far the "hidden-city" fare, can't get bags checked, right?
You are right about that pax will intentionally drop their last segment in a intra-EU flight. And I believe it is the disadvantage of so far the "hidden-city" fare, can't get bags checked, right?
The "give something to someone in Paris" would normally be done via carry on unless the item is liquid, a weapon, or unusually large and heavy. There's the obvious risk that the checked bag could be lost or delayed, which would mean that the delivery at CDG could not take place and the passenger would be stuck with the item at the destination.
Does AF charge the fee for gate checked bags?
May 25, 2016, 6:35 am
#12
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For the 6 am to 11 pm connection, many people would take a day room. They might very reasonably want their checked bag for liquids and to change clothes.
The "give something to someone in Paris" would normally be done via carry on unless the item is liquid, a weapon, or unusually large and heavy. There's the obvious risk that the checked bag could be lost or delayed, which would mean that the delivery at CDG could not take place and the passenger would be stuck with the item at the destination.
Does AF charge the fee for gate checked bags?
The "give something to someone in Paris" would normally be done via carry on unless the item is liquid, a weapon, or unusually large and heavy. There's the obvious risk that the checked bag could be lost or delayed, which would mean that the delivery at CDG could not take place and the passenger would be stuck with the item at the destination.
Does AF charge the fee for gate checked bags?
May 25, 2016, 1:53 pm
#13
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No passengers volunteered to part with their big bags. No a single one. Not sure if any were confiscated as they boarded, as I was one of the first on board.
Johan
May 25, 2016, 2:30 pm
#14
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At a recent departure from AMS, an announcement was made at the gate that large carry-ons would have to travel in the hold. Pax were asked to bring the bags to the desk, and informed that no checked-baggage fee would be levied.
No passengers volunteered to part with their big bags. No a single one. Not sure if any were confiscated as they boarded, as I was one of the first on board.
Johan
No passengers volunteered to part with their big bags. No a single one. Not sure if any were confiscated as they boarded, as I was one of the first on board.
Johan
Also no idea if eventually any carryons were confiscated at boarding, but there wasn't any space issues on the overhead compartments, even with people putting their smaller items (which got the blue carryon tag) in them.
