letsflyright

My wife and I are flying from YLW ( 6:07 am) to SEA (7:19) on AS 2493 on Mileage Plan Award travel in lat Oct/17. We will each have 2 checked bags and 1 carry on. Flight AS 2493 arrives at Gate S1A in the South Terminal
We will then be flying from SEA (11:49 am) to DFW (flight 2413) on AA Award travel tickets. We will need to retrieve our luggage from AS 2493( see above) and get them to Terminal D so they can get on the flight to DFW (2423) which usually departs from Gates D8 or D9. Is there any easy way to get our luggage transferred from the South Terminal to the D Terminal for check in and baggage handling with different carriers involved ( AS to AA). I hate the thought of lugging the baggage on the trains fro South to D
Any help/suggestions would be appreciated
Thank you

flytoeat

You should be able to re-check right after you go through CBP, and before you take the train to D terminal. The bag should be able to be tagged in Kelowna to DFW.

channa

If this is one ticket all the way through, the bags will be tagged all the way through. Just drop them off at recheck after you clear customs in SEA.

If this is not one ticket all the way through (why isn't it?), ask AS in YLW to tag them for the AA flight (they usually do this, though they don't have to), and show them the BP or ticket receipt for your onward flight. This will be a manual operation by the staff in YLW, so be sure to double check the tag to make sure it's accurate.

If they do this, you're good, and you can drop the bags after you clear customs in SEA.

ashill

From what you're describing, you're on an AS award ticket (using AS miles?) from YLW-SEA and an AA award ticket (using AA miles?) from SEA-DFW. When is this? You say late Oct 2017, which is in the past.

By the rules, you would indeed have to carry the bags from the baggage claim at Customs in SEA to the AA check-in desk. You would also, by the rules, be subject to bag fees from both AS ($50/person for two bags) and AA ($60/person for two bags), unless you have bag fee waivers from both airlines. As noted, ask AS if they can tag your bags through, which should save you AA's bag fee, at the least.

Claiming bags on this connection isn't so big a deal as on a domestic or precleared connection, since you have to do it anyway for Customs. There's a landside train from Customs in S to the main terminal (really the front car of the regular train), but there is no landside train across the main terminal from international arrivals to the AA check in desk. But the walk across the airport is not so bad. With precheck, I'd go landside to the main terminal and use a security checkpoint with precheck, since there is no precheck at the Customs security checkpoint in S. (Last time I took AS 2493, there was a pretty long line at that security checkpoint; a couple wide bodies from Asia arrived just before we did.)

Flying for Fun

Seattle is my least favourite airport for international arrivals. I can't wait for the completion of the new Customs and Immigration which will put you into the main terminal. We should have proper Pre by then. I take AS 2493 quite often.

I have Nexus so it does make customs & immigration quicker but hate the security set-up. I have never seen both sides working at the same time. I usually just go landside and exercise my lungs and then clear security through TSA Pre.

I have done the reverse, checked in with AA and they interlined my luggage onto AS on a separate ticket back to YLW. The agents in YLW are pretty good as they not only do check-in but also are the gate agents and the crew that service the airplane operations. I am sure they would be happy to assist.

James

channa

AA will no longer do this. Even to a separate ticket flight on their own metal.
AS, however, still does this.

Flying for Fun

Good to know. Just another example of American's AAmazing service! I will stick with Alaska pleASe and thank you. 😉

MJMLBBtoCPH

Hi Channa! (and to others on this thread and the AS flyertalk community). My apologies for reviving this old thread. But, I was hoping to get some additional clarification.

I have an AS award ticket Thursday (Dec 13) using AS miles in which the first leg is on AA from IAH to DFW, and the second leg is on AS from DFW to PDX. I have the AA Citi Platinum Card (with checked bag benefits).

I usually never check bags (I'm not a super expert here), but I want to check a bag so I can take my loot from Specs Liquor and Central Market back to Oregon. Does the credit card benefit extend to AA flights on AS Award tickets? Do I just call up AA and add my Aadvantage number to the ticket?

Thanks!

MJMLBBtoCPH

I found the below language on American's website, which suggests that if American "operated" the flight, then AA credit cardholders can check the bag, regardless of whether it was an non-AA award ticket or AA award ticket. Has anyone had experience with this?

https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/...age-policy.jsp
1st checked bag is complimentary for:

• Eligible AAdvantageŽ AviatorŽ and CitiŽ / AAdvantageŽ cardmembers (on domestic American Airlines operated itineraries)

Flying for Fun

I recently flew an AS marketed, AA operated codeshare flight AS6543. While not an award, AA wanted to charge a baggage fee. I have the Citi AA World Elite card. Once the AA agent changed the FF# from AS to AA the baggage fee waiver kicked in and we moved from boarding group 6 to 4. My AS Elite status also allowed me to pick MCE seats for no charge.

James

MJMLBBtoCPH

Thanks for the heads up!