carofly

Fellow flyertalkers,

After three very frustrating calls to the AA reservations line all with conflicting information, I am sure you guys will know better.

So, my in-laws are traveling on two different tickets with different record locators:
First leg, IND-MIA (purchased with $) second leg MIA-SCL (purchased with LAN miles), all on the same day.

I wanted to know if due to the fact that MIA-SCL allows two free checked bags it was possible to check them for free from IND. One of the agents said they could check one for free and pay $70 for the second. The other agent said they would have to pay $25 for the first and $35 for the second. The other one was not sure, but thought it would probably be $25 and $35.


This is not the only conflicting info, one person told me they would get both boarding passes in IND, another said they would have to get the second boarding passes in MIA. And two of the agents said to be in IND 90 min before the flight, while the other one said 3 hours. I phoned twice to the number for English and once for the one in Spanish, this was the worst; very rude and condescending. The woman kept on interrupting me and repeating the same information over and over like a machine. I am not a complainer, but I will complain this time.

Anyway, what do you guys think about the baggage situation?

Many thanks,
Carofly

BTW, do you guys think I can call the AAdvantage number even though I am not the one travelling? I have the impression the agents are better informed and SO much nicer.

miamigrad

As American Airlines and US Airways are still operating as distinct airlines, this question is being moved to the appropriate pre-merger airline forum.

Please note the sticky at the top of the consolidated thread which is titled Welcome to the New American Airlines Forum! PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING. With all of the changes about, it is important to know where to post, and reading that thread before posting (as the title suggests ) will help get you in the right place.

Moderator

BoeingBoy

AA's baggage rate for U.S. to S. America is 1st bag free and $70 for 2nd bag so to check from IND to SCL should be $70 for two bags.

The $25 for 1st bag and $35 for 2nd is the U.S./Caribbean fee so sounds like the agent that quoted that was only talking about IND-MIA.

This is one of the problems with using two tickets for one trip - technically you'd pay the $25/$35 rate for IND-MIA, claim and recheck the bags and pay the $70. So the agent quoting 1 free bag and $70 for the 2nd was giving you a break since both tickets were presumably on AA.

Jim

guv1976

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.601 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

"So the agent quoting 1 free bag and $70 for the 2nd was giving you a break since both tickets were presumably on AA."

Since the OP wrote that the second flight (an award flight purchased with LAN kilometers) had a checked baggage allowance of two free bags, I would presume that the MIA-SCL flight is on LAN -- not AA. But both carriers do fly that route.

carofly

Thanks, Jim. I know that those are the rates for South America, but look at the ones for Chile:

Travel to/from Chile and Peru
Number of Bags Allowed*

One personal item: No charge

One bag carry-on: No charge

For tickets purchased on or after February 14, 2013
Two bags checked. No charge

Sounds like it is two free bags, doesn't it? I am no longer sure of anything, I find the wording strange. By now I would guess the majority of the still valid reservations have been done after Feb, 14th 2013.

carofly

Everything is on AA. Forgot to mention that the last agent confirmed that indeed the allowance from MIA to SCL was two suitcases p/p. and that they would still be charged the 25/35 from IND to MIA. Who or what to believe?

mvoight

I would expect the agent at check-in to
1. Issue boarding passes for both flights
2. Check the bags all of the way through
3. Allow the 2 free bags per passenger permitted to Chile

Of course, what actually happens may not match my expectations

carofly

Well, I decided to call today again; initially to the AAdvantage number, but they transferred me, so I have no idea where I ended up. The agent said basically the same as mvoight, which is what I have expected from the beginning. The only thing he wasn't sure about were the boarding passes.
We'll see what happens at the airport, I'll post an update. Thanks to all.

869

Anything a phone agent tells you prior to checking the bags at IND is irrelevant. You are going to get stuck with the airport's understanding of the fees so just be polite and make your case once you arrive to check-in. I agree with mvoight, but stranger things have happened.

mvoight

Boarding passes, since they are both AA flights, should be the easiest question to answer You could even print them from home. So, there should be no question if you do it with an AA agent at the airport.

PainCorp

The problem is there are two records, but it should still qualify for the "Most Significant Carrier" rule when checking bags.

carofly

Yup, like you said. All in 5 minutes, not a single question or problem. Excellent service in IND. Gotta wonder what's up with the phone agents.

Thanks to all.