AA Qatar Award buyer beware (ensure baggage allowance)
Jul 29, 2023, 6:14 pm
#182
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: KHOU/KIAH
Programs: AA EXP | Marriott LT Plat | Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 11,551
That was pretty much all I asked, you'll see I had to repeat my request twice. I was on the line with an ExP agent at the same time, since Twitter doesn't always get a quick reply, and they could see the Twitter agent doing their thing in my reservation. Here's the Twitter transcript:
shellyphl: Hello, my business class award ticket XXXXXX does not have a checked baggage allowance endorsement section on the confirmation. A Qatar Airways agent confirms that there's not checked baggage allowance attached to my ticket. Can you re-issue the ticket with the correct checked baggage allowance endorsements added?
AA Twitter: From the looks of things, there aren't any free checked bags included in your reservation. We've double-checked on the weight restriction, and you're allowed 40kgs.
s: So I do have an allowance of 40 kgs of checked baggage?
s: I can't find that reflected on my confirmation, only an allowance of 2 carry on bags.
AA: That's correct, and keep in mind any corresponding charges will be applicable.
s: I'm not clear on what you're telling me. Do I have a free checked baggage allowance of 40 kgs or will I be charged for checked baggage? It does not make sense that a business class ticket doesn't include baggage. During check out on the AA website it listed 2 free checked bags but that isn't reflected in my confirmation email.
s: I'd like my itinerary to be re-ticketed with the correct baggage allowance endorsement attached.
AA: We've had the ticket reissued showing the weight allowance. A quick refresh of the app will show this update.
s: Thank you, I appreciate the help.
s: I can confirm the app shows this update. Once again, I very much appreciate the help.
AA: You're very welcome!
shellyphl: Hello, my business class award ticket XXXXXX does not have a checked baggage allowance endorsement section on the confirmation. A Qatar Airways agent confirms that there's not checked baggage allowance attached to my ticket. Can you re-issue the ticket with the correct checked baggage allowance endorsements added?
AA Twitter: From the looks of things, there aren't any free checked bags included in your reservation. We've double-checked on the weight restriction, and you're allowed 40kgs.
s: So I do have an allowance of 40 kgs of checked baggage?
s: I can't find that reflected on my confirmation, only an allowance of 2 carry on bags.
AA: That's correct, and keep in mind any corresponding charges will be applicable.
s: I'm not clear on what you're telling me. Do I have a free checked baggage allowance of 40 kgs or will I be charged for checked baggage? It does not make sense that a business class ticket doesn't include baggage. During check out on the AA website it listed 2 free checked bags but that isn't reflected in my confirmation email.
s: I'd like my itinerary to be re-ticketed with the correct baggage allowance endorsement attached.
AA: We've had the ticket reissued showing the weight allowance. A quick refresh of the app will show this update.
s: Thank you, I appreciate the help.
s: I can confirm the app shows this update. Once again, I very much appreciate the help.
AA: You're very welcome!
Jul 29, 2023, 6:15 pm
#183
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: PHL
Programs: AA ExP, DL, HH Diamond, WoH Globalist
Posts: 60
Yes, try that number if you don't have a status line to call. Be sure to ask them to involve a OW liaison if they don't proactively loop one in. I'd suggest trying Twitter too.
Jul 29, 2023, 6:56 pm
#184
Join Date: Sep 2021
Posts: 44
That clearly shows that you have an entitlement of 25Kg checked baggage allowance plus a carry on allowance of 1 piece of max 7Kg
You are not limited by number of pieces - you could have any number of bags , just that ylou are limited to a total weight of 25Kg
There are 2 colums,one for the Male to Doha flight and one for Doha to Athens flight - each has the same allowance
You are not limited by number of pieces - you could have any number of bags , just that ylou are limited to a total weight of 25Kg
There are 2 colums,one for the Male to Doha flight and one for Doha to Athens flight - each has the same allowance
Jul 30, 2023, 5:31 am
#185
Join Date: May 2014
Location: LAX | BUR
Posts: 37
This has been such a nightmare. Luckily I still have 4 months to figure this out.
For dp purposes here’s some background: I have 3 separate reservations for AA award tix in QR. first one has 2 J tickets and originates in the US. Put in on hold in January and called to finalize cause I kept getting an error. This one showed luggage allowance. The other 2 reservations have 1 F (MLE-DOH) and J (doh-mad) tickets each. I booked them individually from each of our accounts cause neither of us had enough points to book both. We booked them online this time in April. Neither one of our tickets showed baggage allowance. QR confirmed they didn’t see any. So AA Twitter team reissued our tickets. I was surprised they did it so quickly. I only requested it with a brief explanation and it was done. However, it just could not have been this easy of course. I get a confirmation email for my husband’s ticket with the new ticket number. I go into QR and I see the luggage allowance now. I never get a confirmation for mine. QR still showed the old ticket number. Waited some time, re entered locator number. Still not working. AA confirms there’s a new ticket number but QR just can’t see it. So now we have gone from a baggage issue to something more. Talked to several people from both sides and each would tell me to have the other one fix it. Someone at AA finally understood what I was saying and got oneworld involved. Ticket gets reissued again and I receive email confirmation but QR still sees the old number. The weird thing too is when I look at my AA reservation on desktop, it will tell me that ticket was issues in April, not the new date. But before opening the reservation, it will show the correct date. So it still hasn’t been figured out! Hoping they can soon cause this is stressful lol at least oneworld is looking into it and they have notes in my account that they continue to communicate amongst the three (AA, QR, oneworld). On top of it all, just a few days there was an equipment swap on the DOH-MAD leg.
For dp purposes here’s some background: I have 3 separate reservations for AA award tix in QR. first one has 2 J tickets and originates in the US. Put in on hold in January and called to finalize cause I kept getting an error. This one showed luggage allowance. The other 2 reservations have 1 F (MLE-DOH) and J (doh-mad) tickets each. I booked them individually from each of our accounts cause neither of us had enough points to book both. We booked them online this time in April. Neither one of our tickets showed baggage allowance. QR confirmed they didn’t see any. So AA Twitter team reissued our tickets. I was surprised they did it so quickly. I only requested it with a brief explanation and it was done. However, it just could not have been this easy of course. I get a confirmation email for my husband’s ticket with the new ticket number. I go into QR and I see the luggage allowance now. I never get a confirmation for mine. QR still showed the old ticket number. Waited some time, re entered locator number. Still not working. AA confirms there’s a new ticket number but QR just can’t see it. So now we have gone from a baggage issue to something more. Talked to several people from both sides and each would tell me to have the other one fix it. Someone at AA finally understood what I was saying and got oneworld involved. Ticket gets reissued again and I receive email confirmation but QR still sees the old number. The weird thing too is when I look at my AA reservation on desktop, it will tell me that ticket was issues in April, not the new date. But before opening the reservation, it will show the correct date. So it still hasn’t been figured out! Hoping they can soon cause this is stressful lol at least oneworld is looking into it and they have notes in my account that they continue to communicate amongst the three (AA, QR, oneworld). On top of it all, just a few days there was an equipment swap on the DOH-MAD leg.
Aug 4, 2023, 5:11 pm
#186
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 1999
Posts: 11,502
Called back and finally got a sup, who said she checked with the their rate desk, the QR website, OW desk - all stating/showing the standard 2 bags in J-class.
I shared with her all the experiences, reports from this thread (not mentioned FT specifically) and pointed out that bag allowance needed to be added/ticket issued manually by OW. She then agreed to get back to the OW desk and sure enough got the ticket reissued! During the process the sup referred to "her" reissuing the ticket;.so it appears that was done at/by the OW desk. Total time elapsed: 2hrs25 mins.
The magic word in my case was "manually"! QR record now says "Business 40 kg" under the heading "Class/checked baggage allowance".
Probably should be 2 bags 40kg, but I will be fine with 1 bag allowance.
Thanks again to all for the feedback in this thread.
I shared with her all the experiences, reports from this thread (not mentioned FT specifically) and pointed out that bag allowance needed to be added/ticket issued manually by OW. She then agreed to get back to the OW desk and sure enough got the ticket reissued! During the process the sup referred to "her" reissuing the ticket;.so it appears that was done at/by the OW desk. Total time elapsed: 2hrs25 mins.
The magic word in my case was "manually"! QR record now says "Business 40 kg" under the heading "Class/checked baggage allowance".
Probably should be 2 bags 40kg, but I will be fine with 1 bag allowance.
Thanks again to all for the feedback in this thread.
Aug 4, 2023, 8:46 pm
#187
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,981
Called back and finally got a sup, who said she checked with the their rate desk, the QR website, OW desk - all stating/showing the standard 2 bags in J-class.
I shared with her all the experiences, reports from this thread (not mentioned FT specifically) and pointed out that bag allowance needed to be added/ticket issued manually by OW. She then agreed to get back to the OW desk and sure enough got the ticket reissued! During the process the sup referred to "her" reissuing the ticket;.so it appears that was done at/by the OW desk. Total time elapsed: 2hrs25 mins.
The magic word in my case was "manually"! QR record now says "Business 40 kg" under the heading "Class/checked baggage allowance".
Probably should be 2 bags 40kg, but I will be fine with 1 bag allowance.
Thanks again to all for the feedback in this thread.
I shared with her all the experiences, reports from this thread (not mentioned FT specifically) and pointed out that bag allowance needed to be added/ticket issued manually by OW. She then agreed to get back to the OW desk and sure enough got the ticket reissued! During the process the sup referred to "her" reissuing the ticket;.so it appears that was done at/by the OW desk. Total time elapsed: 2hrs25 mins.
The magic word in my case was "manually"! QR record now says "Business 40 kg" under the heading "Class/checked baggage allowance".
Probably should be 2 bags 40kg, but I will be fine with 1 bag allowance.
Thanks again to all for the feedback in this thread.
The exception to this is for travel to/from Africa or Americas where allowance is 2 Pieces each max 32Kg
Aug 11, 2023, 10:49 pm
#188
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Miami, Florida
Posts: 121
Called a bunch of times, even Australia Support. Nothing seems to work, Everyone says I'm good on my Award Travel. First Class ticket (Z) on Qatar Airways - everyone refers to me being One World Emerald, First class, blah blah.
When I call Qatar they say no bags, and none listed on website....
Tried Twitter, no luck. Any other suggestions? I use every keyword in the book I learned from this thread too "OW Helpdesk" "Baggage Endorsements" "MANUAL" etc... Nothing seems to work.
When I call Qatar they say no bags, and none listed on website....
Tried Twitter, no luck. Any other suggestions? I use every keyword in the book I learned from this thread too "OW Helpdesk" "Baggage Endorsements" "MANUAL" etc... Nothing seems to work.
Last edited by kromix; Aug 11, 2023 at 11:20 pm
Aug 12, 2023, 5:42 am
#189
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Dallas, TX, USA
Programs: AA EXP, HH Gold, Hyatt Globalist, IC Plat, SPG Gold
Posts: 961
I am in the same boat with AA award tickets on separate QR and EY itineraries for travel in November 2023. Both eTickets do not show any baggage allowance. There is a fundamental problem with AA award eTickets on other OW airlines. I did not contact AA yet but my previous journeys had same issues. However at check-in I did not encounter any issues with both airlines.
For QR, Go to Malaysia Airlines website and enter your QR PNR (should be in your eTicket from AA) under manage my booking option. There you can see the baggage allowance. You can also check on Royal Jordanian or Finnair websites as well.
For EY, Go to Etihad website and enter your EY PNR (should be in your eTicket from AA) under manage my booking options. Once the itinerary is retrieved, click on View All Extras, Add Extra Bags. There you can see your current baggage allowance.
For QR, Go to Malaysia Airlines website and enter your QR PNR (should be in your eTicket from AA) under manage my booking option. There you can see the baggage allowance. You can also check on Royal Jordanian or Finnair websites as well.
For EY, Go to Etihad website and enter your EY PNR (should be in your eTicket from AA) under manage my booking options. Once the itinerary is retrieved, click on View All Extras, Add Extra Bags. There you can see your current baggage allowance.
Last edited by aglp2k; Aug 12, 2023 at 6:08 am
Aug 12, 2023, 7:23 pm
#190
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Miami, Florida
Posts: 121
I am in the same boat with AA award tickets on separate QR and EY itineraries for travel in November 2023. Both eTickets do not show any baggage allowance. There is a fundamental problem with AA award eTickets on other OW airlines. I did not contact AA yet but my previous journeys had same issues. However at check-in I did not encounter any issues with both airlines.
For QR, Go to Malaysia Airlines website and enter your QR PNR (should be in your eTicket from AA) under manage my booking option. There you can see the baggage allowance. You can also check on Royal Jordanian or Finnair websites as well.
For EY, Go to Etihad website and enter your EY PNR (should be in your eTicket from AA) under manage my booking options. Once the itinerary is retrieved, click on View All Extras, Add Extra Bags. There you can see your current baggage allowance.
For QR, Go to Malaysia Airlines website and enter your QR PNR (should be in your eTicket from AA) under manage my booking option. There you can see the baggage allowance. You can also check on Royal Jordanian or Finnair websites as well.
For EY, Go to Etihad website and enter your EY PNR (should be in your eTicket from AA) under manage my booking options. Once the itinerary is retrieved, click on View All Extras, Add Extra Bags. There you can see your current baggage allowance.
Aug 14, 2023, 8:09 am
#191
Join Date: May 2002
Location: LEESBURG, VA, USA
Posts: 254
AA partner award ticket baggage allowance issues
Had a ticket issued ( partner award) on QR and just saw the same thing outlined by many posters here. AA confirmation only says free carry-on. Qatar website also does not show any free checked baggage allowance. Called Qatar to confirm it first which they did that there is no checked baggage allowance on my ticket.
Just spent sometime with AA via online chat . Went thru the whole process. After several back and forth, i got the following response.
" I have contacted our specialized team about the concern of the checked baggage."
Then few minutes later.
" We have now sent your request and you will receive an email notification that your checked bag has been added in the next 2 to 4 hours.
I will update if and when i receive the email and ticket has been updated.
Aug 14, 2023, 8:50 am
#192
Join Date: Jan 1999
Location: Miami,FL
Posts: 243
I agree that having a ticket in F without baggage allowance is crazy, but it appears to be possible given the comments earlier in this thread. However, ranting and raving at check in staff isn't going to solve the problem. Most experienced travellers carry copies of their ticket information with them, which would have made it easy to prove to check in staff what your entitlement was. As I see it there were 4 options:
It appears that the problem was caused by AA, and the OP was unfortunate not to spot it. However, that's not an excuse to try to implement a boycott of QR, who were probably just following their rules
- don't travel
- travel without bags
- pay the baggage surcharge (despite what you say it was an option, although not particularly appealing)
- contact the ticketing airline and get them to speak to the carrier, to correct any error there was in issuing the original ticket
It appears that the problem was caused by AA, and the OP was unfortunate not to spot it. However, that's not an excuse to try to implement a boycott of QR, who were probably just following their rules
Aug 15, 2023, 5:05 am
#193
Join Date: May 2014
Location: LAX | BUR
Posts: 37
This has been such a nightmare. Luckily I still have 4 months to figure this out.
For dp purposes here’s some background: I have 3 separate reservations for AA award tix in QR. first one has 2 J tickets and originates in the US. Put in on hold in January and called to finalize cause I kept getting an error. This one showed luggage allowance. The other 2 reservations have 1 F (MLE-DOH) and J (doh-mad) tickets each. I booked them individually from each of our accounts cause neither of us had enough points to book both. We booked them online this time in April. Neither one of our tickets showed baggage allowance. QR confirmed they didn’t see any. So AA Twitter team reissued our tickets. I was surprised they did it so quickly. I only requested it with a brief explanation and it was done. However, it just could not have been this easy of course. I get a confirmation email for my husband’s ticket with the new ticket number. I go into QR and I see the luggage allowance now. I never get a confirmation for mine. QR still showed the old ticket number. Waited some time, re entered locator number. Still not working. AA confirms there’s a new ticket number but QR just can’t see it. So now we have gone from a baggage issue to something more. Talked to several people from both sides and each would tell me to have the other one fix it. Someone at AA finally understood what I was saying and got oneworld involved. Ticket gets reissued again and I receive email confirmation but QR still sees the old number. The weird thing too is when I look at my AA reservation on desktop, it will tell me that ticket was issues in April, not the new date. But before opening the reservation, it will show the correct date. So it still hasn’t been figured out! Hoping they can soon cause this is stressful lol at least oneworld is looking into it and they have notes in my account that they continue to communicate amongst the three (AA, QR, oneworld). On top of it all, just a few days there was an equipment swap on the DOH-MAD leg.
For dp purposes here’s some background: I have 3 separate reservations for AA award tix in QR. first one has 2 J tickets and originates in the US. Put in on hold in January and called to finalize cause I kept getting an error. This one showed luggage allowance. The other 2 reservations have 1 F (MLE-DOH) and J (doh-mad) tickets each. I booked them individually from each of our accounts cause neither of us had enough points to book both. We booked them online this time in April. Neither one of our tickets showed baggage allowance. QR confirmed they didn’t see any. So AA Twitter team reissued our tickets. I was surprised they did it so quickly. I only requested it with a brief explanation and it was done. However, it just could not have been this easy of course. I get a confirmation email for my husband’s ticket with the new ticket number. I go into QR and I see the luggage allowance now. I never get a confirmation for mine. QR still showed the old ticket number. Waited some time, re entered locator number. Still not working. AA confirms there’s a new ticket number but QR just can’t see it. So now we have gone from a baggage issue to something more. Talked to several people from both sides and each would tell me to have the other one fix it. Someone at AA finally understood what I was saying and got oneworld involved. Ticket gets reissued again and I receive email confirmation but QR still sees the old number. The weird thing too is when I look at my AA reservation on desktop, it will tell me that ticket was issues in April, not the new date. But before opening the reservation, it will show the correct date. So it still hasn’t been figured out! Hoping they can soon cause this is stressful lol at least oneworld is looking into it and they have notes in my account that they continue to communicate amongst the three (AA, QR, oneworld). On top of it all, just a few days there was an equipment swap on the DOH-MAD leg.
Aug 15, 2023, 5:15 am
#194
Join Date: May 2014
Location: LAX | BUR
Posts: 37
This is what they are last telling me on my latest requests: It means that we've made notes on the booking and the Qatar agents will be able to view it from their end when you're checking in. If you're charged, you can circle back to us so we can look into refunding you the baggage fees paid once you're within the 50kg allowance.
Aug 15, 2023, 6:38 am
#195
Join Date: May 2002
Location: LEESBURG, VA, USA
Posts: 254
I had this issue with AA issued ticket on EY back in January. Was assured by AA that everything is fine and they do see free baggage allowance on the ticket. But of course everything was not fine. Check in agent at LHE told us about the ticket being no baggage ticket.
Had a ticket issued ( partner award) on QR and just saw the same thing outlined by many posters here. AA confirmation only says free carry-on. Qatar website also does not show any free checked baggage allowance. Called Qatar to confirm it first which they did that there is no checked baggage allowance on my ticket.
Just spent sometime with AA via online chat . Went thru the whole process. After several back and forth, i got the following response.
" I have contacted our specialized team about the concern of the checked baggage."
Then few minutes later.
" We have now sent your request and you will receive an email notification that your checked bag has been added in the next 2 to 4 hours.
I will update if and when i receive the email and ticket has been updated.
Had a ticket issued ( partner award) on QR and just saw the same thing outlined by many posters here. AA confirmation only says free carry-on. Qatar website also does not show any free checked baggage allowance. Called Qatar to confirm it first which they did that there is no checked baggage allowance on my ticket.
Just spent sometime with AA via online chat . Went thru the whole process. After several back and forth, i got the following response.
" I have contacted our specialized team about the concern of the checked baggage."
Then few minutes later.
" We have now sent your request and you will receive an email notification that your checked bag has been added in the next 2 to 4 hours.
I will update if and when i receive the email and ticket has been updated.
Update on my situation.
Of course i still have not received any e-mail from AA. And now when i pull up the reservation on AA.com, even the cabin baggage information that was previously there is gone. Qatar Airways website also still does not show any baggage.