AmaaiZeg

Thinking of another trip to Malaysia BA LHR to KUL next year , staying in KUL visiting friends and family and at end of trip, a relaxing 5 nights in Langkawi using MH. Then at end of the holiday return on same day to LHR i.e. MH Langkawi - Kul then BA to LHR.

Would we be able to check in our luggage with MH from Langkawi straight to LHR?

Does the BA and MH flight need to be on the same PNR?

MH is only bookable a month or so after BA. If I book BA first , would I be able to add MH to same booking ref a month later if I call BA? Or doesn't it matter?
Ps want to book wtp and uua to cw hence want to book BA as soon as flights appear.

Your help, as always, is much appreciated. This year we did LHR KUL on BA , and last few days spent in Singapore. Flew Singapore/Silk. Couldn't check luggage through and it meant a very long 4 hour wait at KLIA airport before BA checkin opened at 8pm and the lounge finally beckoned.. Would like to avoid this!

Amai

UKtravelbear

It is just not possible to add a ticket booked at a later date to an earlier PNR.

Ldnn1

You'll be able to through check LHR-KUL-LGK outbound on separate PNRs. On the inbound, there are reports of MH not being very good with this at outstations so I'm not sure.

Re your booking plan, have you checked the WT+ prices available at T-355? The cheapest fares may not get released straight away, so your plan might not be great value.

Incidentally do you have enough avios for a full redemption? Because if you do but don't actually want to use them all for this trip, your might still consider booking the full redemption at T-355, then when LHR-KUL-LKG becomes available (at a reasonable WT+ price), cancel your reward seat and immediately book and UUA through BA the (hopefully) re-released award space.

Blueboys999

If I'm reading the OP correctly he's in KL for a few days prior to the LGK flight so that won't be possible.

I've checked my bags through KUL from LGK twice in the past 3 months without a problem although it was onto QR flights but I see no reason it should be any different onto a BA flight.

Ldnn1

Ah yes didn't spot the stopover.

That's positive. The negative reports I was thinking of are in the thread here:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...-mh-staff.html

gms

On separate tickets?

It has certainly been MH policy not to through check luggage on separate tickets, even within Oneworld. I ended up missing a connection because of this combined with MH's frankly pathetic ground customer service.

hedgehopper

I wanted to do pretty much the exact same thing last year (trip January this year). Needed an uua outlet for my avios before the devaluation. LHR-KUL obliged - BA having not yet restarted flying the route yet - but MH was not available to be booked by BA, for cash or miles when I phoned up to bag the upgrade. The agent told me if I called back after 10 days the LGK return could be added but then the price was not to my liking compared to what I was seeing on MH website. So I booked separately via MH albeit to return the evening before the LHR flight - explored downtown KL for half a day as not been there before. KUL-LGK-KUL would have been even cheaper had I not waited.

Not sure what would have actually happened as regards the original PNR if I'd gone ahead as originally planned.

Blueboys999

In fact it was 3 PNRs just a few weeks ago because my wife was travelling on an award LGK-KUL while I was on a MH revenue ticket due to lack of award availability for 2 people. We were on the same PNR KUL-DOH-MAN. Maybe we just got lucky but it has happened twice.

In contrast, I've had all sorts of problems trying to make it work in the other direction.

jerry a. laska

There are many reports of MH refusing to check bags through to other airlines on separate tickets. See, for example:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/other...e-tickets.html
MH will check MH to MH on separate tickets.

a340-313x

I got lucky with MH checking to a separate CX ticket back in December although I did have a printout from the official oneworld facebook account stating quite clearly that all oneworld carriers will through check even on separate tickets (this was made quite explicit). Once I showed the checkin agent the printout, she went to a supervisor and came back with an affirmative (even the CX boarding passes were issued).

AmaaiZeg

Thank you all for your input. Fingers crossed MH will check the luggage through on our return.

PrimaVista

I've through-checked on separate PNRs twice in the past 4 months BA to MH and MH to BA, each time LHR-KUL-PEN and PEN-KUL-LHR.

No problems or issues on either occasion.

Sam Bee

Contrary to what has been said, it is possible to add the domestic KUL-LGK later - and even on the same ticket numbers as BA does offer through fares using MH.

However - it depends how you book it. If you book a seat only LHR-KUL on BA (or an OTA) online, and pay and issue the tickets your chances are zero.

If you book a seat only fare LHR-KUL on BA and get the tickets issued with a TA you will be able to add the KUL-LGK sector later, this will be possible but the KUL-LGK will be a published sector (cheap, only £40 or so o/w), so two separate tickets on the same PNR but you are then at the mercy of BA/MH to check your bags through.

If you book an IT fare LHR-KUL on BA, your TA will be able to add a KUL-LGK sector when it becomes available, and it will be a through fare on one ticket and there are no issues with baggage. This means that you also have the benefit of not paying in full until much closer to the departure date, but you do then need to also book your accommodation through chosen TA (note - not all TA's have access to BA IT fares, most South East Asian Specialist Tour Ops will though).

Swiss Tony

But as I understand it, if you mix carriers on a TA booking then UUA becomes impossible...

hedgehopper

Hopefully then they are really pulling up their socks as regards oneworld "responsibilities". We had a bit of a DYKWIA moment at LGK bag drop - found ourselves first to arrive waiting for the desks to open. Positioned ourselves for the desk marked oneworld priority c/i which was eventually opened by a single agent who told us in no uncertain terms to join the back of the planeload that was by now q'ing next to us as "there's just one queue here!". We pointed out we'd merely followed the signage etc - we were then asked to produce BAEC cards and we got dealt with. No biggie but at the time I was glad we had not relied on (or tried) thru checking for the two earlier KUL transits in the holiday when we'd have missed our bags if they'd gone awol.