Jul 8, 2016, 2:22 pm
Last edit by: Prospero
UPDATED FOR 15 NOVEMBER 2016: BA will no longer accept interlining on BA-BA separate tickets / PNRs.
From 1 June 2016, the oneworld policy on accepting customers travelling on separate tickets was changed. BA, along with some other oneworld partners, has implemented this change in policy which is as follows:
Only those customers that have separate tickets issued in the same PNR/booking will be accepted for through check-in. Furthermore all sectors must be BA / oneworld / other carrier, but BA to/fron Vueling is specifically NOT allowed even on the same ticket. Aer Lingus is not specified but some be covered by "other carrier".
A PNR is a wrapper, and it can have several tickets, and other items such as hotels, in one PNR, so long as it was built that way at the time of purchase. Another (new) ticket can be inserted into an existing PNR after purchase, it is easiest to do this at a BA airport, and there is a small fee for doing this (Ł15 in the UK). However you cannot merge 2 existing PNRs into one PNR - once a reservation has reached ticketed status it can't be moved. If you have 2 PNRs you need to allow time to collect and re-check any bags at the transfer airport.
There is one exception: BA to BA transfers, on 2 PNRs, are allowed. See post 643 for details.
___
From post 947. Select "do not have IATA number"
http://www.speedbirdclub.com/ch/reservations-ticketing/rulesregulations/separatetickets/
From 1 June 2016, the oneworld policy on accepting customers travelling on separate tickets was changed. BA, along with some other oneworld partners, has implemented this change in policy which is as follows:
Only those customers that have separate tickets issued in the same PNR/booking will be accepted for through check-in. Furthermore all sectors must be BA / oneworld / other carrier, but BA to/fron Vueling is specifically NOT allowed even on the same ticket. Aer Lingus is not specified but some be covered by "other carrier".
A PNR is a wrapper, and it can have several tickets, and other items such as hotels, in one PNR, so long as it was built that way at the time of purchase. Another (new) ticket can be inserted into an existing PNR after purchase, it is easiest to do this at a BA airport, and there is a small fee for doing this (Ł15 in the UK). However you cannot merge 2 existing PNRs into one PNR - once a reservation has reached ticketed status it can't be moved. If you have 2 PNRs you need to allow time to collect and re-check any bags at the transfer airport.
___
From post 947. Select "do not have IATA number"
http://www.speedbirdclub.com/ch/reservations-ticketing/rulesregulations/separatetickets/
BA no longer through checking baggage with separate tickets
Dec 16, 2018, 2:49 pm
#1907
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Homeless
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People here sometimes scoff at the idea that an airline might ever be looking at the question of just how many people consequentially make the choice to go to a different airline, or that the airline might change its policy if the answer is "too many". But maybe, just maybe, BA has some basis for concluding that the answer is not (or not yet) that. After all, we only have anecdote but the airline has data.
Or maybe this is snobby FT attitude on my part as if we know better
Dec 16, 2018, 6:07 pm
#1908
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: London, UK
Programs: bmi DC, BAEC
Posts: 1,104
We are on FT so I fully realize that if myself and/or fellow FTers decide to change something as a result of airline ABC doing XYZ, while we might all be correct and justified in doing so, that does not mean that the masses will, and it also does not mean that the airline was wrong in doing it because it might very well end up being the right move for its shareholders.
i wonder if BA factored in that we would still be complaining about this so long after the original policy change !
since some of the other cost cutting measures have been rolled back ... maybe this one will go eventually too ... if we keep complaining !!
Dec 16, 2018, 6:46 pm
#1909
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: UA US CO AA DL FL
Posts: 50,262
There is no "bad publicity". Rather, a bit of whinging on FT.
If there were any market research suggesting that an appreciable share of the market is booking away from BA-AA, those carriers might well shift their position. Leads me to believe that there is not.
As to MCT, that merely represents a carrier's willingness to assume the risk of a misconnect. But, that presupposes a connection, not a transfer. MCT no longer needs to be published (although it is afailable on EF), as it is baked into the GDS. Thus, one can't book a connection below MCT. Once upon a time, an agent had to construct connections manually and that meant looking up the MCT to assure that he was not selling a ticket at below MCT.
If there were any market research suggesting that an appreciable share of the market is booking away from BA-AA, those carriers might well shift their position. Leads me to believe that there is not.
As to MCT, that merely represents a carrier's willingness to assume the risk of a misconnect. But, that presupposes a connection, not a transfer. MCT no longer needs to be published (although it is afailable on EF), as it is baked into the GDS. Thus, one can't book a connection below MCT. Once upon a time, an agent had to construct connections manually and that meant looking up the MCT to assure that he was not selling a ticket at below MCT.
Dec 16, 2018, 11:54 pm
#1910
Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: SEA
Programs: BA GGL, Hyatt Globalist, HH Diamond, Marriott Gold
Posts: 187
This policy seems to only have downside for BA customers.
Earlier this year I was able to interline from Singapore Airlines through to Cathay Pacific. I’ve also been able to interline bags from Cathay onto Alaska Airlines. Each time saves me a ton of time and makes connections a lot less hassle.
The fact I cannot interline BA to BA seems really stupid. Often I’ll purchase the bookend flights first to lock in the long haul price. Later on I’ll figure out additional itineraries. Looking forward to flying into Heathrow to pickup my bags, and then go back into departures for my short haul flight.
Earlier this year I was able to interline from Singapore Airlines through to Cathay Pacific. I’ve also been able to interline bags from Cathay onto Alaska Airlines. Each time saves me a ton of time and makes connections a lot less hassle.
The fact I cannot interline BA to BA seems really stupid. Often I’ll purchase the bookend flights first to lock in the long haul price. Later on I’ll figure out additional itineraries. Looking forward to flying into Heathrow to pickup my bags, and then go back into departures for my short haul flight.
Dec 17, 2018, 12:07 am
#1911
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: London Stratford, E7
Programs: BAEC Gold! Thanks to FT
Posts: 3,374
This policy seems to only have downside for BA customers.
Earlier this year I was able to interline from Singapore Airlines through to Cathay Pacific. I’ve also been able to interline bags from Cathay onto Alaska Airlines. Each time saves me a ton of time and makes connections a lot less hassle.
The fact I cannot interline BA to BA seems really stupid. Often I’ll purchase the bookend flights first to lock in the long haul price. Later on I’ll figure out additional itineraries. Looking forward to flying into Heathrow to pickup my bags, and then go back into departures for my short haul flight.
Earlier this year I was able to interline from Singapore Airlines through to Cathay Pacific. I’ve also been able to interline bags from Cathay onto Alaska Airlines. Each time saves me a ton of time and makes connections a lot less hassle.
The fact I cannot interline BA to BA seems really stupid. Often I’ll purchase the bookend flights first to lock in the long haul price. Later on I’ll figure out additional itineraries. Looking forward to flying into Heathrow to pickup my bags, and then go back into departures for my short haul flight.
Dec 17, 2018, 12:18 am
#1912
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 6,349
.
The fact I cannot interline BA to BA seems really stupid. Often I’ll purchase the bookend flights first to lock in the long haul price. Later on I’ll figure out additional itineraries. Looking forward to flying into Heathrow to pickup my bags, and then go back into departures for my short haul flight.
Of course 99% of people book all the flights together so would not be affected.
Dec 17, 2018, 4:19 am
#1913
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Homeless
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But they are not "forcing you" to do anything. You are choosing to do it though your choice of ticket.
It's a bit like buying a cheaper ex-EU ticket and then complaining the airline is "forcing you" to take positioning flights that are a pain.
As for security etc, so what, you pay for it on your ticket, it creates employment, why would the airport care less.
There is no punishment here, it's just the price you pay for a cheaper option.
It's a bit like buying a cheaper ex-EU ticket and then complaining the airline is "forcing you" to take positioning flights that are a pain.
As for security etc, so what, you pay for it on your ticket, it creates employment, why would the airport care less.
There is no punishment here, it's just the price you pay for a cheaper option.
How about a different (hypothetical) example to show that it feels like they just want to be a nuisance, at no benefit to them, simply to provide an incentive to forego the 2-ticket alternative just because an airline (BA, AA, HX, and perhaps some others) has thrown sand in the cogs.
What if you travel without bags. An airline now decides to install a scanning machine at the entrance of the airport to confirm what is your airport of origin on the ticket "for security reasons". If you are in between two flights on two separate tickets, you need to get out of security to go get scanned and back in. With this they would be trying to give an incentive to avoid the hassle by paying more for just one ticket. What if this machine for some reason was very cheap for an airline to install so costs are not an issue, otherwise my example is not working.
I could elaborate on more examples of (crazy) situations that are no benefit to the airline, but who would just trying to make life difficult for passengers who choose 2 tickets, and provide an incentive for them to buy just 1. What if the airline said if you have two tickets then you need to visit every boarding gate in the airport before you can head to your boarding gate, and you run the risk of missing your flight. Obviously this is over the top and I am just being overly creative, but personally I do not think it's 100% different than refusing to check bags through final destination: they are just trying to make life harder if you buy 2 tickets because they don't like it. Yet they are the ones who decided to roll out this pricing structure.
Dec 17, 2018, 4:50 am
#1914
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 6,349
You are correct they are not forcing me, bad choice of words on my part and I stand corrected.
How about a different (hypothetical) example to show that it feels like they just want to be a nuisance, at no benefit to them, simply to provide an incentive to forego the 2-ticket alternative just because an airline (BA, AA, HX, and perhaps some others) has thrown sand in the cogs.
What if you travel without bags. An airline now decides to install a scanning machine at the entrance of the airport to confirm what is your airport of origin on the ticket "for security reasons". If you are in between two flights on two separate tickets, you need to get out of security to go get scanned and back in. With this they would be trying to give an incentive to avoid the hassle by paying more for just one ticket. What if this machine for some reason was very cheap for an airline to install so costs are not an issue, otherwise my example is not working.
I could elaborate on more examples of (crazy) situations that are no benefit to the airline, but who would just trying to make life difficult for passengers who choose 2 tickets, and provide an incentive for them to buy just 1. What if the airline said if you have two tickets then you need to visit every boarding gate in the airport before you can head to your boarding gate, and you run the risk of missing your flight. Obviously this is over the top and I am just being overly creative, but personally I do not think it's 100% different than refusing to check bags through final destination: they are just trying to make life harder if you buy 2 tickets because they don't like it. Yet they are the ones who decided to roll out this pricing structure.
How about a different (hypothetical) example to show that it feels like they just want to be a nuisance, at no benefit to them, simply to provide an incentive to forego the 2-ticket alternative just because an airline (BA, AA, HX, and perhaps some others) has thrown sand in the cogs.
What if you travel without bags. An airline now decides to install a scanning machine at the entrance of the airport to confirm what is your airport of origin on the ticket "for security reasons". If you are in between two flights on two separate tickets, you need to get out of security to go get scanned and back in. With this they would be trying to give an incentive to avoid the hassle by paying more for just one ticket. What if this machine for some reason was very cheap for an airline to install so costs are not an issue, otherwise my example is not working.
I could elaborate on more examples of (crazy) situations that are no benefit to the airline, but who would just trying to make life difficult for passengers who choose 2 tickets, and provide an incentive for them to buy just 1. What if the airline said if you have two tickets then you need to visit every boarding gate in the airport before you can head to your boarding gate, and you run the risk of missing your flight. Obviously this is over the top and I am just being overly creative, but personally I do not think it's 100% different than refusing to check bags through final destination: they are just trying to make life harder if you buy 2 tickets because they don't like it. Yet they are the ones who decided to roll out this pricing structure.
Come back and let us know if your scenarios ever happen (clue - they won't).
Until then, you have the choice of booking one ticket affording all the protections/benefits of checked luggage, or the cheaper option of buying everything separately with all the hassles it involves. Or of course flying with a different carrier if you don't like what BA offers.
Dec 17, 2018, 5:22 am
#1915
Join Date: Dec 2013
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Well coincidentally this is exactly what I am doing. I was a BA Gold for 10 years and stopped flying BA I think in 2015 because of a deteriorating value proposition for my routes at least. But over time things can get worse and they can get better, for example I stopped flying AC a while back but they improved treatment of elites and upgraded business class, so I came back. There is no reason for me to not keep my eyes open and I am not opposed to returning at BA in the future. When I such treatment of bags on the 2 tickets vs 1 ticket issue, then it's of no consequence to me since I am not flying with BA (although I did consider it for a moment, until I realized my bags would not be checked through when reading here), but it certainly won't help make me return when I observe this kind of behavior where the airline seems to be interested in extracting money by being a nuisance. If I was a BA shareholder, maybe I would agree, maybe I would not, but as a passenger for sure this is not the kind of treatment that I seek. However I am also always interested in other people's opinion which is why I have appreciated the discussion here, including your opinion as well.
Dec 17, 2018, 5:30 am
#1916
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 6,349
Well coincidentally this is exactly what I am doing. I was a BA Gold for 10 years and stopped flying BA I think in 2015 because of a deteriorating value proposition for my routes at least. But over time things can get worse and they can get better, for example I stopped flying AC a while back but they improved treatment of elites and upgraded business class, so I came back. There is no reason for me to not keep my eyes open and I am not opposed to returning at BA in the future. When I such treatment of bags on the 2 tickets vs 1 ticket issue, then it's of no consequence to me since I am not flying with BA (although I did consider it for a moment, until I realized my bags would not be checked through when reading here), but it certainly won't help make me return when I observe this kind of behavior where the airline seems to be interested in extracting money by being a nuisance. If I was a BA shareholder, maybe I would agree, maybe I would not, but as a passenger for sure this is not the kind of treatment that I seek. However I am also always interested in other people's opinion which is why I have appreciated the discussion here, including your opinion as well.
Having said that I don't see this as being a nuisance, just that there is a value differential in buying 1 ticket (with connections protected, and baggage through checked) compared to 2 separate tickets (cost savings but with drawbacks).
The scenario is no different to the scenario on missed flights, people regularly appear on FT to complain that BA did not protect them when travelling on separate bookings, or that they encountered stressful situations as a result.
Of course in the real world BA this probably affects less than 1% of bookings, and it only comes up on here so often as FTers have a higher likelihood of seeking out complex or money saving options. No harm in that, provided the traveller appreciates the (published) downsides as well.
Dec 17, 2018, 5:47 am
#1917
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Homeless
Programs: Hyatt Glob; Hilton Dia; Marriott AMB; Accor Dia; IHG Dia Amb; GHA Tit
Posts: 4,835
So my idea was to secure XXX-LHR first, then the next day book LHR-YYY because due to time zone differences LHR-YYY would not be available on the same day that XXX-LHR is. Normally two Avios awards cost the same number of Avios if I book together or separately, so I thought why not book separately and ensure that I have a seat on XXX-LHR rather than wait for the next day and risk that the seats are gone.
That's when I found out that I would actually have to go through LHR immigration just for the bags, when I actually am just transiting in the UK. So BA's policy about bags is not only an issue about saving money by buying two tickets rather than one. It can be an issue if you book with Avios. I realize my situation is probably very rare though and affects less than 0.1% of passengers.
No big deal in the end, I used *A miles with transit in Germany instead.
Dec 17, 2018, 10:52 am
#1918
Join Date: Aug 2012
Programs: BA Executive Club, AS Airlines Mileage Plan
Posts: 981
We are flying SEA to LHR to BCN in May. I booked Business Class with Avios for the long-haul flight at T-355 but the BCN flight was not available at that time so I booked it later ( Club Europe). it is a separate ticket because I booked online rather than taking the time to call and amend the original booking. I was not concerned about the checked bag issue as we planned to carry on anyway.
Now I realize I cannot carry my trekking poles in my cabin baggage and must check them. What are my options? If I call and ask to amend the longhaul ticket to include the BCN flight will they do that? I am willing to pay the change fee. Or is it possible that they can link the two flights as one PNR despite the separate tickets?
This a one-way flight for two pax. I booked our return journey separately and it will not be an issue as we are stopping in the U.K. for a week.
Thank you for any suggestions.
Now I realize I cannot carry my trekking poles in my cabin baggage and must check them. What are my options? If I call and ask to amend the longhaul ticket to include the BCN flight will they do that? I am willing to pay the change fee. Or is it possible that they can link the two flights as one PNR despite the separate tickets?
This a one-way flight for two pax. I booked our return journey separately and it will not be an issue as we are stopping in the U.K. for a week.
Thank you for any suggestions.
Last edited by enzian; Dec 17, 2018 at 2:57 pm Reason: Atypo
Dec 17, 2018, 12:49 pm
#1919
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Kyiv, Ukraine
Programs: Mucci, BA Gold, TK Elite, HHonors Lifetime Diamond
Posts: 7,690
So my idea was to secure XXX-LHR first, then the next day book LHR-YYY because due to time zone differences LHR-YYY would not be available on the same day that XXX-LHR is. Normally two Avios awards cost the same number of Avios if I book together or separately, so I thought why not book separately and ensure that I have a seat on XXX-LHR rather than wait for the next day and risk that the seats are gone.
That's when I found out that I would actually have to go through LHR immigration just for the bags, when I actually am just transiting in the UK. So BA's policy about bags is not only an issue about saving money by buying two tickets rather than one. It can be an issue if you book with Avios.
That's when I found out that I would actually have to go through LHR immigration just for the bags, when I actually am just transiting in the UK. So BA's policy about bags is not only an issue about saving money by buying two tickets rather than one. It can be an issue if you book with Avios.
Dec 17, 2018, 3:02 pm
#1920
Join Date: Aug 2012
Programs: BA Executive Club, AS Airlines Mileage Plan
Posts: 981
Yes, I know I could have done It that way ( call to add the second flight when it became available). But I (foolishly) chose not to as it was so quick and easy to just book it online.
So my question is, will they either link the two bookings or amend the first to adthe BCN leg if I call?
I am hoping to get an answer to this question before I spend 30 minutes on hold waiting to talk to someone.
So my question is, will they either link the two bookings or amend the first to adthe BCN leg if I call?
I am hoping to get an answer to this question before I spend 30 minutes on hold waiting to talk to someone.
Last edited by enzian; Dec 17, 2018 at 10:26 pm Reason: Typo