UKtravelbear

Well I didn't mean immediately but once some clarity has been achieved.

gengar

As I already noted earlier in this thread, *A will interline within the alliance on separate tickets. And even that was a recent change (~1 year ago). Prior to that, airlines would typically interline to any other airline that they had an interlining agreement with, regardless of alliance. I thought the *A change was bad enough and criticized them for that, but OW has taken it to a whole new level. We are just seeing airlines continually downgrade the passenger experience.

As for protection, that was unique to OW AFAIK, but someone please correct me if I'm wrong on that.

BAECGC

So this is directly going to impact me?

Arriving July 27th on BA208 from MIA->LHR (Terminal 3) at 10:20am. Departing from LHR (Terminal 5) on BA394 to Brussels as 12:25pm. MIA->LHR is award booking. LHR->BRU is cash booking. 2 hours should be enough but the minimum connection time of 90 minutes on the BA website seems to not consider the hassle of re-checking/security etc. Gold/Silver status should help with less waits but still pretty nervous about that.

I just called the support line and they are still quoting the 90 minute figure, this has surely got to go up? He also mentioned that I should still tell them I am connecting and they'll try and do it (didn't receive the memo?). I am also travelling with my American girlfriend so immigration lines are often longer for her. Ugh - not ideal when you're starting a vacation!

theultimateflyer

I would try to move the BRU flight. 2 hours is barely enough for T5-to-T5 on separate tickets at this point (and even that is stretching it). T3-to-T5 I'd say is very very risky in 2 hours now. MCT is meant to be for the minimum when you don't need to re-check luggage or exit landside (connecting on same ticket).

orbitmic

Indeed, many still do. So the paradox is that it will be easier to through check in from many secondary airline to BA than from BA to BA if on separate tickets!

I don't want to reopen this persistent point, but my understanding is still that there clearly isn't a OW protection on separate tickets. In a recent thread, we even had a very explicit statement from a BA agent that there isn't even a BA to BA one on separate tickets except in the case of long haul arrival to short haul departure, as a gesture of goodwill, and assuming the time between flights respects MCT.

BAECGC

Just called back again. The BAEC customer centre is not aware, so I cannot change my flight I guess... just will have to keep fingers crossed.

windowontheAside

I think this is going to cause a lot of grief. Most of the recent enhancements may have been unpopular but people generally learned about the changes when they still had an element of choice in the matter (Avios increases, fees for changes, HBO fares etc). They could such up the changes or book elsewhere for example.

This one is arriving by stealth and I'm guessing the vast majority of folk will only learn about it at checkin when they realise they won't make their onward flight.

theultimateflyer

What do you mean they are not aware?

CrazyJ82

I can sort of understand their argument that interlining on separate tickets creates liability problems without any concomitant increase in revenue, but the better solution would be to just not screw up on baggage handling as often as BA seem to in these situations.

I haven't read all of the middle of this thread so the point may already have been discussed, but BA potentially faces significant customer inconvenience and operational hassles in implementing such a rule given that LHR is its hub and the UK isn't in a larger immigration bloc. As a result, a pax who needs a UK visa transiting from one non-UK point to another on separate tickets ends up in the soup if they can't get through UK border control to collect and re-check a bag. Likely a rare case, but perhaps not that rare for pax connecting revenue and award bookings, say. It's easier for CX to enforce this rule at least for tickets interlining at their own hub because HK has a looser visa regime for foreigners entering for short stays.

BAECGC

They just have zero idea. I spent the last hour on the phone, requesting supervisor in the customer service centre and at the change booking centre. They kept quoting 90 minutes and that MIA will be able to check my bags all the way.

Finally got some sense and they changed it, waived extra 40p fee any change fee. One time gesture on, so suggest if you have several of these to get them all done on the same call.

Now on BA396 at 1:40pm. So hoping 3hr20mins should be enough time. Might even get some well deserved T5 lounge time in!

aks120

Genius idea BA and Oneworld. This will of course reduce cabin baggage and people trying to take their entire worldy possessions on a flight, not delaying things and will result in making overhead lockers almost empty............. I can only see this being more of a pain for them than an enhancement.

What a stupid plan - the more I read and see about BA these days, the more I am getting disappointed by their penny pinching and rules for no reason!

Very sad deteriation in what was a sensible perk.

Aks120

corporate-wage-slave

There is now a PDF released on this issue from BA, which is here, partially repeating material elsewhere:

http://www.britishairways.com/assets...h-check-in.pdf

I'll just quote a few things from the FAQ, for the benefit of those on mobile devices:

[Don't shoot the messenger!]

1. When does the new policy take effect?
The oneworld obligation changed on 1 June 2016 and BA has implemented this change from this date.

2. Why are we making these changes?
Legally speaking, two separate tickets have two separate contracts. Therefore BA is only responsible for carrying baggage to the destination specified on each separate ticket.

3. So why did oneworld originally offer through check-in even if customers were using separate tickets?
This policy was brought in when airlines were changing from paper to electronic tickets, around 10 years ago to ease technical limitations and processes for the customer.

4. At check-in, what information should we give to customers travelling on separate tickets in separate bookings/PNRs?
Unfortunately for customers who are used to interlining on separate PNRs, BA and other oneworld member airlines have no obligation to provide any services or benefits beyond those specified in the traveller’s ticket.

5. How should we manage customers on separate tickets that have missed their second flight due to disruption?
We will continue to assist customers in rebooking their journey. However, customers will be subject to the terms and condition of the tickets and there may be additional costs associated to the ticket changes based on the fare rules. BA is not liable for any duty of care costs.

rossmacd

I may be the only one, but I do think its quite funny that BA chose to use QR/DOH examples in their PDF (kindly linked by CWS). Maybe its QR who are disrupting the alliance by offering vastly superior service and excellent fares

orbitmic

Thanks for posting - it does make for interesting reading. Now when it comes to BA's words

I think that whoever wrote that got confused between the questions

a) "why are we making these changes?" (possible answers: because transferring luggage costs money and we don't want to do it when not obliged to? Perhaps because making it difficult will even encourage most people who can to travel HBO which will save us more cash? Or because we realise that sometimes people manage to go around our pricing strategy by buying two separate tickets instead of the more expensive through ticket we were hoping to dump on them? etc), and

b) "how can we possibly get away with making this change?" (answer provided by BA in the statement)

And again, the same person got confused between

a) Why did oneworld originally offer through check-in even if customers were using separate tickets (possible answers: because we once wanted to be the best of all three alliances? Because we wanted to treat alliance airlines better than non-alliance ones? Because most airlines accepted to through check bags on separate bookings at the time so we wanted to officialise that for within the alliance? etc) and

b) What sort of complete and utter rubbish of a lie can we tell customers if they complained that we always used to let them through check bags on separate OW bookings till now? (answer provided by BA in the statement).

As usual, whilst I understand that naïve PR reigns supreme in much of the corporate world nowadays, I personally do find the fact that BA think that we, their customers, are so completely idiotic rather insulting.

Speedbird876

I have sympathy for certain passengers who will be affected by this change. Sometimes it's not possible to get flights on one ticket, like cash+reward. I wish BA had an exception for its own flights.

That said, I can see why checking through is problematic especially onto different carriers. I mean the second carrier won't even be expecting a bag which suddenly is transferred over by the first carrier.

Also, with fares like HBO increasing, I wonder were some people through-checking onto fares that didn't allow baggage and BA had no system to collect that money.

So if I had one ticket BKK-DOH-CDG on QR and the second HBO CDG-LHR on BA, before the changes, I'm sure the agent at BKK would have through checked to LHR. In this case, my bag must be transferred at CDG where BA and QR operate at separate terminals and I don't even have a baggage allowance for my next flight. The agent also needs a knowledge of MCTs at CDG, something that will have been considered already when the flights are on one ticket.