Ginandtonic

Hi, I am looking for some help for an upcoming flight. My wife and I are booked early March on an early (6.25) flight LHR to Madrid and then connecting to an Iberia flight to South America, this is a paid for flight on a single booking with a 125 number, flying in P.E. After a few days we are going on a cruise and so taking a large suitcase and a carry on each which are within BAs dimensions.
We are staying at T5 Sofitel the night before and so hoping twilight check in is available.
Our main concern is our carry on cases, having read through various threads it is clear that boarding varies. How can we ensure we don't have our carry on taken at the gate and put in the hold? We have about two and a half hours at Madrid which is ok but we wouldn't want to have to go to carousel, collect luggage go through security etc.
We dont want to check all bags in because we are spliiting clothes etc. in case suitcases go missing, also will have a decent camera in the carry on that I would like to keep within view.
Any tips greatly appreciated.

c1223

On the assumption that it is a single ticket, if they checked your bag at the gate at LHR then it would be checked through to your final destination.

There is no guarantee, but if it is your only bag and you have electronics (read batteries) and maybe some medicines that you require during the flight etc they would struggle to make you check it.

corporate-wage-slave

The best advice would naturally be to minimise the amount of hand luggage, volumetrically and ideally within the published limits for the main bag. For the personal item - the second item - the 15cm rule means that almost everyone with a second bag breaks that. They are particularly looking out for wheelie bags, so other sorts of bags, particularly squidgy bags are much less likely to get problems. Do a search of Skypak to see the CWS cloak of invisibility. But overall, and with very occasional exceptions, the process of gate checking bags is voluntary and they are often successful in gettting volunteers in return for boarding in group 3. This annoys some FTers but it's better than the alternatives. I guess you could ask for the AUP price to MAD, assuming it's BA operated, since then you go to Group 1 and normally you have fewer problems as a result. You also get the middle seat which gives you an easier storage area. MAD is a route with baggage issues, but they often get the newer NEOs (as it were) where the problem goes away, I've never seen a full NEO cabin with full overheads, there's a lot of extra space. If you do get gate checked, it won't go to MAD, it will go to the final destination if one one booking (and ditto if on two bookings, anecdotally), so you won't have to the transit schlep in MAD. But just showing the Iberia boarding passes is usually enough to persuade agents to look elsewhere, they may well actually advise you not to gate check.

scottishpoet

The only way to guarantee it will not be hold checked is to have a bag that is small enough to go under the seat.

Otherwise it iis down to space available on tbe day. The later you are in the boarding groups the more at risk you are.

Ginandtonic

Thank you for the replies, we are economy on the Madrid part of the journey but have paid for seat selection and chosen row 10. On MMB it is currently showing as a Finnair flight if that makes any difference.

Greenpen

I have never been forced to check in a cabin bag. Nor have I ever been asked so to do other than a general notice asking passengers to do so. The forced checkin has acquired a sort of mythical status here. Even if most luggage racks are out of order I cannot even imagine that passengers connecting onto long haul would be selected for compulsory checkin.

Above

It is difficult to say in advance, what will happen. There are some flights, where they take all wheelie bags away, unless you have priority boarding (travel class or status). As others have already said, if you have a smaller bag you have greater chances of keeping it. Also sometimes it helps if you board early, as they have a limit on number of bags they will take on board