chmielko

I'll be arriving in London at 1300 GMT from my vacation in US in business and have the flight departing next day in the morning on the same itinerary. I obviously want to collect my luggage in LHR, so that I don't need to carry around excess vacation-luggage when I'm flying next day for business meetings...

Are [check in staff] more open minded nowadays?

Cheers

fluffymitten

I had a BOS-LHR-BUD flight last year and was able to short ship the bag to LHR so it could be dropped off in the Left Luggage place in T3. Always worth asking at the desk, especially easier as you have an overnight layover so you can argue you need things out of your case.

Cris L

QR did this refused my bag for an overnighter at Doha.

DeathSlam

Are you replying to a post from 2013? Someone has resurrected this thread just a few posts above. The pulse rate of the original thread participants may not be as high or even present any more.

corporate-wage-slave

Same day connections at LHR generally require checking to the final destination. Overnight connections - it should be the passenger's choice, with the default being final destination but the passenger can ask to short check. If the"connection" is over 24 hours on the schedule (not actuality) then bags will be returned at LHR.

chmielko

Thanks. What do you mean by the above? my flight arrives at 1300 GMT and the connecting flight is next day at 800 GMT. Including the trip from US its way over 24 hours does this automatically mean my bag will be checked to LHR only?

scottishpoet

you should be able to do either

default would be checked through, but if you want to get the bag in heathrow and re check it the following morning that should be OK

without the over night they would check through, no option to collect

Finland Station

Well this is a blast from the past! Ex-TIP! Those were the days! Although I was never brave enough to try one.

Back OT, short-checking bags is highly carrier specific. You’ll have more luck persuading an AA check-in agent to give you his/her first-born child than to short check a bag. BA is generally more relaxed. But this is a tricky area, so unless you are experienced and/or are prepared for all eventualities, plan accordingly.

BillyBleach

in practice though, if you insist are they obliged to return your bag?

genuine question?

what if they say no? (At least until after the connecting flight departure time)?

psychopompos

I believe the decade old answer in this post still applies.

Globalist

Simple, as CWS said:
1. If your flight has a transit at LHR is more than 24 hours, you will have to collect your bags at LHR and you need to check them in yourself for the next flight when check in opens.
2. If your flight does not have an overnight transit your bags will be checked through to your final destination.
3. If your flight has an overnight transit but your transit time is less than 24 hours, the default is to check to your final destination UNLESS you ask at check in.

In your case point 3 applies, unless you specifically request to have your bags short checked to LHR they will check them to the final destination.

Under point 2 there is very limited flexibility unless there are special circumstances that the check in agent agrees with. Don’t count on this to happen.

Globalist

Finland Station

This thread title is misleading.

There is no universal rule that bags have to be checked through to final destination. I have never had an occasion when BA has refused to short check one of my bags. Unless I have missed something, there has been no announcement from BA on this topic that changes the current practice.

Swanhunter

You’ve been lucky - I have had refusals on several occasions and I know of many others too.

surryson

agreed and same experience too for me.
only ever had an issue with AA.

corporate-wage-slave

It is a general rule that BA certainly imposes in certain markets, particularly USA and Canada - and asks AA to impose on BA passengers (and I've seen the guidance on this). It was all about third country itineraries, so typically MIA-LHR-DUB when a number of people would mysteriously not make the final DUB, leading to various operational problems and delays on LHR-DUB. The fact that AA is involved is interesting since their rules are 6 or 12 hours for connections on through checked luggage, rather than the rest of the world's 24 hours.