stevie

Had the same prob with an agent in FRA, I just told him to do it and he did! Think he was just being ultra lazy.

srbrenna

I recently flew LHR - BAH and BAH - DOH return. They were both on separate tickets and had no problem checking bags through to the final destination (see here ).

I have also done LHR - MIA on BA and MIA - BGI on AA. My bags were checked through then as well.

This type of story comes up quite often here. Someone posted a link to the policy on BA which said it could be done so I think people should stand their ground a bit more!

toothpick

Further update - just got an e-mail for customer relations giving me 5,000 points for the inconvenience ^

Guy Betsy

Overheard in CDG last November..: BA will not interline baggage if its on a seperate reservation which we have no access to...

So if one has two seperate reservations, and even if the other one is a Oneworld partner, BA will not interline the bags for 'security' reasons.

Moscowflyer

I wonder if this is just a BA issue. We travelled from Vancouver to San Francisco on United in December and connected to Hong Kong on Cathay the same day. I assumed that we'd have to pick the bags up in the San Francisco domestic terminal and carry them to the international terminal because it was a different alliance and we were going through the US. But no, we were able to check the bags all the way through and they were first off the plane in Hong Kong. Similarly with Malaysian from KL into Singapore, connecting there onto Cathay to Hong Kong in January - no question about being unable to through-check the bags all the way, they were tagged for Hong Kong and they made it safely. And from Cathay to Lufthansa at Frankfurt there was also no problem, by this time I didn't even question it because it had worked between Vancouver and Hong Kong, the one connection where I thought there'd be a problem. I haven't had this connecting issue with BA because if I go somewhere with them it's usually just North America without a connection the same day so I pick up my luggage on arrival. I wonder whether it's different in business (which these all were) and economy where maybe the cost and hassle of tracking a bag is a larger proportion of the fare paid?

The _Banking_Scot

Hi Moscowflyer,

It certainly seems to be a BA issue ( although bmi has taken the same appraoch- separate tickets even on to another *A flight= no through tagging). Last year connected VS-BA at LGW and was able to get VS to tag my bags MCO-LGW(VS)-EDI(BA) but would not have been able to do it in reverse.

Regards

TBS

dia15222

My experience is that BA is the Problem.
We managed to check Bags through form Lufthansa to BA. But it was only possible that we had a Paper Ticket. If it would have been an electronic ticket they are not allowed because the First check-in cannot validate the ticket (Has no access to the Ticket-Database). The Check In Agent told that this regulation was quite new and made by BA!

Checking through form QF (MEL-FRA) to LH (FRA-MUC on LH as a seperate Booking) was possible by showing the Check-In a Booking-Confirmation of the electronic Ticket.

My experience is that Electronic tickets are easier when you stay in one Alliance but are hell if you interline between other Airlines.

roundtheworld

This is BS. With system integration and IATA you can basically check through any bags on any carrier.. BP is a different thing. They only need to pull the reservation and routing manually.. When transfering the other carrier has to put it then into their sytem so they will be loaded but in general BS they can its just work

GUWonder

In case of baggage trouble, is it the carrier which initially checked your luggage that is responsible to deliver the bag to the passenger at the end destination? If so, that -- financial excuses -- may explain some airlines hesitancy to thru-check when there are two (or more) separate tickets/itineraries involved.

In any event, the airlines can often check the luggage all the way to final destination if they wish to. All it takes is some kind of interline luggage arrangement and it should all be good unless the airline or airline agent just doesn't care about pleasing the customer.

bealine

There was a lot of talk last year of Aer Lingus pulling out of One World, and their "TAB" cards are no longer recognised as having any One World status - (indeed, at Gatwick, our Dublin flights no longer have EI codeshare numbers).

I have to say,as a BA staff member, I probably wouldn't have interlined the baggage to Aer Lingus either, and definitely NOT on separate tix!!!

Earthman

Thats strange because all EI DUB-LHR flights have BA code share numbers.
Why? Americawest airlines did it for me in Las Vegas when I was going from Lasvegas-Dublin with the LA -LHR leg on BA...

I was however refused this service last week in jfk by a BA person when I had a separate ticket for LHR-DUB
The inconvenience would make me move to Virgin to be honest

It's just not cricket to be frank.

Bukhara

But only when purchased as a throughfare DUB-LHR-FRA for example. You cannot buy a ticket with a BA flight number solely between LHR-DUB.

I would always have advised that, providing the minimum connection isn't undercut, that BA would through check to a separate EI ticket. I am never the person who would or wouldn't carry out this task but can only advise what I believe to be official policy. The inconsistencies in how this is carried out in practice is making me very confused and scared.

This sort of thing is probably not of much importance to Virgin though. Any connecting passengers they have will ALWAYS have VS as an integral, major part of their itinerary given that they fly exclusively longhaul. The policy of not through checking has probably arisen due to regional passengers holding separate tickets for a domestic/shorthaul BA flight and then a longhaul on VS and their ilk. It's understandable (though not necessarily saying that it is right or wrong) why BA would be reluctant to be so accommodating towards a passenger who primarily belongs to VS.

BA certainly seem to be a bit of a black sheep among major, full service carriers in implementing this policy (you can't include BD in that category). But there is definitely a strong drive for itineraries to be on one ticket if passengers and travel agents wish to take advantage what were common practices as this extends to through checking baggage and then other things such as the prohibition on issuing conjunction tickets for unusual airlines for whom a travel agent does not hold a CIP, forcing agents to issue ridiculously expensive IATA fares on certain itineraries with perplexing fare rules.

bealine

Yes, Bukhara, it is very often BA that picks up the tab for missed connecting baggage and, at an average cost of £250 per bag, BA is no longer prepared to interline bags when its share of the ticket price is minimal.

Dave Noble

The BA policy ( as can be found on the BA website ) is that for through checking of baggage

They will check through where a single ticket is used and
will check through on separate tickets as long as (a) the MCT is met and (b) the onward carrier is a OneWorld member


Dave

toothpick

Thank you Dave, - you are right, and I got an apology and 5,000 points compo because the BA check in agent got the rules wrong.

I don't get "bealine" who says:
"I have to say,as a BA staff member, I probably wouldn't have interlined the baggage to Aer Lingus either, and definitely NOT on separate tix!!!"

Don't BA employees read the rules?