Checking Bags Through On Separate Tickets?
 

Got a good price on a Continental roundtrip ticket LAX-AMS with change of planes in Houston and purchased it before it could disappear. In the next few weeks, I am going to purchase a separate roundtrip on CSA Airlines AMS-PRG. Will I be able to check bags straight through LAX-PRG even though these are technically separate itineraries? Would it help if I purchase the CSA ticket through Continental (if that's possible)?

So long as it's a major carrier (not a Southwest-type like EasyJet), it shouldn't be a problem.

Just carry a copy of your itin/receipt for your onward flights, and present it to the agent to generate your bag tags.

See a recent similar thread in the DL forum re: JFK-LAX LAX-TUS on separate tickets.

I had no issuse with checking bags (well a box) from CO to another airline.

I was flying EWR-ZRH-IST connecting to TK(Turkish Airlines) in Zurich. The agent in EWR asked to look at my eticket reciept for TK and then typed something in her computer and tagged my box all the way through to IST.

The box arrived in IST with a priority tag attached from both CO and TK and was the second item out.

Dan

Hi folks,

Bumping for a confirmation since this thread is 3 years old.

Setting my gf up on two (Separately purchased) flights that will result in this on one direction:
CO:ewr-lhr
(couple of hours)
TK:lht-ist

In my experience it will be no problem checking through to ist, but TK agents on the phone just told her they don't do it.

I'm thinking they probably have no idea what they're talking about, but wonder whether there are any LHR specific rules/limitations recently, or some other reason this might be a problem.

No big deal either way, but the way she likes to shop in NY, the schlep will not be insignificant if she has to collect/recheck... :p

Any advice/thoughts appreciated.

Thanks,

R

It shouldn't be a problem. First off, it's the CO agents that would check the bags from EWR to IST through LHR. As long as you have your ticket or itinerary, you should be fine. Unless something drastic happened after TK left OW in March, the carrier interlines with lots of different airlines. I don't see why you should have a problem.

Yep, that's what I'm thinking.

Thanks very much,

R

Just a word of warning. I did this very successfully one time from Newark - Miami; Miami - Bogotá (via COPA). However, the return wasn't so easy. They could check me all the way through, but the agent in Bogotá couldn't figure out how to do that with my bags. I had to get my bags in Miami and go to the regular ticket counter to check them the rest of the way.

Not necessarily easy.

It all depends on the agent. Last November I had CO: IAH->AMS-> IAH and KLM: AMS->Vienna->AMS. Transfer between CO and KLM has to be one of the easier transfers. The Continental agent did not know how to check my bag through to Vienna. She asked another agent who proceeded to explain the long drawn out procedure and the risks involved. Since I travel light, I decided to carry-on my bag instead.

The official policy is that they do not have to but they almost always will.

As for risks and it being a long and drawn out procedure, neither are particularly bad assuming the agent knows what they are doing. I'd never check if carry-on were viable, but if you have to check, doing so for an interline routing, even on multiple tickets, isn't that big a deal.

I recently did this on PHX-JFK on CO and the JFK-DXB on EK. It took the guy at the counter a bit of time, but he was able to do it.