Copa policy on interlining bag on separate tickets?
Feb 25, 2019, 5:08 pm
#1
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Join Date: Oct 2017
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Copa policy on interlining bag on separate tickets?
I’m flying PTY-MIA on Copa and then, 12 hours later, flying MIA-NYC on Delta. I just learned Copa and Delta have an interline agreement, but I can’t find Copa’s interline policy when separate tickets are involved. Anyone know? Hoping to check my bag all the way through so I won’t have to wait around for Delta’s counters to open at MIA. (The Copa flight arrives after midnight.) Thanks.
Feb 25, 2020, 6:13 am
#2
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: USA, DC
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Copa interline nightmare on separate tickets
Was in trouble with Copa interlining my bag on separate tickets. Got a business class ticket with Copa BOG-PTY-FLL and separate ticket with United FLL-IAD with a very short connecting time in FLL (no chances to recheck the bag, just a time to pass the Immigration and to run to my gate).
United told me - just show your second ticket and your bag will be checked until the final destination, we got an interline agreement.
Thanks God - was very early on a check-in in Bogota. They vigorously denied to check the bag to IAD and told it is a policy if they don't see my next flights in their system and tickets are separate. We argued for more than an hour! Spoken with the check-in supervisor, called United 1K, and they talked to Copa... As a result, they did me a favor and called their high-ranked manager in the city office and made an exception. But I was very close to loose my flight from FLL (the last one on that day) because of the situation.
United told me - just show your second ticket and your bag will be checked until the final destination, we got an interline agreement.
Thanks God - was very early on a check-in in Bogota. They vigorously denied to check the bag to IAD and told it is a policy if they don't see my next flights in their system and tickets are separate. We argued for more than an hour! Spoken with the check-in supervisor, called United 1K, and they talked to Copa... As a result, they did me a favor and called their high-ranked manager in the city office and made an exception. But I was very close to loose my flight from FLL (the last one on that day) because of the situation.
Feb 25, 2020, 1:51 pm
#3
Join Date: Aug 2002
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Separate tickets and interlining are not the same issue.
An interline agreement with CM and DL covers when one ticket has a flight on each of the airlines. Baggage interlining says for one common ticket they will handle the luggage across airlines. Ticket interline agreements say one airline can sell the others' tickets. You are not discussing an interline agreement at all. Especially since there could easily be a codeshare CM/UA flight that probably met interline conditions. Or just a mix of CM and DL flights. So you did not "get an interline agreement" since the agreements are between airlines and require one ticket, and more than one airline. You got an exception to a rule.
Airlines know full well that people will buy separate tickets as you did, to save money over a single ticket (the e-ticket interline agreements are how you get one ticket on two airlines, even ones that are not in the same alliance). So the airlines are saying two tickets are your problem and not theirs.
An interline agreement with CM and DL covers when one ticket has a flight on each of the airlines. Baggage interlining says for one common ticket they will handle the luggage across airlines. Ticket interline agreements say one airline can sell the others' tickets. You are not discussing an interline agreement at all. Especially since there could easily be a codeshare CM/UA flight that probably met interline conditions. Or just a mix of CM and DL flights. So you did not "get an interline agreement" since the agreements are between airlines and require one ticket, and more than one airline. You got an exception to a rule.
Airlines know full well that people will buy separate tickets as you did, to save money over a single ticket (the e-ticket interline agreements are how you get one ticket on two airlines, even ones that are not in the same alliance). So the airlines are saying two tickets are your problem and not theirs.