Swishflyer

So I have read all the posts I could find on here and still can't get a definitive answer. My SO and I need to travel from IAH-LOS in the next couple of days. The only way I have found to accomplish this is in a somewhat cost-effective was is to book two separate itineraries.

My questions are:

1) What are the best airports to accomplish this through in the europe?
2) Will we have to recheck luggage?
3) I hold a US permanent resident/green card and a NIGERIAN passport. From what I understand, I am exempt from needing a transit visa. My problem is: will this still hold true with 2 separate tickets or will I no longer be exempt if we have to recheck baggage?
4) If I am no longer exempt because of the luggage, can my husband retrieve all the baggage and recheck in his name as he is a US passport holder. (I understand that we will have to pay for excess baggage on the second leg).

Thanks in advance for the quick responses.

WorldLux

You do realise that around this time of year, airport operations throughout Europe can come to a stillstand at very short notice? It just takes some fog and snow to delay your flights. They may even get cancelled and you may be rebooked only a couple days later (due to insufficient availability). Factor that into your travel plans.

There's no better/worse per se.

That depends on the airlines involved but expect to have recheck them. Bear in mind that rechecking requires you to clear customs (I'm not talking about immigration at this point) and declare anything you're bringing into the country where you recheck your bags.

What transit time are you currently planning with? Remember that on the way back your airline will very likely ask you to be at the airport at least 2 to 3 hours prior to your flight to the US.

UKtravelbear

so you want to fly IAH-XXX-LOS?

Have a look at google flights to see what options are available to you. TBH it makes little difference which airport you transfer at these days in practical terms of the transfer - especially if you have to clear immigration to collect bags and recheck etc

You may have issues on separate tickets in you are not actually in transit and the first airline may not let you board if you don't have the right documents to enter the intermediary country which you will have to do to recheck your bags.

I wouldn't hold out a lot of hope on having the baggage checked right through on separate tickets. Even if both flights were on e.g. BA they won't through check on separate itineraries.


Remember as well that should you be delayed on your IAH-XXX flight and you miss the XXX-LOS flight neither airline will be very helpful in rebooking you for free and you may have to buy a last minute ticket

Often1

You also need to factor into the cost, the risk premium for no showing for your onward flight. If you no show for that flight, your ticket will be cancelled and will retain whatever value it retains under its fare rules which could be $0. You may then be required to purchase new tickets at walk-up prices and that presumes there are seats to be had at all.

As to having your husband handle the bags as he may have more favorable immigration treatment, bear in mind that he won't be able to check a bag in your name. Thus, the bags will need to be checked under this name and depending on the baggage allowance, he may be required to pay fees.

The specific airport may matter a great deal, all depending on the arrival and departure terminal for the specific location. Thus, a transfer between two terminals at some locations ---- LHR is an example ---- may have different immigration implications than a transfer either within the same terminal or a transfer at an airport with sterile transfer, e.g. a bus/train running outside immigration.

Finally, even on carriers which might check bags through across tickets, there may be a problem if the carrier is concerned about the immigration status of your transfer.

All of this requires sitting down and examining the costs involved, how important checked bags are to you, the specific airport and physical transfer arrangements and then TIMATIC which will show you the exact document requirements for your personal situation and the physical transfer you are considering.

Swishflyer

For some reason, I didn't get notifications to responses.

@WorldLux Really, just enough transit time to factor in delays and rechecking bags. I do not intend to leave the airport and will just stay in the lounge.

@ UKtravelbear I was actually using miles hence the split tickets. Current prices are !!!! I called and they said okay to board if I have onward ticket and GC. No assurances on checking through though. I strongly considered the possibility of the missed connection but am willing to risk it to be with children for christmas.

@Often1 Not as concerned about losing value since I will be using miles. The only concern will be a replacement ticket. We are prepared to pay the extra baggage fee for him to check them all in his name. Your point about LHR was definitely one of concern to me. MUST have the checked bags as we bought stuff for our restaurant that we cannot get there. Don't really care which airport as long as it gets us there. TIMATIC? I had never heard of it before. Thank you. Off I go to figure out how to use it.

Basically at this point I've given up as I can't seem to find any flights that would get us to the kids using a mix of cash and miles. (We have a 159k LM and 170k Avios)

WorldLux

That sounds IMO like a really bad plan. Again, it's December and chances are that there may be delays. If there are, then they are going to be massive and "just enough" won't cut it then. What itinerary do you have in mind? You're still extremely vague about where you actually want to transit...

Which is still money since you didn't get the miles for free. Missing your onwards flights may make the whole exercise rather pointless. If you have to pay for a new return flight between Europe and LOS (remember, a multi-segment ticket becomes void if you don't fly the segments in the correct order. Missing the flight to LOS means losing the flight from LOS), then you may end up paying more than just paying more for the risk-free but more expensive connecting flight.

What kind of stuff and quantities are we talking about. You may get stopped by customs when trying to recheck your bags and if you do it's going you'll to pay duties on these goods (there's no allowance on goods that are not for personal usage) + potentially risk confiscation of articles that can't be imported (e.g. some types of food are not allowed).

Christmas is ~3 days away. 2 days if you have the celebration on the 24th. That doesn't leave much room for flexibility. There may not even be any availability left.

KLouis

Adding to what WorldLux wrote, in most if not all European airports I've used (more than 50), customs is always after immigration. In other words, whoever picks the luggage will definitely have to have a visa or have a citizenship that allows to enter without visa in order to retrieve the checked luggage. Moreover, there may be problems with customs if you include items meant to be used in your business (restaurant). This could result in taxes having to be paid even if you do not intent to stay in the country where you're connecting. As for waiting in the lounge, this also means that you'll be in posession of a boarding card for the "connecting" flight. On-line check in is often limited and can't be used for several international/transcontinental flights. You have to make sure that this won't be the case with you, since there is no possibility for your husband to check you in without your being present at the CI desk. All in all, I see a hell of a lot of risks with your plan!

LondonElite

It's pretty simple, as others have pointed out.

- If you are on two separate tickets you must assume that you will not be able to check your luggage through
- This means that you will need to go landside at the intermediate airport to collect your luggage and re-check it
- This means that you will need to meet the entry requirements for the country of your chosen intermediate stop
- This means you will need to factor in a lot of extra time and also accept the risk that you will lose all of ticket two if you do not get to the intermediate airport in time (eg your first flight is cancelled)

Two tickets can save money, but it can also end up costing a lot more!

iamflyer

The airlines of the two separate tickets will affect how risky it is too. Two tickets on the same airline would be much lower risk when it comes to through checking, and airlines in the same alliance are going to be lower risk than non-alliance airlines even with an interline agreement, and of course many airlines don't even have an agreement in place to interline.

UKtravelbear

It depends on the airline!

BA won't check through to BA if the passenger is on separate tickets. Nor will they check through to other airlines in One World on separate tickets.

Some OW airlines will (e.g. QR) but it not OW policy and the OP cannot rely on it.

VS will only check through to BA if the flights are on the same ticket (and vice versa) but won't on separate ones.

Anyway either the OP is now booked or is spending christmas as home. It would be good if they cam and said what the finally decided to do.