GGLwannabe

Having searched various forums and threads I cannot find any up-to-date information on whether or not Finnair will interline bags to flights booked on separate tickets on other OW airlines. It seems that the statement previously viewable on the Finnair website to the effect that they would do this has disappeared, but it has not been replaced with a statement saying they won't do it. Does anyone know what is happening in practice? Specifically I am interested to know whether Finnair in London are likely to interline bags to onward Qatar Airways flights from Helsinki if the tickets are on separate PNRs.

Purjelentaja

FAQ about baggage on Finnair net pages:
"We check your baggage to the destination marked on your ticket. If your connecting flight is on a different ticket, you need to collect your baggage at the transfer airport, and check it in again." Based on that, no, they don't

remymartin

Indeed, in the good old days (pre 1st June 2016) this would not have been a problem. However, AY has implemented this change rather meticulously, so like the answer above - no, they will likely not interline citing oneworld rules.

intuition

They will 100% not check to final destination in this situation.

I have talked to a few contacts within AY and it seems this is a policy they feel really strongly about - they won't budge a millimetre.

QR (and a few other OW airlines) has scrapped this silly policy, so on your return you will be able to check bags all the way to LON.

R2

Please make sure to make your dissatisfaction known to Finnair, I feel they will only change back if enough of us complain often enough. I recently flew HEL-HKG-MNL; HEL-HKG on AY, HKG-MNL on PR, separate tickets. AY would not check my luggage through but on the return PR happily did so. When I complained to AY about this they said PR is 'breaking the rules' (claiming they would not have been allowed to through-check my luggage). AY also kept saying that this action (by PR in this case) might have had serious consequences for me as a passenger. Some of AY's replies to me had an almost threatening tone, which I found inappropriate.

remymartin

Is this based on experience, and if so, from which original airport? I had a situation where QR wouldn't even allow me to retrieve my bag at DOH, even though I had a very long layover. This was on a ticket with consecutive QR flights.

intuition

It is true QR can be a challenge at some stations. Last time I had the situation with two tickets I was denied check to final, but that was from AKL with last segment on LH. (They do have interline with LH, but this extended check-to-final policy is OW only)

The QR fora has a lot of example where check-to-final works just fine on QR. One can always print the policy and bring it, and in a friendly way explain that the policy has changed back. Asking for a station manager also helps.

intuition

I second this.

Make sure they also understand that major airlines (IIRC, QR, CX and AA) has gone back to original policy of checking to final on separate tickets if tickets are OW and MCT is met.


This can also be done preemptively. Call everytime you are about to make a ticket purchase and ask:

GGLwannabe

Thanks all, that's pretty clear! Seems to me that all Europe-based OW airlines have stopped interlining baggage to other OW carriers on separate PNRs simply to make it more difficult for savvy travellers to take advantage of discounted fares available from other European cities. BA has taken this to the ludicrous level of not even interlining between 2 BA flights on separate PNRs. Sadly in my case - wanting to interline from a short regional flight to a long-haul flight - my complaining power is minimal.

My QR flight to Doha leaves Helsinki at 17:50. I'm inclined to think it would be too risky to book the Finnair A350 flight from London arriving into Helsinki at 15:15, so it looks like I'll be on the narrow body 07:30 flight from London. And I'll be at the back of the plane, as Finnair's Biz price to Helsinki at ~ Ł680, is only about Ł300 less than my flights HEL-DOH-BKK-DOH-HEL. Or do AY ever discount flights in Biz to Helsinki? My flights aren't until October next year, so I can wait for a sale, if there's likely to be one coming.

ffay005

No, they do not. Their Euro J pricing is ridiculous.
(They have had some Euro J campaigns to leisure-oriented destinations, but even then, the prices have been quite unrealistic, think €800 return.)

juhanh

Do I understand correctly that if I have QR LHs followed by AY SH then there is a chance that QR will interline my luggage, thus saving me a roundtrip through security in HEL?

temppa

Correct, works most QR outstations.

intuition

There are many reports of this on the QR fora. I cannot find it right now, but you might be able to track it down via their dahsboard:
Qatar Airways Forum Dashboard
or on
About Baggage (Luggage)
or
Interlining

Somewhere there is also a link to QR official policy on trough-check inside OW on separate PNR, which is a document worth printing.

skba1

I just did this on a QR->QF separate bookings from ARN. On the way back obviously denied as QF has the same idiotic policy as BA/AY in this respect.

With BA or AY involved checking in luggage on separate tickets as of 1 Jun 2016 is not going to happen until further notice. It is extremely annoying as it keeps me from booking OW unless certain carriers. *A does this on average better despite no policies either for or against it.

Assuming your flight is in time at 15.15 arrival you have enough time to re-check luggage. However it is a bit tight for my liking to book this on separate tickets [with or without luggage].