AI segment on UA ticket with LHR overnite layover
 

Friend is travelling to BOM on UA ticket with EWR-BOM nonstop outbound but return on AI from BOM to LHR (overnight layover of 21 hours) and then UA back to EWR.

This is NOT a stopover as stay at LHR is less than 24 hours and no extra UK taxes are levied because of it.

This is single UA ticket.

Will bags be checked all the way to EWR by AI for BOM-LHR-EWR portion?

Reasons for asking:

a) Although these are *A partners segment on the single ticket, UA and AI are still different airlines. (Most likely this should not be an issue)

b) Even though layover is less than 24h and hence legal connection rather than stopover, it being overnight an issue about ability to do through checkin?

Heathrow does not allow baggage to be checked through overnight, due to security. There are many threads discussing this on the BA board.

+1

This also means that thr traveler has to enter UK and all visa regulations apply.

Since when? Heathrow absolutely will allow bags to be checked through on overnights - I've done it multiple times. In fact, if checked on one ticket, many BA outstations refuse to short check just to LHR even if there is an overnight, in order to prevent people from dropping segments.

what is the latest situation?
 

Yes, this has been often discussed topic with different answer for various airports.

As we have encountered here, totally opposite datapoints are not uncommon.

As a fact, I know that BA used to allow this on BA to BA connection for afternnon BOM departure, overnite at LHR and next day morning departure to JFK. But that was many years ago. In the name of safety, lot of conveninece is lost unnecessarily and this could be one of it. (Just think about it - how id 12 hour overnite layover is different from 14 hour day time layover?)

Plus, in this case, there is change of airline.

Would love to get recent datapoint one way or other or a reference/link to one. Thanks in advance.

i did a del-lhr on ai & lhr-iad on ua connection a couple of years ago....the layover was a little over 12 hours....my bags were checked all the way through even though i went through immigration & onwards to london to meet some friends before coming back to the airport to catch my ua flight....

Keyser,

Did that 12 hours include midnight?

12 day time does not seem to be a problem for most airports in most countries.

Others are indicating overnite as an issue. (Although security as an explanation does not make sense at all. Whose security? that of the bag??)

nope....it was during the day....although, i agree with you that from a security point of view it makes no sense....

I agree though the problem is, finding anyone rational to reason with (that too with AI)