lee333

Hi there - Having researched this I know it can be a contentious issue and a practice that I've never undertaken, but I need some help if possible...

To get a crazy fare I have booked a flight from DUB-LHR-LAX-LHR-DUB flying Aer Lingus business class on the Irish Leg and VA UC on the LA leg.

I will be positioned in Dublin to start so that's no problem, but the very last flight (of all four) from LHR-DUB is the one I don't want/need to take.

I booked this through Orbitz and as you can see it's with two different carriers. I just want to know if I will get all of my miles and tier earnings with VA if I drop the last flight and if this is likely to cause me any grief? I'm not worried about Aer Lingus from a loyalty point of view as I seldom fly with them, but would be good to know if anyone has experience of this. If the miles and tier point with VA would be in jeopardy I'd bite the bullet and book a final flight back from DUB-LHR.

I am working on the assumption that I will ask the check-in desk at LAX to only check my bag through to LHR.

Many thanks - Lee

guv1976

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

"I am working on the assumption that I will ask the check-in desk at LAX to only check my bag through to LHR."

No, you're working on the assumption that Virgin will honor your request to short-check your bag. If all of your flights are on a single ticket, that's a bad assumption, unless you have an overnight connection at LHR.

Suggest you check the FT Virgin Atlantic forum to see if there's any discussion there of VS's short-checking policies.

Note that if your flight to DUB had been booked on EI's LGW-DUB service, you would not have a checked-baggage issue, as airlines generally do not transport baggage to a co-terminal for a connecting flight; that is the passenger's responsibility.

Often1

Your bag won't be short-checked at LAX. It will be checked to DUB without an overnight or a station change at LON.

lee333

Thanks for the advice so far.

The flights are on two separate tickets (I assume?!?) as two different flight ref's have been given.

I did this on a flight from Hong Kong back to London last week where I was onwardly connecting to Frankfurt (entire trip was with BA) and they honoured it (I did take all of the flights but just wanted to freshen up at the arrivals lounge and leave my luggage at left luggage so I didn't lug it all the way to FRA and back).

Do you think this will be a problem then? If so I'll simply book a flight back from DUB to avoid any issues.

Thanks

JDiver

We're still short information here: now you're telling us you have two PNRs, but we still don't know what those entail; that could make a significant difference. "The devil's in the details" applies here.

If these are separately ticketed - the EI and VS - you'll certainly not have trouble dropping the EI sector between London and Dublin and checking baggage to LHR.

If so, do check what could (or could not occur) if your EI flight into LHR is delayed; will VS honor your ticket if you miss your flight to LAX?

Safe travels!

MichaelBaku

You will have 2 different flight refs because there are 2 airlines involved or you have an airline ref and an Amadeus ref. To be sure you have 2 tickets look for 2 ticket numbers - the first 3 digits should be different.

lee333

Sorry for the missed details - I'm somewhat new to this!

I have a record locator for VA (LHR-LAX-LHR) and a separate one for EI (DUB-LHR-DUB). Do you therefore think it will be OK to drop the last flight? I'm not too worried about the journey on the way out as I have over 4 hours in between flights and it is only the last one on the return journey I want/need to drop.

Also, based on their being two record locators are you confident that dropping the last flight from LHR-DUB will NOT have any affect on the tier and miles I'll earn on the VA sector?

Thanks

guv1976

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

The key, as mentioned by another poster, is not how many airline reference codes you have, but how many tickets you have. Do you have one ticket number for the EI flights and a separate ticket number for the VS flights, or are all four flights on a single ticket number?

My guess is that all of your flights are on one ticket, as TATL airfares are often cheaper with a DUB origination than with a LON origination. But you really need to check your ticket number information to be sure.

MichaelBaku

I honestly doubt that VS will even know you have dropped the last sector (they would if you dropped the first sector however). Your main issue is the short checking of bags. Can you change the LHR/DUB to LGW/DUB? That way, VS will only check your bags to LHR and you won't have a problem. It might be worth it for the peace of mind, depends on the change fee.

84fiero

Your ticket number(s) will be much longer - usually 13 digits IIRC - as opposed to the 6-position alphanumeric record locators (PNRs). This will be somewhere on the confirmation info you received from Orbitz. Though I'd agree with the above poster that it's likely you have a single ticket - but check to confirm if you received one or two ticket numbers.

Often1

OP - You will have a PNR (record locator) for each operating carrier. The question is whether you have one ticket or more. Which is it?

MoreMilesPlease

Did you buy two separate tickets? A roudtrip ticket DUB-LHR-DUB and the a complete separate ticket LHR-LAX-LHR? This would have needed separate transactions with two separate charges to your credit card. You would have booked one ticket and then booked the second ticket.

If you did this in one step with one charge then you do not have two separate tickets. You have one ticket on two airlines.

JDiver

You need a ticket number to travel; most tickets today are "e-tickets" and not the old paper tickets.

Ticket numbers are comprised of thirteen digits (the first three are the ticketing or "plating" airline's airline ticketing code, beginning with American Airlines' "001") and are discrete numbers, never reused and tied to specific tickets (with their fare conditions).

Tickets issued by Aer Lingus begin with the airline ticket code "053" followed by ten digits.

Tickets issued by Virgin Atlantic begin with "932", followed by ten digits.

If your flights are separately ticketed, you'll have no problems dropping the final segment.

(I think you're confusing a ticket with a PNR, or Passenger Name Document, usually six or seven characters (e.g. FV4UX2 or UVXTVR) that form in essence a "handle" for an itinerary. A PNR is not evidence of ticketing, and PNRs are not permanent records - they in fact are eventually "recycled" and attached to another itinerary.)

If your flights are all on one ticket, it may not be so easy, as others have mentioned.

dvs7310

If you're on one ticket (which is suspect is the case), then the easiest way to make sure you can pick up your bags is an airport change. Fortunately in London that's pretty easy with LHR and LGW. I do this sometimes with Tokyo as well using NRT and HND to force a short check. Overnight generally works too, but I have had the machine spit out through checked tags (think it was under 12 hours in all cases) and had to get the agent to manually change it stating that I needed the checked bags during the overnight. (Note it wasn't always on a throw away ticket I've had this happen but seems to be the norm if there isn't an airport change and it's 12 hours or less)

Now having said all that, if all else fails, they are not supposed to allow your bags to stay on the plane if you don't board the flight. If you have a sufficient layover then you could easily walk up to the baggage counter on arrival at LHR, tell them you feel sick (think sinus congestion so you can't equalize your ears, not necessarily anything that's going to get you sent to the health officer) and won't be making your connecting flight today and they could get your bags, though it may take a while.

Calchas

No. If you bought your flights in a single transaction as a single contract the flights are on one ticket. You may obtain different PNRs (or references); this is just because several computer reservation systems are involved.

I would not be confident but EI are pretty bad at communicating with their codeshare partners. You may even get points for the EI sector you don't take.

Your bags will not travel to DUB without you: even if they are tagged to DUB, you can insist that they be returned to you at LHR if you like. It may take an hour or two to retrieve them.