trueblu

I have an upcoming 3 segment itinerary, starting with PEK-NRT on JL, and then onto LAX with AA. I am OWE in case it is relevant.

I will probably be taking my skis and boots, as well as one checked bag with me. I was wondering what the ski equipment policy for JL is - the website is not entirely clear. Are skis and boots counted as one item, as on AA? Flight is in Y.

I posted a related query on AA forum (apologies for part cross-post), and it was suggested that the AA segment would be 'most significant carrier' -- is that the case, given it is a TPAC?

Finally, does being AA EXP on JL carry any significance with regards to luggage?

many thanks,

tb

JALPak

Please refer to AA policy s it is the MSC. Extra checked baggage is not a ow benefit

trueblu

Thanks, that's helpful -- if AA is the MSC, I should be fine with skis/boots counting as one item. Do you think I should print the page to bring to the JL check-in desk?

I realise OW doesn't have baggage benefits, but there are sometimes informal benefits -- was wondering whether they apply (anecdotally) at JL? And what is JL's own policy for skis/boots, for future reference -- it's not clear on the website?

thanks again,

tb

JALPak

Under "Surfboards and and Windsurfing Equipment Charge"

I guess u can always tide the boots bag together with the skis'

And I am not sure if your AA EXP extra allowance would carry over. You might want to check with folks on AA forum

trueblu

OK, sitting in the lounge at PEK after checking in.

I had a print-out of the JL MSC rules (although I admit I'm not 100% what applies, since I am crossing sub-areas PEK-NRT before doing NRT-LAX. I also had print-out of AA ski bag/boot policy (i.e. count as one item).

The check-in staff were superb and very friendly, but also confused as to what the policy should be. Took about 10 minutes of to-ing and fro-ing, phone calls etc. In the end, they said had it not been a ski bag, they would let it pass, but since it was a ski bag, JL rules are that ski bag and boot bag are separate baggage items. However, they had a provision to charge me 1/3 normal excess baggage charge under these circumstances.

In the end, I thought that was a reasonable trade-off, and agreed to pay the charge. They did inter-line my bags across all 3 carriers to my final destination, so that's something.

On another note, in the BGS premier lounge, and although it's rather small and the decor is a bit dated compared with the CA lounge, the food offerings are rather good, so to be recommended.

tb

JALPak

did you book PEK-NRT as an AA coded flight?

trueblu

No, sadly, no AA codeshare was availabe -- it was codeshare with China Eastern or something.

tb

PS the JL flight was three hours delayed due to very light snow. We had to queue up on the runway for de-icing, and PEK seemed to have only one. So it took forever. Ironically, given it was sunny and warm outside, the snow on the wings had all melted by the time the de-icer came -- hey ho. Almost missed my connection at NRT, but just made it. Sadly, didn't get a chance to experience the famous lounges at NRT...will need to wait for another time!

JALPak

Is this a oneway ticket? And is XXX in the US?

trueblu

Just to follow-up, this itin was to Canada, final destination. It was a return, but the return segments were all on AA. Would it have made a difference?

tb

JALPak

If the furthest point is a US destination, US DOT exception would apply but not in this case.

But I still don't understand as your AA transpacific flight is the first one to cross the IATA tariff area and they should be your MSC and their rules should apply even without the US DOT exception

trueblu

The whole thing took a while: I tried to say that AA should be MSC, and brought the paperwork to justify, along with AA's rules. They were very polite and professional throughout, but said that JL's rules apply. They actually said (not sure if they meant it) that as OWE, they would have let me get away with it, had not the extra bag been a ski bag. But since they only charged me c US$33 for the bag, I wasn't up to arguing much. At that point, I just wanted to get on and enter security. Had I known I would be sitting on the plane for 3 hours before we took off, I might have argued a bit more!

Well done to JL/NRT for taking my bags off and transferring them to the AA flight, which left 20 minutes after we finally landed at NRT.

Even with a 5 hour layover in ORD on the way back, AA still managed to misplace my ski bag, and it got onto the next day's flight on the return journey: luckily, not an issue here since ski season well and truly over!

tb

JALPak

I guess you flew on the day with surprise snow at PEK? You can try to e-mail JAL and ask them why JAL rules apply (and see if they will give you a refund) as you believe AA is the MSC instead of JAL. I would contact the Japan office and you can do so with this online comment form

http://www.jal.co.jp/en/information/service/

It's possible that if AA doesn't publish the baggage provisions for ski bag (is there such a thing for just ski bag?), then JAL's rules apply but I have no idea what baggage provisions are LOL

http://www.jal.co.jp/en/other/info2011_0304iata.html

trueblu

Thanks -- that's most helpful. The charge was not excessive, but I sent a quick note, more for curiousity's sake, since I do believe I should have had charge exempted.

AA has a clear policy on ski bags/boots, and I even took a print-out with me. They looked at it, but they actually told me that JL's policy would count on this leg. This is where we disagree. But oddly, they then didn't charge me the fully extra bag rate, but 1/3 the extra bag rate: not sure why? But am grateful (although if they tried to charge full rate, I might have stood my ground!).

Will post here any follow-up if received.

tb

PS congrats on being made forum ambassador!

JALPak

Thank you, trueblu!

Please let us know about how it goes too. So next time if someone runs into the same situation, we will know better. It will probably take them a couple of days to reply (might be longer given they are kind of busy with the latest irregular operations caused by strong wind and heavy rain in TYO yesterday)

trueblu

I just received JL's response, in which they agreed that I was incorrectly charged. I've copied the letter below: I do feel they've gone overboard apologising (never thought I would say that about CS!) since I didn't 'lose faith' in JL at all -- in fact, in my original letter (also copied), I mentioned the staff were polite throughout....anyway, a big ^ and hopefully, look forward to my refund.

My letter:

I recently flew on a multi-sector journey starting at PEK with JL.
My itinerary was PEK-NRT-LAX-XXX. The first segment was on JL,
the second (inter-continental) segment was on AA. If it is relevant,
I am OneWorld Emerald (AA ExpPlat). When checking-in at PEK, I wanted
to check in three items: a ski bag, a ski boot bag, and a regular bag.
I was under the impression that AA would be the most significant
carrier (MSC) for my journey, due to the NRT-LAX routing on AA.
AA has a clear policy on charges for ski bags/boot bags: that they
count as one item (as long as boot bag contains only ski boots).
However, the JL staff insisted on counting these as two items.
They were very polite throughout. But I was charged RMB210 for
the ski bag.
I wish to enquire as to whether this charge was valid, since it does
not appear to be so according to my understanding of the rules.
I look forward to your response.
with kind regards,

Yours faithfully,

Their response:

Thank you for choosing us on your recent flight and for your
e-mail received on April 4th, 2012.

Above all, we deeply regret the inconvenience you encountered
when checking in your baggage at PEK Airport. Upon receipt of
your e-mail, we have carefully reviewed the situation and the
baggage rule of AA. And at this time, we would like to apologize
to you that the MSC AA's rule are different from that of JAL's
and we should have not charged you for the baggage excess fee
by counting your ski boots bag and ski bag separately. Please be
informed that we are now proceeding the refund process and would
be able to inform you when the details are confirmed.

We have instructed the airport staff strictly to prevent similar
issues from happening again, and advised the concerned department
to train the staff with enough knowledge of the AA baggage rule.

We regret to cause the discomfort to our valuable customer like you,
but your kind understanding in this case is highly appreciated.

Once again, thank you for sparing the time to contact us.
While this experience may have left you with a less than positive
impression on Japan Airlines, we sincerely look forward to having
the privilege to serve you again, in hopes of restoring your faith
in our services.