I will be flying from DELHI to LOS ANGELES.

I will book a revenue ticket on Aeroflot.

14 AUG 2014

SU 233 Aeroflot Delhi 4:10 - Moscow 9:10
SU 3122 KLM Moscow 14:30 - Amsterdam 15:55


This will be an award ticket

15 AUG 2014

KL 601 KLM Amsterdam 9:50 - Los Angeles 11:50

I am an Indian Citizen with a valid US visa. So do I need a transit visa at any airport.

Can my bags be through checked - in to Los Angeles as both the carriers are Sky Team partners.

If my bags are not through checked-in I will have to collect them at AMS. So, will I need a visa to collect my bags and re-check them.

Last year, I flew LAX-NRT on Delta and NRT-SIN on SQ.

I was not allowed to collect my bags at NRT as I didn't have a visa for Japan.

But Delta staff collected my bag and handed it over to SQ.

So, I'm assuming the same might be done at AMS.

I am facing a lot of trouble booking both these tickets.

My name in passport
First Name: ABC XYZ
Last Name:

My name in US visa
First Name: FNU
Last Name: ABC XYZ

Each airline has a different story to tell which has confused me.

Please advise me on how to issue these tickets, so I don't face any trouble at immigration.

Awaiting for help from fellow FT members

I think you run a very serious risk of being refused travel by Aeroflot, because as far as they are concerned, you will be flying to Amsterdam (end of your trip) and if you do not have a Schengen visa, they will not want to let you go there.

If you were on a through ticket, they would expect you to transit, but if you are on separate tickets, they are likely not to take your word (even if you show an award ticket booking on a separate reservation) that you do not intend to try and leave at AMS, in which case, SU would be obliged to fly you back to India.

In short, I do not think that your idea of booking this itinerary on two separate tickets without a Schengen visa is a good one at all. In my estimate, you are quite likely to be refused to fly and lose your ticket and your money.

I need to fly to LAX and be there by 15.

I did not find a better way to do it. Using miles and money

With a very short notice and skyrocketing airfares, this was the best I could find.

When I called Aeroflot they said you are fine to transit in Moscow. But were unsure about going to Amsterdam

But the point is that you may very well not arrive at LAX, which would not make it a very good solution at all. At the very least, I would very strongly recommend that you call SU and check that they would let you fly in such a case. They certainly do not have to, and in my estimate, there is about 50% chance that they will not.

Regarding your other questions:

- I think you need to check the visa situation with the Dutch consulate. You may well/probably do need an airport transit visa but there are exemptions and I do not know if it would apply here. In any case, you would need to spend the night at AMS airport. I believe (but am not sure) that AMS is open 24 hours. If that is so, and again, if SU let you fly in the first place, you would need to stay airside the entire time (from 15.55 to 9.50 the next day) and try and sleep on the chairs/floors there.

- through checking: entirely up to the SU agent at your point of departure. If you are let to fly, there is a reasonable chance that they will through check the bags, but certainly no guarantee.

- if not, you will not be allowed to go landside to pick up/recheck your bags if you do not have a Schengen visa unless the immigration authorities decide to allow it (they can, they do not have to). If not, I have no idea whether SU/KL would extend you the courtesy that DL/SQ did at NRT. My personal guess is that they would not.

If you are intent on trying that itinerary, I would really strongly recommend that you contact the Dutch consulate (regarding visas) and Aeroflot (regarding whether they will let you fly) to know exactly where you stand. There are plenty of things Flyertalk is great at but answering your questions is simply not one of them: the stakes for you are too high so it is simply not in your interest to get some general answer from us while you really need specific answers from the people who will decide your fate on the day of your trip.

Thank you very much.

I have decided to book a ticket from Delhi to Los Angeles on JAL,which best suits me.

I think that sounds very wise. I think it will make for a more seemless experience.

As an additional bonus, you will avoid the dubious "pleasure" of flying SU. My experiences with them have ranged from good to absolutely atrocious (including extremely significant delays and disastrous back office). On a more minor note, my brother's description of his recent trip with them (his first) was that stewardesses seem to have been trained by the KGB and think that they are still dishing out their meals to prisonners.

Johan

I realise the OP has already (wisely) changed their plans, but a few comments for the record:

I thought some nationalities do indeed require transit visas, even for airside transit at AMS. However, Timatic doesn't seem to mention this. However, even if the OP was eligible for Transit Without Visa (TWOV) at Amsterdam, the TWOV rules for the Netherlands require transit 'by the same or first connecting aircraft'. I don't know how this would be interpreted, but it might cause problems if you weren't on the very next flight (to LAX? or to any USA transit point?) And two separate tickets might not be counted as 'connecting'...

There are two airside hotels at AMS (Yotel and Mercure), and AFAIK the rest of the (non-schengen) departures area remains open 24/7 as well. But I agree that if you weren't in one of the hotels, it wouldn't be a very comfortable night.

I've flown ~10 sectors (in a mix of J and Y) with SU in the past year, and they have all been good, with pleasant staff. That said, I haven't experienced any IRROPs or other such problems (other than the minor disappointment of a scheduled SU9 being swapped for an Airbus...)

EDIT: Just seen the following:
I don't know if the Mercure will be affected at some point as well...

It already has been. It was closed for a period, and the number of rooms has been reduced slightly. I sure hope that there won't be any further closures, I much prefer it to the Yotel.

Johan

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