Missed connection - whose fault?
 

Please could someone advise on the following issue:

Route: MAN-LHR-JFK-LIM
Ticketing carrier: AA (all AA flight numbers)
Operating carriers: MAN-LHR (BA), LHR-JFK (AA), JFK (LA)

When checking-in at MAN, BA only gave me boarding cards for the first 2 sectors, but said I would need to go to the transfer desk at JFK to get boarding card printed out. I double-checked at Heathrow with AA and was told the same thing. The connecting time at JFK was pretty tight (1:15), but the flight from LHR as 15 minutes early, giving me 1:30. I got through immigration and customs really quickly and got to the One World transfer desk about 45 minutes before scheduled departure. It was at that point LAN informed me I was not checked-in for the JFK-LIM flight and the flight had been closed and therefore I would not be accepted for boarding.

AA rebooked me the next morning via MIA resulting in a 10-hour wait in the airport (and they refused to provide accommodation or food) and arriving 15 hours late to my final destination.

- Why did BA not check me through to my final destination (it was no issue checking my bags to LIM)? Is it true that sometimes an airline can't check you all the way through? If so, how can a 1:15 MCT even be permitted?

- Which of the 3 airlines is responsible for this sequence of events? BA say it's AA's fault, AA say it's BA's fault, LA say it's not their fault...

- Is there any scope for requesting/demanding compensation? Is there any legislation regarding this? It wasn't a cancellation and LAN may say I wasn't checked in, so therefore it's not denied boarding. So what it is? Negligence on the part of the check-in staff? Inevitable eventuality when travelling on codeshare flights?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

mis posted

Tough issue.
Could you not have used online check-in forLAN.
http://www.lan.com/en_un/reservas/de...s_chequeo.html

Did you specifically ask/ did attendant say at MAN or LHR whether you had been checked in for the ongoing flight?
I would find it weird that luggage would be tagged thru without you being checked in

FYI the published -- AA-LA MCT for JFK I/I is 1hr15

mwenzi I think it is a oneworld topic.
OP is asking whether AA,BA or LA should be held responsible

No offense, buy may I ask how come it took you 45 min to get to the LA counter (when you said you "got through immigration and customs really quickly")? AFAIK, it is in the same terminal.

Admittedly the MCT was probably set with the assumption that you get your onward BP before arriving JFK. However, it is certainly true that sometimes an airline can't check you all the way through, even within the same alliance. There were probably some technical reasons. Did BA or AA tell you anything?

I would say it is none of them's fault, because the incoming AA FLT did not arrive late (if the incoming AA FLT were 1 min late, you have a good case here). AA also put you on the next available FLT. You can, of course, argue and see if you can get the hotel / food charge reimbursed from AA. I would not consider this unreasonable, although honestly I don't think you have quite a good case, either. BTW, it has nothing to do with code-share IMO. You could have the same scenario even if booked on operating carriers' codes.

No. I tried online check-in for this flight on all 3 airline's website (LA, AA, BA) and it said it couldn't be done online.

At check-in they simply said "you'll have to collect your boarding pass at JFK, but your bags are checked through to your final destination". The fact the bags were tagged to the final destination, not to mention the fact I have flown hundreds of times previously and never encountered a problem anything like this, made me believe I was checked-in in for the JFK-LIM flight, but for some reason they were unable to print the boarding pass.

Yes, I know. So, with a legal connection time of 1:15, there was nothing else I could assume other than that I was checked in, but needed to collect boarding pass, as it would have been blatantly obvious that I wouldn't make the connection if I wasn't checked-in for that flight before arriving at JFK.

OK, perhaps I should have worded it as "I got through immigration and customs "relatively" quickly. I've arrived in the US before and been stood in just the immigration line for over an hour, so to disembark, clear both immigration and customs and still get to the transfer desk in 45 mins seemed pretty speedy to me. Although the LHR-JFK flight arrived 15 mins early at 9:35pm, it still had to get to the gate and I had to disembark, which probably took 10-15 mins, before even getting to immigration.

If that's the case, then it essentially renders the MCT meaningless if a boarding pass cannot be issued prior to arrival, as I can't imagine any MCT factoring in time to go and check-in before the flight closes.

No, neither BA nor AA said anything about having technical issues or there being some reason they couldn't check me in. If there was, they should have noticed the tight connection and realised I wouldn't make it, so why didn't they say anything or call ahead to get LAN to check me in?

Presumably, though, if all flights were operated by a single airline, there wouldn't have been any problem checking me in for all flights on arrival at MAN? It seems the problem comes from the fact check-in was done with BA and they were unable to access LAN's system to check me in for that flight?

Is this just one of the major downfalls to booking multiple-carrier itineraries?

Maybe your experience was skewed. It is very easy for one airline to check your bags all the way to your final destination (max. 4 segments) as long as interline agreement is in place (which means most major airlines). Checking you in and printing the BP are totally different issues and are more prone to technical difficulties.

The "normal" Int'l-Int'l MCT in JFK is 2 hours. AA and LA files something to override this and make it 1:15, so the MCT was reduced based on the assumption that BP was print before arrival to JFK. The upside is that this provides a lot more transit options for travellers (and gives the airlines more revenue). The downside, however, is that when something like your case happens, PAX are in trouble. Airlines definately needs to consider this when the MCT is filed, and you can blame them for not testing there system well enough, but the MCT is certainly not "meaningless."

I think the problem arises because you are travelling on 3 different airlines. I will take it back that code-share does not matter, because now I think that might be the reason. It could be that the BA agent was entering the AA FLT number when trying to check you in the JFK-LIM FLT, and of course the system (EDIFACT) would not be able to check you in that way. The BA agent at MAN needs to put in the LA's code of that segment to check you in, and the agent might not have realised it and thought that the JFK-LIM FLT was an AA-operated FLT. AA at LHR then thought it was too much a hassle to undo the check-in for LHR-JFK segment (with the chance to lose your seat assignment) and then do the whole thing over again (likely required by the system), so suggest you to do it in JFK. Another possiblity, of course, is that LA's system was not working properly. In any case, I agree the airlines (especially AA) are morally held responsible for your case (and hence hope that AA will reimburse you), although legally I guess they aren't.

Were all these flights on a single ticket issued by AA or on two tickets issued by AA? I'm just trying to consider all the potential possibilities for problems.

Someone made a mistake somewhere, as this should not have happened.

The question I have is, why would LA not let you on the flight 45 minutes prior to departure. First of all, I believe that a "check-in deadline" does not apply if you are connecting. If this is the case, then LA just declared that you were to late to board in time. With 45 minutes to spare this sems very strict.

Secondly, the airline could have waived any check-in deadline if it did apply.

In similar circumstances I have often found that (i) the check-in agents had already closed the flight and did not want to be bothered with a late passenger, or (ii) the flight was oversold and they had already given away the seat. In both of these cses, LA would be the one to blame. Not that this will help you to get any compensation, as they will just claim that you were to late to make the flight.

Your story just confirms my belive that it is never a good idea to connect in the U.S., where you have to go through immigration, customs and a security check when not even entering the country. Going via MAD might be the better choice.

This is a chronic problem at MAN for all airlines. For some reason MAN has the laziest and most incompetent airline staff in the UK. You should have stood your ground and insisted that they process the check-in properly and issue BP for all sectors -- which is easily done. If necessary call for a supervisor. 99% of the time I've had MAN check-in pull this stunt on me, and every time it was easy to get the BP issued (this has been the case for AA check-in as well, but that is staffed by BA at MAN). The subsequent mis-connect at JFK was inevitable, given LAN's policies.
Personally I would have just claimed from my annual travel insurance policy, which pays $500 for a delay of 4 hours or more, and made the best of the situation.

Yet another reason to always avoid flying through USA the stupid system of clearing customs and collecting bags sucks, coupled with the truly awful immigration system it just makes me even more determined never to fly to USA ever again. I would rather spend an extra day flying to my destination than to ever put my foot in any American airport