AA TAM baggage check through in GRU
 

Hi,

we are flying the route CDG->MIA->GRU on an AA ticket and want to buy a second ticket to continue travelling GRU to BSB (Brasil capital) with TAM.

As both belong to OneWorld does AA do baggage check through on two bookings?

I know it works fine with LH on *A flights even intercontinental

Thanks

At GRU AA arrives in Terminal 3 and TAM domestic departs from terminal 2. From an international flight to a domestic flight you must clear customs and immigration and take your baggage to TAM's baggage re-check/check-in at the arrivals floor of Terminal 3. After your baggage has been re-checked, walk via the connecting walkway or via the terminal transfer bus located outside arrivals to Terminal 2.

When you check in with AA, as long as you don't have an airport change in Sao Paulo (GRU->CGH), they generally will tag your bags all the way to your final destination, even on a separate ticket with TAM.

Though you still need to collect your bags and clear customs, there's a baggage-drop off area in T3 for onward domestic flights. Much less trouble than schlepping to T2.

In theory you can have a tag to the final destination but it's not a big deal since you are picking up bags at GRU. Turn left after exit and look for the TAM sign.

Also, since you are transiting the U.S. make sure they put the INT transfer tag on at CDG so you don't have to wait for bags in MIA.

Bag interlining issues and OW policy changes (Combined threads)
 

There are murmurs that as of 1 June, oneworld airlines are not interlining between themselves if you are travelling on separate tickets:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/catha...l#post26731231

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...l#post26665171

Has anyone heard anything more substantive?

Just spoke to my friend at S7@DME about it,they did not receive any communication about this and continuing as normal.

Yep. Its true !
 

At LCY, I was told by BA, that the new ALTEA system that most Oneworld airlines use no longer allow thru check in on separate tickets.

I was on 3 tickets. BA from LCY to AMS, CX from AMS to HKG and KA from HKG to PEN. BA would only check it through to HKG - only after my insistence due to their delayed LCY-AMS. They said 'normally' it cannot be done and they won't do it. But since its their fault, they will do it - this one time but they can only do it through to HKG as the new system will not accept another connection. BA at LHR apparently still doing it as their airport systems have not been upgraded yet.

At AMS, CX told me the same thing that yes, due to the new system, that they can only check bags to what is stated on the ticket. No more separate connecting flights. Though he said that its easy with CX/KA transfers.

Yeah...

Further to that I asked my friends at RJ and AA and they have never been told anything about this either.

It sounds like BA is making up stuff,or there is some misunderstanding going on.

This new arrangement between oneworld airlines is now confirmed by oneworld:

http://www.ausbt.com.au/did-oneworld...of-a-nightmare

The "minimum requirement" no longer includes checking through baggage on itineraries on multiple PNRs

Yet noone at any of the airlines people have contacted know anything about it.

http://www.ausbt.com.au/did-oneworld...of-a-nightmare

It seems that the new policy is just a protection for the airlines,in the same way like they can refuse access to the lounge on "capacity restriction" basis/excuse,but it happens very rarely (appart from a few individual outstations).

But this makes it difficult to plan your trips. You now need to factor in a long transit JUST IN CASE one check in agent decides not to check your bags through.

Yeah,I agree,as a non EU passport holder,this will be a pain,because I often travel LHR-Schengen-AMM/HKG/Asia and I can't go landside. I don't often travel with checked baggage,but when I do there is a reason for that (eg:liquids).

I heard that in HKG you can ask the transit desk to re-tag your bag and someone will then pick up your bag from the carrousel and check it in again. Does that only happen in HKG,or is it common across the globe? Transit desks often ask me for my baggage tags when I travel on separate tickets,does that mean it's possible to re-tag your bag at the transit desk?

'They will only find out if their employer changes its policy -- which becomes more likely with this change...

Personally I think its a very retrograde step - as it will drive more people to book with travel agents who can combine individual segments into a single PNR and thus increase the amount of commissionable fares, after the airlines have spent years trying to drive us all to direct online channels

Certainly seen it at SIN but dont think its common as it involves manual intervention (and more staff/ cost) and I suspect adds risk for the bag making the connection

Given that it is (almost?) impossible to combine an award / points ticket with a cash ticket (at least end on end) even within a single OW carrier, I wonder what the final outcome will be.

At least the article (if I read it correctly elsewhere) refers to a single PNR rather than a single ticket with different carriers.

Happy wandering

Fred

Last year, I had one ticket DUS-IST-HKG by TK, and another ticket HKG to KHH by KA. In DUS, TK crew denied my baggage tagged to my destination KHH. When I arrived in HKG, KA transit crew was willing to find my baggage and re-tag it. KA would only issue my BP until they found my baggage. Well, I just sat around the transit desk about 30 mins and then got my BP. This was the case SA to OW. I can't see why OW to OW wouldn't work.

I suspect this change is meant to prevent us from cherry-picking the OW fare structure by taking advantage of competitive factors (e.g. the ME3) who drive down prices on intermediate destinations.

This will cause me to book fewer flights with OW, no doubt, and more flights with Emirates and the other alliances.

Baggage is an issue, yes, but IMO the FAR BIGGER concern here is the removal of protection for misconnects between OW carriers, if your flights are on different tickets.

That was one of the major benefits of keeping it within the alliance, IMO. A benefit they've now taken away...

Very, very disappointing...

Other than AA, I don't think that benefit was there in the first place.

Nevertheless, it's a pretty poor show from oneworld.

Pretty sure it was only AA that had a stated policy about this

I have had CX arrange for alternatives when their flight was delayed - and was connecting to another OW partner flight. The original connection was a bit less than 3 hours in SIN coupled with a 2.5 hour delay.

Of course, YMMV.

Happy wandering

Fred

CX has been very quick to implenent this policy
http://www.cxagents.com/cxa/gc/en_HK/ln2

As have BA (from a PDF posted on AFF)

Well at least CX/KA will honor two of their own connecting PNRs.

Next problem for OW will be the Visit Pass tickets. Of which there are quite a few. They (in most cases) must be issued in conjunction with an arriving OW ticket and allow for multiple segments within the designated area. Do these rule changes mean that the OW Pass tickets must be issued on the same PNR as the long haul? If so, it means that on-line purchases will no longer be possible.

Happy wandering

Fred

It is very clear from these changes that OW has become totally useless to the consumer. As someone who generally buys premium cabin tickets, the last thing I expect to be doing is fighting with check-in agents about baggage allowances. Very poor show from OW.

Hypothetical Question:

If the airlines started charging say USD 50-100/bag on top of existing checked baggage fees (if applicable) to have your bag interlined across separate PNRs / separate tickets, would you pay for it?

This can help offset the cost of re-routing any lost bags in the process (which would be a small percentage) while at the same time generate additional revenue.

Perhaps they should have considered charging for it instead of no longer doing it?

I do not see how it makes OW useless to a typical consumer. Luggage allowances are not impacted by this change

Luggage allowances can be impacted. If you have a short haul flight that only allows 50 lbs and connect to a long haul flight that allows 70 lbs, you will be impacted. With the new policy, the you will be limited to the 50 lbs vs the previous 70 lbs.

Under the old policy, there was no such entitlement

There goes one of the features of Oneworld flying that got business of mine that would otherwise not have remained within the Oneworld network.

It wasn't only AA that had such a policy. I am not going to repeat the points which I've made in this regard before on the BA and other Oneworld forums on FT, but I have no doubt that this wasn't only an AA policy when it came to Oneworld carriers.

Only if you want to through-check a bag, surely?

If you choose not to book OW, what will you then book? How many of the major carriers which provide a relatively large international network are willing to contractually commit to interlining across tickets?

There is no reason for a carrier to do so. All the carrier does is accept liability without benefiting from the revenue associated with single-ticket revenue. Presumably, when booking an itinerary, one books the most cost-effective ticketing scheme. One ticket if all else is equal.

As to protection across tickets, only AA has guaranteed it. While most major carriers seem to deal with rebooking, there is no OW guarantee as there is with IATA tariffs, e.g., that the late-delivering carrier is responsible for rebooking, nor does the EC 261/2004 "duty of care" scheme come into play, whereby the passenger's needs on the ground are handled during the flight interruption.

The baggage issue is a mess for tight connections and those involving a border, particularly for individuals who may have complex document issues, let alone prohibitive document issues. The connection issue will likely be dealt with through improved offerings from private insurers willing to step into the breach for a fee.

(1) OW airlines very clearly had a policy - stated or otherwise - to accommodate passengers on multiple tickets in the event of IRROPS. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been necessary for them to state the the "disruptions policy" was changed as well.

(2) CX has now made it clear - see the chart linked to by moa999 above- that they will not provide assistance to flyers affected by flight disruptions traveling on multiple tickets. This is a major negative that most certainly reduces the value of the OW alliance to a typical customer. For example, if traveling around Asia, and my CX flight into HKG is delayed causing me to miss the AA HKG-DFW flight, I am now stranded in HKG with no alternative other than to buy a new ticket at the walk-up fare?? If that is the case, then why bother booking my intra-Asia flights on CX?

(3) The excerpt from the BA policy posted by moa999 specifically states that the "Most Generous Allowance rule for baggage" will no longer apply to multiple tickets.

It is very hard to see how anyone would not recognize these changes as being unfriendly to consumers. It is likewise hard for me to understand how OW airlines think that this will make anyone more likely to fly with them.

As a OW Emerald, the only two things that I place value on are (1) IRROPS handling and (2) lounge access. These changes make both of those less valuable since (1) they won't provide it anymore and (2) my time will be wasted chasing around airports rechecking my bags.

Whatever makes more sense than Oneworld flights for my trip needs. The fact of the matter is that the Oneworld "seamless travel" policy and experiences were what helped Oneworld carriers get some more of my business that they would have otherwise gotten if not but for this policy. Unfortunately, not enough people were made to appreciate this policy and so now it bites the dust in more than one way.

The following is not true with regard to what Oneworld carriers had previously guaranteed:

Baggage handling costs are bit parts in the picture, if even in the picture. The primary driver is ticket revenue related, with baggage fee revenue and check-in-agent related costs being secondary.

So you keep saying without providing proof... While OW carriers have generally been helpful and in many cases provided protection, although sometimes after a lot of pressure, I don't believe (apart from AA) that it has every been official policy, and I had always viewed connecting flights as a risk
(yet have done a number myself - including turnarounds in countries where I didn't have a visa eg KHI)

As an example, from a post on this topic on the AFF board:

Variance in practice/implementation that deviates from policy has always existed as long as I've been around; and thus examples of deviation from prior policy is not news to me.

Proof was provided years ago about this. But if you mean provided in this thread, then yes, for I'm not about to go hunting for the proof yet again to show it yet again. ;)

In 2013, I was in Tokyo at the start of the DONE3, when on the way to HND for the first flight, Typhoon Wipha caused most ground transport to halt, causing a late arrival at the airport and missed check in. There were 3 other people on my train heading for the same flight and upon arrival at HND, CX rebooked the flights.
I was flying HND-HKG-JFK.
I had an separate JFK-BOS flight on AA the following morning after planned arrival (8 hour overnight connection). CX rebooked me on to the afternoon HND-HKG, then onto CX888 to JFK via YVR. This change then cut the planned overnight connection to AA down to below JFK I-D MCT.
At the time, AA was still operating their HND-JFK night flights. That day, their flight to JFK had been delayed due to the weather so the AA desk was still open. After getting the CX flights sorted out, I went to the AA counter to sort out the JFK-BOS issue.
After explaining the problem, they quickly moved me to the next JFK-BOS flight.

With this policy change, would AA no longer do the same in a similar situation?

QF follows suit from Sep 1st
http://www.ausbt.com.au/qantas-tight...n=home-flipper