ARN early check in and baggage
#16
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: UK
Programs: Baec
Posts: 191
There was zero chance of early check in or baggage drop.
I did use the lockers. There were several sizes at slightly different rates. As far as I can recall it cost me 200 SEK for my three bags or somewhere near as everything seemed to cost approx 200 SEK that day.
Check in staff were all sat there ready about three and a half hours before departure but were not going to check anyone in until the three hour mark, I asked, so I went for a coffee.
I did use the lockers. There were several sizes at slightly different rates. As far as I can recall it cost me 200 SEK for my three bags or somewhere near as everything seemed to cost approx 200 SEK that day.
Check in staff were all sat there ready about three and a half hours before departure but were not going to check anyone in until the three hour mark, I asked, so I went for a coffee.
#17
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: BRU
Programs: Miles&More SEN; ITA Premium, Asante Gold, IHG Platinum, BAEC Bronze, Accor Silver, Radisson Premier
Posts: 270
Hi,
For those in the know about ARN check in staff, we are flying ARN-BKK with QR and then we plan on taking an EK flight to PHN after landing in BKK. These would of course be separate tickets and we’d like to interline our baggage the whole was through. The QR Twitter team said that it should be possible to do, but wondering if anyone has any ARN or Swedish in general experience of through check in for baggage from QR to EK. I am aware there are interline threads, but they don’t really address this issue, which from the Twitter response I had from QR will seem to depend on the QR staff at ARN.
Basically trying to decide to take a risk and do this, or stay the night in BKK and fly the next morning, which would be our only other option. The fact my partner needs VOA in BKK also means we don’t want to go through Thai immigration more than once on our trip in SEA (the Thai part of the trip is the last few days). Thanks in advance for any insights on QR interlining with Emirates from ARN through BKK.
For those in the know about ARN check in staff, we are flying ARN-BKK with QR and then we plan on taking an EK flight to PHN after landing in BKK. These would of course be separate tickets and we’d like to interline our baggage the whole was through. The QR Twitter team said that it should be possible to do, but wondering if anyone has any ARN or Swedish in general experience of through check in for baggage from QR to EK. I am aware there are interline threads, but they don’t really address this issue, which from the Twitter response I had from QR will seem to depend on the QR staff at ARN.
Basically trying to decide to take a risk and do this, or stay the night in BKK and fly the next morning, which would be our only other option. The fact my partner needs VOA in BKK also means we don’t want to go through Thai immigration more than once on our trip in SEA (the Thai part of the trip is the last few days). Thanks in advance for any insights on QR interlining with Emirates from ARN through BKK.
#18
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: LON
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 3,910
When I was at ARN one of the early economy check ins who had gone to a check in desk two positions away from where I was standing was trying to get s check through on their luggage and getting no where. I was not close enough to hear the detail but I thought they were trying to go beyond QR policy and the check-in agent wasn't being pursuaded.
I would be surprised if of all the airlines they might check through to, EK is likely to be the bottom of the list due to the current political situation. Personally I wouldn't do or expect this to work, and it is bad enough that QR check in agents don't all know the actual QR policy to check through to Oneworld.
I guess the question you need to ask yourself is if they do not grant your request, to check through at ARN what is your backup plan? Can you get through immigration, baggage delivery (which can be slow), customs, up to check-in floor, back through immigration, and security in time to make the connection?
I would be surprised if of all the airlines they might check through to, EK is likely to be the bottom of the list due to the current political situation. Personally I wouldn't do or expect this to work, and it is bad enough that QR check in agents don't all know the actual QR policy to check through to Oneworld.
I guess the question you need to ask yourself is if they do not grant your request, to check through at ARN what is your backup plan? Can you get through immigration, baggage delivery (which can be slow), customs, up to check-in floor, back through immigration, and security in time to make the connection?
#19
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: BRU
Programs: Miles&More SEN; ITA Premium, Asante Gold, IHG Platinum, BAEC Bronze, Accor Silver, Radisson Premier
Posts: 270
When I was at ARN one of the early economy check ins who had gone to a check in desk two positions away from where I was standing was trying to get s check through on their luggage and getting no where. I was not close enough to hear the detail but I thought they were trying to go beyond QR policy and the check-in agent wasn't being pursuaded.
I would be surprised if of all the airlines they might check through to, EK is likely to be the bottom of the list due to the current political situation. Personally I wouldn't do or expect this to work, and it is bad enough that QR check in agents don't all know the actual QR policy to check through to Oneworld.
I guess the question you need to ask yourself is if they do not grant your request, to check through at ARN what is your backup plan? Can you get through immigration, baggage delivery (which can be slow), customs, up to check-in floor, back through immigration, and security in time to make the connection?
I would be surprised if of all the airlines they might check through to, EK is likely to be the bottom of the list due to the current political situation. Personally I wouldn't do or expect this to work, and it is bad enough that QR check in agents don't all know the actual QR policy to check through to Oneworld.
I guess the question you need to ask yourself is if they do not grant your request, to check through at ARN what is your backup plan? Can you get through immigration, baggage delivery (which can be slow), customs, up to check-in floor, back through immigration, and security in time to make the connection?
Indeed, without check-through there is no chance of making the connection. I was also surprised the QR Twitter team said it was possible to through check onto Emirates. I had also given them my entire itinerary so it’s not as if they didn’t have all the relevant information to hand. I had the opposite experience with SQ a few weeks back, but that’s another story.
Anyway, our backup plan was to either stay the night in Bangkok or connect the PG onward connection (where we know for sure QR will not transfer our luggage, hence going through visa process etc), which is 3h45min after we land. But I can’t find any refundable PG tickets and the prices are not insignificant. Or, we would stay the night in BKk and fly the next day to REP with One of the numerous Cambodian Airlines.
In both these cases, though, my partner would need to get VOA in Thailand, then leave the next day latest and then come back into Thailand a week or so later, and costs for those (unless they extend the free VOA scheme) are over €100 including original VOA and re-entry stamp, so obviously getting straight through to Cambodia and then coming into Thailand at a later date are more desirable. I can get in visa-exempt.
Our primary aim with all this hassle is avoid having to get the VOA after arriving to BKK.
We got a great J QR deal, hence our arrival to BKK, and as far as I’ve been able to find out, I cannot add the later PG flight to the QR PNR, so it’s either get some further confirmation from QR of what the Twitter team said to get the EK flight, take the risk with the 3h45min transfer (including VOA -in high season) and fly with PG, or stay the night and fly the next day, which is not a huge issue, but just makes us feel a bit like we are missing out on a day of our already quite short trip.
Thanks very much for your response on this though as it reinforced my own gut feeling about that QR twitter response.
#20
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: LON
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 3,910
The other thing - could EK reject an interlined bag from QR? I doubt whether there is a formal interline agreement in place, maybe someone can check on EF? If you are in the UAE it is still very difficult to interact with anything Qatari. There is a lot an animosity in the gulf in the moment and the current situation with someone sabotaging shipping in the gulf of Oman is not exactly making things any easier.
#21
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: BRS
Programs: BA Gold, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 4,982
SAS handle QR at Stockholm. It should be super easy to through check to oneWorld flights but Emirates would be doubtful.. not necessarily because of the political situation but because EK is not oneWorld.
What if you rechecked the bags and you left your OH to stay airside? They would just need their EK boarding pass which you could hopefully print at home to clear transit security. You could then go landside for rechecking.
What if you rechecked the bags and you left your OH to stay airside? They would just need their EK boarding pass which you could hopefully print at home to clear transit security. You could then go landside for rechecking.