Connecting with separate ticket at SVO on SU
 

I have bought 2 separate SU tickets for my trip, with 6 hours and 20 minutes between.

The reason for 2 separate tickets was because I bought them at separate times. I bought the first leg first as a saver fare because I need to secure the availability of a low booking class on the first leg when I had not yet decided which second leg to take. However when I attempted to change the saver ticket to cover the second leg, which was a return leg, the price quoted was 5 times the original ticket!!!!!!!!! because the saver fare in the booking class I bought did not allow open-jaw between different countries, therefore could not be combined with my second leg and the cheapest way to buy both legs on a single ticket was to buy a classic fare which allowed open-jaw between countries. Therefore I bought another ticket on an one-way-only saver fare.

There is no problem in this case if I travel with carry-on only as I don't need a visa to enter Russia, however, if there is a piece of checked baggage, do you know

1. If I can get both boarding passes at the origin airport?
2. If the baggage can be through-checked to my final destination?

1 = no , but it will probably be available in online checkin
2 = no , you have two different bookings , and now very few airlines/agents accept to interline bookings

This isn't interline but same line.

British Airways, KLM, Air France, Lufthansa will all same line bags, that is check baggage through to your final destination if you purchased two separate tickets either with the same airline, or with a different airline that has an interline agreement with ( this would be interline) . Same airline is easy, different airline with an agreement is possible but not straightforward. I have done is many times with all the major European and Asian carriers. The US carriers have policies about this, and is very clear, it has to be with one of their partners only, or with the same airline.

Aeroflot doesn't do any of that. Travel plans change, circumstances change. i thought aeroflot would at least same line ( i.e check baggage thought to the final dentition on two separate 555 tickets, SU's own ticket stock and flights), but sadly no. Even spoke the station manager ( Madame Nyet) who reminds me of a train conductor from soviet times. Was flying Business class too and SU Gold. The only exception is if you don't have a Russian visa and can't collect your bags at the baggage hall. Then they "have an excuse" for checking bags though. Helping a passenger and customer is not enough of an excuse .

The check in agent saw my multi entry russian visa and refused to do it, claiming I 'had enough time to make the connection myself'. Whatever. I sent her my evil eye.

I had 90 minutes to
- Get bussed from my plane to SVO D
- WALK all the way to the passport control area
- Wait 10-15 minutes for the office to process each pax, and there were a few ahead of me
- Wait for my bag
- Get stopped by the customs officer ( aka do you have any cash?)
- Go upstairs.
- Walk all the way to SVO F ( the other side of the airport)
- Get there before the bag cut off which was 60 minutes to departure, which I did make
- Go through the border again
- Go through security again
- Run to the gate which was remote boarding and was literally the last person on the bus

What ever SU's reasons for not even allowing same line checked baggage is beyond me, all the major European airlines do it.

Plan accordingly. If you bought two separate SU tickets, you'll have to do what I did. Domestic or International.

While it is highly annoying, neither does BA on BA to BA tickets.

Is this a new development ? I haven't tried in a while, but I have never been denied ( even in their outstations like JNB) . I usually check in at a counter for F / Ba Gold

BA discontinued this when Oneworld removed it as a stated benefit. I think that is a couple og years ago by now. AA also removed the option to check through across tickets at that time.

I took the flight and GVA couldn't see my SVO-HEL booking, i.e. I had to enter Russia and check in again at SVO in the middle of the night.

The only exception will be made is if you

Don't have a russian visa
or
Don't have passport that requires a russian visa

Even then its something the front line agents can't do own their own. They have to call someone in moscow ( or get a supervisor if available) to add the segment to the bag tag comes out correctly.

Basically don't buy two separate SU tickets, unless you plan to collect the bags and recheck them yourself.


Its total BS.

The funniest thing was that when I checked in at GVA they asked me to show the onward ticket, which I asked if they could see the ticket inside the system but they didn't show I brought out the SVO-HEL ticket.

SU needs to figure out a way to accomodate a traveller that for various reasons, may have bought two separate tickets, and have clear policy about this. Perhaps like Delta ( which is only Skyteam and partners) maybe restrict this to SU group flights only.

How hard is it to check luggage through from one SU fight XXX-SVO to another SU flight SVO-YYY, both tickets 555 stock purchased separately. In my case my travel plans changed.. Stuff happens.

Asking someone to go though the border and pick it up and recheck it on their own is SO IDIOTIC. SU to SU flights. What jerks.
I way this because its not a problem on AF/KLM, and until recently BA. All the worlds airlines do this.