Will SAS interline bags to UA?
 

I am flying SAS from ARN to CDG and then CDG-IAD on United. Separate tickets. I still haven't booked my SAS flight yet.

I have the option of flying SAS from ARN to CDG that morning, or the previous evening. I prefer to fly down from ARN to CDG the same morning -- it seems possible since the connection time would be 2 hours. But will SAS through-check my bags out of ARN? Having to claim and recheck seems like it would be risky on a 2-hour connection at CDG.

Slightly complicating matters is that my United fare out of CDG is the "no bags, no changes" fare, which has a big cost for a checked bag. As a 1K, I'm exempt from that, but it could still cause confusion for the SAS agent.

So should I book the morning SAS flight that would give me a 2-hour connection at CDG? Or play it safe and fly down the night before?

Maybe.

Your UA e-ticket receipt will show your baggage allowance and you should have a paper copy of the entire e-ticket in hand for the agent so he can see the allowance. While it theoretically does not matter, you are certainly correct that another carrier's check-in agent, checking a bag across separate tickets might be concerned that you are attempting to evade the HBO fare restrictions you chose.

If on separate tickets, don't count on them being able/willing to check the luggage through. I've been denied this even when flying on two separate SAS tickets.

Just be able to show that you are allowed the baggage and there will be no problem. Interline within *A is a no-brainer.

Seriously? As EBD? Was it an overnight layover or something? I can't see them doing this, even given SK's level of incompetence...

Non-SK staff at check-in (FCO), plus one booking made via agent, one independently. I couldn't believe it either.

Well, I was denied an interline check-in in the opposite direction by a UA agent to an SK short haul. So I don't think this is a no-brainer. It hugely depends on the agent. Rules is one thing, reality the other.

There is an agent willingness component to these things, it can of course be done but the level of difficulty and time spend can vary per carrier, route and system.

Using Business/First/Elite check-in is typically the way to go if you're eligible.

The problem is indeed that it is often easier and quicker to just say no, and hope the customer goes away. Especially at out sourced stations

My experience is the airport where you change airline matters a lot too. At CDG you have to change terminal when switching from SK to UA (as far as I remember at least). Whether you need to carry you bags to or not, doesn't really matter much here.

Both UA and SK are in T1 in CDG. Different satellites but the shape of the terminal means the check in area is reasonably compact

Just changing satellite in CDG can be a nightmare as far as remember, although it's about 5 years since I last passed through CDG. I do remember once where my flight was moved from the SK satellite to the LH satellite with short notice. It took like 20 min. + new security check to get from the SK satellite to the LH satellite.
he good news is manually moving your luggage from one airline to another, in CDG, shouldn't add much time no matter whether you need to change terminal or not.

Bringing this back from the dead:

Currently have an SK CPH-EWR ticket, thinking of getting a separate UA EWR-BOS ticket. Would SAS interline checked bags through or would I need to go to baggage claim and reclear regular security?

*G through United if it matters.

Even if they tag the bag CPH-EWR-BOS, you still have to retrieve the bag at EWR and take it through customs before you can drop off the bags and go through security to get back airside. If the bag hasn’t been tagged all the way through, the UA staff at the bag drop can tag it for EWR-BOS.
So it doesn’t really matter, although not having to get a new bag tag at EWR may save a little bit of time.

I travelled SK/UA recently on separate tickets, connecting in ORD. Due to severe delay from CPH and slow immigration, I was at transfer check-in 55 minutts before ny departure time. As I had my new boarding pass, and the line for new check-in was long, the roaming agent printede the bag tag. I of course went through regular security afterwards. There are no clean arrivals/transfers in the US.