barneyg_

Just got back from our trip, which included unexpected fees for checked baggage upon departing from IST. I would like your help on figuring out how to get our money back.

Itinerary for 2 passengers in Y (reserved in Jan 2019, we have no status anywhere and no AP-related credit cards):
YQB-YYZ-WAW-LJU (stop) -- on AC-LO-LO
LJU-IST (destination) -- on TK
IST-WAW (stop) -- on TK
WAW-VIE-YUL-YQB - LO-OS-AC (big YQ but that's all we found for the return)

The itinerary received from AP (and the AC 'my bookings' page) says Air Canada baggage rules apply for the whole itinerary and each passenger gets 2 complimentary checked bags throughout (AC's Canada-Turkey baggage rules). No issue with YQB-LJU, LJU-IST or WAW-YQB, 2 bags each checked in just fine.

However upon checking in for IST-WAW, TK check-in agents say their online system does not show a baggage allowance for our ticket and therefore we need to pay to check our bags. They didn't care about what was shown on our AP itinerary-receipt, escalation to supervisors didn't help, wait time too long on AC reservations phone line (middle of the night in Canada and our boarding time was getting close). We ultimately pay ~2000 TRY (~475 CAD) as TK charges baggage fees by weight and we had around 50 kgs total.

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My understanding is that the itinerary/receipt is essentially my contract with AC (as sold by AP, a travel agent). Since all flights are on the same AC ticket (014) and the first flight was on AC, AC gets to select at the time of ticketing whether to apply its own rules or LOT rules (LOT being the MSC as the first carrier to cross an IATA tariff area). Accordingly, the itinerary specifies that AC rules apply and that we get 2 free bags. Is my interpretation correct?

Call #1 to AP contact centre yields unhelpful response as the agent keeps saying "all airlines have their own baggage allowance policies" and that we may need to pay for baggage fees every time we check in regardless of what's written on the itinerary. Sees no issue with the absurd situation in which we exactly follow what's written on the itinerary but can still be hit by unpredictable excess baggage fees (which with TK depend on the exact weight of the bags). Had LOT applied the same reasoning as TK for the WAW-YQB leg we would have ended up paying more than twice the total taxes and fees on the reward ticket.

Call #2 to AC reservations was more useful as the agent confirmed that our allowance should indeed be 2 bags per person but that "somehow the system that other airlines can access doesn't seem to reflect that". She suggests filing a claim through (online) AC refund services. However, that page (https://refundservices.business.cond...refunds/create) says the form should only filled in if travel was directly purchased from AC, otherwise I should go through the travel agent who sold the ticket (i.e. AP).

What should I do? HUACA and try with another AP agent?

garykung

It is a TK issue, because TK was the one charging you, not AC (or AP).

You need to contact TK.

Often1

Both agents are wrong.

Your allowance was as stated, but TK improperly charged you. Your dispute is with TK. File a claim with TK for the fees (and provide a copy of your e-ticket receipt -- not itinerary) and, if need be, file a chargeback disppute with the credit card issuer (bank) used to pay the fees.

jjclancy

Often1

Huh?

OP paid the bag fees to LO and it the LO fees which ought to be charged back. If he charges back something he did not pay to AP / AC to one or the other, he may well face a fraud allegation or having his AP account shut down.

Not sure I can think of a worse idea than your suggestion.

Exec_Plat

contact the credit card company you used to pay the erroneous baggage fees; contest the charges as 'erroneous' (not fraudulent). This is called a 'chargeback'. Send the CC company *all* the documentary evidence you have hsowing what the fee should have been (0). Include descriptive text from website and from your ticketing docs/confirmation.

Done.

Messing around with chasing airlines is a waste of your time.

If your CC has an issue with this service, time for a different CC.

barneyg_

My issue with going the TK route is that this seems to have been a ticketing issue. Employees from 3 separate airlines (TK, AC and LO) confirmed that their online system showed no baggage allowance for the ticket. Throughout my dealings with TK employees at the airport, everyone kept saying that the issue was with the Air Canada ticket, not theirs.

I am not going to dispute this charge with the CC company, I don't think it's appropriate as I was charged exactly what I agreed to pay.

9WJAI

I recently booked an award flight with Aeroplan and it involved AC and TK flights. The below language is extracted from the "Aeroplan Reward - Electronic Itinerary/ Receipt" that was sent immediately after making a booking.

Under "Codeshare Flights and Other Airlines" section:

Passengers who purchase travel on a codeshare flight or travel that includes another airline may be subject to the baggage
allowance policy, fees and rules of the codeshare partner or the other airline, which may be different from Air Canada's baggage
policy, fees and rules. Carry-on allowance: When your itinerary includes travel with a codeshare partner or another airline, the
operating airline's carry-on baggage policies and fees will apply.

jjclancy

garykung

While it may be true that the AC ticket may have a problem, but it was not AC charging you, but TK.

So if you have any question, you need to go through TK.

AC can't fix the issue because: 1) AC did not charge you; and 2) There is no valid flight segment in the ticket (AC can't really fix a ticket when there is no longer anything to fix).

Also - ticket or not - there is a manual way to figure out the baggage allowance. TK should be able to apply the guideline as necessary.

barneyg_

Interesting, that's not exactly what my e-ticket Itinerary/Receipt says. My itinerary was re-ticketed twice due to scheduling changes for the AC legs of the journey. In all 3 versions (dated January 14, March 29 and June 13, 2019), what I have is:

Codeshare Flights and Other Airlines
Passengers with itineraries that include flights operated by other airlines or codeshare flights may be subject to the carry-on rules and fees of the other airline, which may be different from Air Canada's baggage policy. For specific terms and conditions of Air Canada codeshare and interline partners carry-on rules, visit the carrier's website.

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So, no mention of checked baggage policies of other airlines, which makes sense because the "Baggage information" section says "Air Canada baggage rules apply" with all flight numbers listed.

Exec_Plat

You should read your credit card agreement. Many cards are quite OK with this kind of activity.

But I do understand if you have the time to get shuttled back and forth between airlines and enjoy that sort of thing