Hi,

I just returned from a 16 segement Star RTW in order to get the 55k bonus. My question is, why is it that more often than not one carrier can't check me in for connecting flights on another carrier? I thought that was a major benefit with the Star alliance - integration.

My first part of the trip was MEL-TLV, but i flew MEL-SIN-BKK-SIN-AMS-CPH-GOT-FRA-TLV. 8 segements. first of all they couldn't do 8 segments. SQ in MEL told me that they can do up to 5, and recommended that since i had quite a layover in SIN, to check in for the final 5 segments in SIN.

My main problem was the SIN-BKK-SIN flights. SQ in MEL couldn't give me B.P.s for these TG segments. I had to explain why i was doing such a routing, then at SIN at the transfer desk i had to explain again, and then at the transfer desk at BKK i had to explain again (this actually caused 3 men from security to be called who came to the gate and inspected my passport for a while and demanded yet another explanation - obviously in and out of BKK wasn't such a great choice). (Hopefully soon I'll go into greater detail with a trip report)

Then once i finally got back to SIN, they could only give me at the transit desk B.P.s for 3 segments, so in GOT i had to 'check in' again.

From TLV, LH gave me B.P.s for LH to FRA then AC FRA-YYZ-YUL-LGA.

From LGA, UA could only give me LGA-IAD-LAX. Once in LAX i had to check in again with NZ for LAX-AKL-MEL.

What's up with this?

you always can check through your luggage to the final destination - but often you can't get (yet) the boarding passes of later flights, as these flights may not yet been open (on that later carrier's system).

With luggage, it was only 5 segments ex MEL, that's why she suggested do first sin-bkk-sin, and then in sin check bags all the way. Do you mean to tell me That TG hadn't opened their flight 9-10 hours prior? What about the TG flight returning to SIN from BKK? In SIN at the transfer desk they gave me TG SIN-BKK, but i had to go to the transfer desk in BKK for the return which was only 1.5-2 hours layover in BKK.

goodo

well, i think perhaps less than 0.01% of star alliance passengers will ever need to check in for 8 flights at a time.

And I don't think I'd ever want to do 8 continuous segments in a row again either, but, why can't SQ give me a BP for a TG flight or UA for an NZ flight?

goodo

I think it is more to do with when the flight opens for check-in than any system issues. I had UA issue NZ BP's at LAS on a LAS-LAX-AKL-KKE flight two months ago, and tag my baggage all the way (had to re-check the bags in AKL though). I did find that NZ ripped up the UA BP's in LAX and replace them with their own though...

I also find that UA sometimes insist on issuing their own BP's to replace those issued by other carriers for their flights.

Actually that always happened to me, if LH issued onward boarding passes on UA in FRA, at the first stop in NA they were always replaced with UA one's.

Tagging baggage over several flights has never been an alliance issue. It's been possible to do it way, way before the big alliances ever existed.

The matter of BP issue is more complex. It doesn't always matter about timings. I have been to Star check-ins where a BP for a connecting flight on another Star airline that was leaving the same country within 3 hours of the first check-in was impossible to issue. This has happened several times, in several countries with several different Star carriers.

All sorts of excuses are offered by check-in staff on why they could not issue the connecting BP.

I suspect the real reason is simply incompatibility of systems. The Star airlines can't even agree on a common booking reference when one ticket involves several Star carriers. How can they manage one BP issue?

Travel on Star is not totally seamless. It never has been. They should stop saying it is.

I was unable on UA to check my bag all the way through to KUL, but had to do so at SIN. Reason given was that the SIN-KUL flights was the next day and UA could not process it. As it was, we arrived at SIN around midnight and the bag went to the customs hall where it was held until the morning. When I checked in at the SIN transfer desk, they called down, tagged the bag through onto my morning flight to KUL. I stayed airside to use the Transit Hotel.

I agree they should be able to check the bags all the way through, but that's life.

As for your security problems, hey get real. You were flying to Israel, using the most convoluted routing conceivable. That would be suspicious in my books and raise questions. When one does mileage runs, you gotta get used to such things. It goes with the territory. 8-hour turnarounds at SIN, CUN and other terminals after red eyes are not uncommon to us, but it takes immigration and security guys a while to get their heads around such insanity.

Actually I don't think that going to Israel had anything to do with it. What caused my security problems was SIN-BKK-SIN.

goodo

I travelled TG CNX-BKK with immediate connection SQ BKK-SIN.

They checked my bags through to SIN. However I could not get my SQ boarding pass until I got to BKK, and they even ripped off my priority tags at BKK!!!!

MD

What I have found out in other forums of the individual carriers (esp AC's) is that one problem is that the Star Alliance carriers ticketing agents can not issue a ticket for another Star Alliance carrier (unless a RTW ticket involving at least the host carrier, or a ticket involving at least 2 airlines, including the host carrier), or seat selection/changes on another carrier (even if the ticket is in the form a of code-share by the host airline on the other carrier).