mniappa

Flying UA1 to Singapore landing at 6:15am at Terminal 2. Next flight is AirIndia 347 from SIN to MAA in the same terminal at 9:00AM from Terminal 2 at Changi. These are two separate tickets. Can UA check the baggages all the way through to MAA?

sbm12

UA can but is not obligated to. It is up to the discretion of the agent you get at SFO during the initial check-in process. If you require a visa to enter Singapore this is a risky move.

mniappa

KLouis

Why? OP would never formally enter Singapore, everything would be done in transit!

travelinmanS

He'd certainly need to enter Singapore to pick up his bag and re-check it if UA won't do him the favor of checking it all the way through.

sbm12

Because while UA can check the bag through and is likely to do so, the carrier is not obligated to. It may be a small risk, but it is a risk. Only the OP can decide their tolerance for such. But it is better to be fully informed of such and plan for it than go in with partial information and get screwed.

Quinlanty

Actually Changi is AMAZING! If you are on two full service airlines, they (the airport) will send your baggage through. I know its unbelievable. I did this on two separate tickets, flying Delta in J to SIN and then 2nd tix was Malaysia SIN to BKK stopping in KUL in Y. When you check in with the second airline at the transit desk, just hand them your united baggage tag. Just to make sure, I asked about 3 separate Changi representatives, and they confirmed. Ohh and of course my bags arrived in Bangkok no problem. Changi really is a 6 star airport! Must be full service airlines, no LCC, but United and Air India both qualify!

RWY02KTM

Entirely upto the agent. I have had UA agents who'd not even check-in bags to connecting UA flights on separate tickets, and I've had agents who'd do it on separate PNR/tickets/carriers. If you are flying out of SFO, I think you have a good chance (the agents there, specially in the premier lanes know how to handle external PNRs), if coming from an outstation, good luck.

It is true that in many Asian Airports (SIN, BKK, KUL, HKG etc). the airlines will do a transfer if you give them your bag claim at the transfer desk when you get your boarding pass, but you do need extra time - as they literally go and find the bag from the baggage claim and re-check/re-tag it. But if your baggage allowance differs, then I am not sure how it gets handled. the SIN-MAA segment may not have the same bag allowance as USA-SIN.

PiperAtGatesofDawn

I've had fairly good experiences getting my bags tagged between UA & AI on separate PNRs mostly from the UA hubs and/or very large airports. I think you should be ok on this front.

Worst case you can request for baggage transfer in SIN. But as RWY02KTM make sure you're within weight limit in case you need to do the transfer at SIN. AI I think would have a much higher standard weight allowance than UA within the same class of travel anyways .

gpicur

SBM12, I have a lot of experience with UA checking bags with two tickets/itineraries on two different airlines where I requested the bags be checked to the final destination of the 2nd, non-UA ticket and have been successful 100% with UA to *A trips and 99.9999% with UA to non *A tickets. I disagree with your statement that UA is not obligated to check your bags to the final destination of the second ticket. If that 2nd ticket is *A AND the passenger is CHECKED IN for that flight, UA IS obligated, under its agreement with *A, to check the bag to the requested final destination. The key here is CHECKED IN. Most *A carriers will not allow CHECK IN before 24 hours. For Instance, If your are checking bags at UA at East Coast USA and flying TPAC, when you present your bags at the ticket counter, it may be significantly before the 24 hours check in window. If this is the case, I agree with you, UA would not be obligated to check the bags if the OP is not checked in. *A carriers that have longer check in windows include MS that allows OLCI at 48 hours. I have had significant success with UA in checking bags on two tickets where the second ticket is NOT *A. I have had good success in large UA hubs like ORD and IAD. The key is to have already been checked into the second connecting ticket.

As to the Singapore issue and having to get a visa to re-check the bags: Generally you do NOT have to clear immigration and claim your bags for re-check. What one does, is take your UA bag claim check tickets to a Transfer Desk. Present your eTicket and the Bag Claim Checks to the transfer agent and they will arrange to have your bags collected and re-checked. I have done this in IST with no issue.

ALGU

I've heard something similar at HKG. Do you know if this is the case?

PiperAtGatesofDawn

lehms

Often1

Presuming that by separate PNR, you mean separate ticket and that you understand that this is not a connection,but a transfer between two tickets, the sole question is one of risk tolerance. If you are late to AMS, your onwards ticket will be cancelled by A3 and will retain whatever value it retains under its fare rules. That is likely $0. Thus, you would need to find a new ticket to JMK at whatever the then prevailing price is.

My preference for separate tickets is 2-3x the MCT for connections, but others are fine with MCT or even less. All about what you can afford to lose.

Mwenenzi

UA Bag Interlining If Separate Tix with *A Partners (YES) & Non *A Partners (NO)

Where you process immigration & customs will need consideration.