Customs Baggage Question
 

I'm flying round trip to Cambodia from Bangkok on Bangkok airways. When I return from Cambodia I have a flight on Delta back to the US - 4 hour layover.

1. I have two pieces of luggage, one I will bring with me, the other I was considering using Chubb storage if available

2. On my return to BKK I might try and check the bag I bring straight through - I heard it is possible for an airline to do that even if it is two separate tickets

When I return to BKK given that I am two separate tickets
1. Will I need to go through Thai customs?
2. Assuming I do store a bag, I am presuming I definitely will go through customs, and then have to check the bag. Is it an issue checking luggage at two different times (one at PNH and one at BKK)?

Hi! Bangkok airways do not do interlining anymore. You will have to clear immigration at Bkk to collect luggage. Afterwards its the standard procedure for an international flight again. Timeconsuming but its how PG treat their customers nowdays trying to earn more THB avoiding all and all extra fees.

Nor does DL do flying out of BKK anymore! Some of the airlines that fly as DL codeshares have very limited hours of operation so you would only be able to check your bag three hours prior to your flight time, like Korean and, IIRC, Shanghai/China Eastern. There are limited hours that the check-in desks are staffed and, in fact, the desks are used by different airlines at different times so the signage changes. You literally have to sit and watch this happen if you show up early.

I have left bags with Chubb in Bangkok and it was a quick, easy process.

I think the PG links are current...


http://www.bangkokair.com/pages/view/separate_ticket

See Example #4 .


Interline guidelines for domestic ->/<- int'l

http://www.bangkokair.com/pages/view/check-in-through


Obviously, if you store a bag at BKK you'll need to clear Arriving Immigration, Customs, retrieve your bag, check-in, clear security, and clear Departing Immigration.

We don't know the second carrier, so there is no way to know if there is an agreement. The OP claims it is DL, which it isn't. It's likely either Korean or China Eastern/Shanghai. While there might be an agreement with Korean (I really can't tell for sure) there appears to absolutely be no agreement with China Eastern/Shanghai. ANA can be ticketed through DL, but there's no codeshare, so no DL flight #. Same with KLM and AF.

I don't think checking one bag in Phnom Penh and one in Bangkok should be a problem but I don't know for sure.

The storage at BKK airport should be available, it's in the arrivals area.

The second carrier is irrelevant.

PG won't interline bags unless on on the same ticket.

That's the way I read it, too, but I can see where the above cited Example 4 seems to convey that it might.

The key is in the last line of Example 4: " Passenger and Bags will be through - checked ..... if all sectors are on one ticket". As the OP in his original post indicated that he will be travelling on separate tickets, PG will not interline his bag regardless of the connecting airline.

OP.... FYI - There are 2 Chubb left luggage counters at BKK. One located on the 2nd level (arrivals) and the other on the 4th level (departures). see: http://www.bangkokairportonline.com/node/134

Hope this helps.... Have a good trip.

While I agree with you that the bag will likely not be checked through, the example is a little clumsy. I can see where someone could interpret the example to mean the bag could be checked through, although this is contradicted elsewhere on the Webpage showing the example. The top part of the explanation in the box indicates there are two tickets, not one. The sections mentioned in the second part could reference the second ticket, BKK-LHR, having two legs, like BKK-ICN-LHR, but those needing to be on a single ticket.