Interline ticket gotchas?
 

Hi, I wanted to book a ticket that went from SFO to Paris with a multi-day stopover in LHR. I'm seeing on ITA / online booking sites a valid VS upper class fare that goes VS SFO -> LHR then BA or AF to Paris and back then LHR to SFO again on VS. Looking at the fare rules, it would end up being a single ticket issued by VS.

Are there any risks of booking multi-carrier non-codeshare mixed single tickets (interline?) like this? Specifically I'd worry about the return leg where there's not a long stopover. I won't book a tight connection but it's never 100% and I like to know how such tickets are treated. Virgin Atlantic's "Flight Connector" website has all kinds of dire warnings such as, "We will not be liable if a passenger is late arriving for a Virgin Atlantic flight due to delay from an inbound connecting flight. The onward carrier will apply the conditions of sale of the original ticket booked on their service which can include no-show fees, cancellation charges, penalty fees or the need to pay for an upgrade on the next flight if a lower class is not available."

I know if you have two separate tickets there are many risks, but if you have a single issued ticket with multiple airlines are there similar problems? Thanks.

With the exception of AA which does rebook across tickets, you are SOL if you don't make it to the location at which your next itinerary starts. It is as though you no showed for any other reason. The ticket generally is cancelled and has no value.

Additionally, most carriers impose a single penalty to make a change on one ticket. If you are on multiple tickets and, for example, need to move your trip forward by a day, you will pay a change penalty for each ticket.

Lastly, because you are not misconnecting, most travel insurance does not cover losses on later tickets.

But I'm asking specifically about a single ticket with multiple carriers, not multiple tickets.

Are you talking about later legs or changes for each leg?

Interline ticket gotchas?
 

The other payer is incorrect. What they state is true only if on separated tickets. On a single ticket there are protections that apply. However you ate limited to what would actually be available. In your case the delivering carrier would be liable for changing the flights and any accommodation required

So let me see if I understand you correctly -- if the single ticket was issued by VS and had CDG -> LHR on BA and LHR -> SFO on VS, and I missed the last leg because BA was late, BA would be responsible for fixing the ticket (even though it is VS stock)? Or does delivering == ticketing carrier?

Thanks.

In your example, BA would be responsible, regardless of whose ticket stock it was. They can do an IET exchange transaction and reissue you on their own stock for the rebooked flights.

Nope. If the flights are booked on a single ticket, protection certainly applies.

In this particular case you'd also have the protections under EU261

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Thanks everyone. Sounds like single ticket / mixed carrier has a lot of protections.

Do they have to accommodate me in the class of service I purchased? E.g. I'm flying business on every leg. If BA's connecting flight causes me to miss my Virgin Upper Class leg home, will BA put me in business on BA? Or will they try to put me in the last middle seat in coach because that's all they're required to do?