IAH-OIL-TRASH

Yes, allow about 15 minutes extra to check bag(s). You’ll have to work with a UA agent at the bag check-in area, not a bag-handling contractor.

jpezaris

I'd up that to 30 minutes extra. It can take much longer that you would expect. I've very nearly missed an important international trip because of this very issue. Normal checking-in with bags can be very fast. Through-checking UA to UA takes a lot longer. A lot.

It turns out that checking bags on two UA tickets is harder than checking bags on separate UA and non-UA tickets from the agent's perspective. What would seem to be easy for us as passengers is actually quite involved, as a phantom booking needs to be made for the luggage to be able to cross tickets. I believe (and hope to be corrected if I'm mistaken!) that if any leg is oversold the process becomes next to impossible.

jsloan

If any flight is no longer for sale in the relevant cabin, it becomes extra difficult. Oversold isn't actually the problem -- it's whether or not they are still selling tickets. If they are not, then the agent likely needs to get the help desk involved to force open space on the segment, because SHARES will not allow the phantom booking to be created if there are no seats for sale.

MHively

Yes, I have done this many times with UA. I have been told as long as it's less than four hours in between the two flights that they can do it. My experience was domestic to international on separate UA tickets.

Yes, this. Good points to make.

FlyingM

This is interesting. I've asked for this exact thing at LAX, in the Premier Luggage Line, and been denied. Another time, the same thing at ORD. Maybe I didn't ask it correctly.

MHively

Crazy that you were denied at LAX and ORD. I had did it multiple times at SAT without any issues at all, also in the Premier Line. I just gave the agent both my confirmation numbers and they did their magic. One time the agent asked why I booked it as two tickets, but I just said because I never knew where I would need to depart due to work and it was easier to book the international ticket first and domestic separately later on. In reality, it was because I got it cheaper booking it that way.

emcampbe

It also becomes problematic if the domestic segment is in BE and the international segment is a regular fare - policy is not to check bags through in this situation, I think. Obviously, if they are both premium tickets, that particular thing is not an issue.

WineCountryUA

The constraints are the time between flights must meet MCT and not be longer than 12 hours or overnight.
And neither is a BE flight.

UA-UA can be more difficult for an agent is the second flight is sold out in the cabin. UA-partner does not have that barrier.

scalar

I'm flying from the US to YYZ on one 016 UA ticket, connecting to a separate 016 UA ticket YYZ-ZRH-BUD on AC/LX respectively.
Can I check my baggage at my US departure airport all the way to BUD?

I think the answer is yes based on UA's website, but I feel like I need social proof that this is possible.

WineCountryUA

Yes, if connection is not overnight and less than 12 hours.

Allow extra time at check in -- at least 15 minutes if not more as if one of the UA flights is sold out, this is a complicate process. Agent may need assistance.

david_oz

I just faced this issue checking in this morning at IAH. My bookings are IAH-LAX / LAX-SYD. Neither are basic economy tickets

i asked the agent is it possible to check my bag through to SYD and she said no. I was like, even if it’s on another United reservation? Even if it’s same day? Still no. She even gave me the line of “you shouldn’t have booked separate tickets”. Fair, but it was $1,000 cheaper to do it this way so until they get their pricing from IAH to Sydney in line with departing from AUS, PHX, or LAX then I guess I’ll continue to do this.

Anyways, they sent me to another line to check the bag where I asked the agent there the same set of questions and got the same answers.

luckily my break in LA is 6 hours (intentionally long) so I have time to get my bag. But judging by reading through this thread it seems like the answer I got was really that they just didn’t want to do it instead of that it isn’t possible.

Kacee

Exactly. It is UA policy to check through; they only require recheck if you're not connecting to a *A carrier:

I'm not sure how you get this fixed at the counter these days when you encounter deliberately poor UA service. Asking for a supervisor is likely to involve a long delay and may not work at all.

Unfortunately, "don't care" is a default UA attitude these days.

IAH-OIL-TRASH

If you went to 1K check-in and talked to a UA agent (and not one of the luggage-handling contractors), that's complete BS.

cfischer

I hope you wrote down the names and you will complain to 1K voice. UA needs to sort out these bad apples ...

david_oz

It was terminal B so all the bag drops are basically in the same place. Honestly I would have pushed harder but with a 6 hour layover in LA, I didn’t care that much.

maybe I will make a complaint later on