Baggage allowance on partner flights?
 

I have the following itinerary on one PNR: EWR-LHR / LCY-FRA-NCE / TXL-MUC-EWR. EWR-LHR on UA metal, LCY-FRA-NCE on LH (not UA codeshare), TXL-MUC on LH (UA codeshare/flight number), MUC-EWR on UA metal. All paid J.

Will I be given the UA baggage allowance on either of these segments:

(1) LCY-FRA-NCE
(2) TXL-MUC-EWR

FWIW, I am GS, so 3 x 70lbs is my allowance on UA. If I’m not eligible for that on those segments, what’s the LH paid J or *G allowance?

IIRC, each break (EWR-LHR / LCY-FRA-NCE / TXL-MUC-EWR) would result in a different baggage allowance. In your case, I don't think it matters, since you'll be in J all the way with *G status. LH Business gets 2x 32kg regardless of flight. With the *G extra bag, your total will be 3x 32kg, which is what you'd get when flying UA. The only difference would be that the intra-Europe LH flights would allow you to bring 2x carry-on bags plus a personal item, although they may (or may not) enforce the weight restrictions.

Assuming this is all one PNR, then this is not correct, IMO.

OP should get allowance of the marketing segment if he first carrier throughout - I believe the international allowance should be allowed through the intro-EU legs. Being a trip from/to the US, the DOT rule on baggage would be used, which is the allowance of the marketing carrier of the first flight - presumably (thought this isn’t outright stated), it would be UAs. Note the rule doesn’t take into account FF status, but given its a through * partner anyway, it shouldn’t really be much of a stickeing point as LH will give the * allowance of Ann extra bag anyway.

This is incorrect, but OP has not supplied sufficient information to answer his question.

PNR's are irrellevant. All that matters is ticket(s). If the routing described is on one ticket than the baggage allowance of the marketing carrier of the first segment will apply to all segments of that ticket. Thus, EWR-LHR, presuming a UA-issued ticket for all segments.

If those breaks in OP''s itinerary represent separate tickets, even if in the same PNR, then US-origin or destination tickets will apply the rule above and the other ticket(s) will apply local rules to those tickets.

For reference, OP should check his e-ticket receipt. DOT rules require that the e-ticket receipt show the baggage fees, if any for the first and second segment segment-by-segment.

It's all largely moot though, as both the UA and LH baggage rules in this case allow 3x70lbs or 3x32kg, respectively.

This
Yes but UA elite bag rules and *A elite rules are not in 100% match --- but in the case of LH, this is a non-issue.

My apologies. :o I didn't realize that rules were different for tickets originating in the US. Would I have been correct if the OP's trip was a) originating from outside of the US and b) on a single ticket, as in the examples on LH baggage rules here?
In any case, as findark mentioned, the end result is the same, right? OP should get 3x 32kg/70lbs.

U.S. Dept of Transportation single baggage allowance rules apply for a journey with an origin or destination in the U.S.

Well that really sounds great, but in reality once you touch your bags in some foreign airports, and recheck them in, after customs, you may just be at the mercy of the connecting carrier, and the interpretation of "THEIR RULES".

Quoting a U.S. Dept of transportation reg may just get you absolutely NOTHING (possibly with the exception of a request for an interpreter), even from some Star Pard's!

Been there-done that! Lost some discussions and won a few! Slapped leather when either I paid, or the bags stayed where they were sitting! The RED pointy tag meant absolutely nothing!

Fist of all, a UA issued ticket cannot have more than four segments, so five segments is at least two tickets.

Second, UA website, always shows me baggage allowance as per check-in carrier rules, and premier additional allowance is not shown for partner carriers. Is UA website wrong?

Would a partner airline really follow UA baggage rules, instead of their own, at check-in? Seems like it would be hard for the agents to keep track of different airline rules.

I thought it was 5 (and not sure limited to UA), but I could be wrong.

Yes, UA's baggage rules can apply throughout the journey - the whole point is to allow the baggege rules to remain consistent throughtout for the pax. And yes, airlines can and do folow OALs bag rules. IIRC, there is a place in the ticket where baggage allowance is embeded, and that is the allowance the agent would see, so its not so much about memorizing rules from any carrier in particular.

The original assertion -- that this rule has something to do with the way flights are ticketed inside a PNR -- is dubious at best, and, to the extent it would apply at all, it would be limited to situations where someone put more than one completely independent trip inside a PNR, which is possible but generally frowned upon. The language in the Federal Register is as follows:

It doesn't say anything about ticketing.

No, but Star Alliance Gold passengers still get an extra bag under alliance rules. So even though OP wouldn't get the GS allowance, he'd get the UA J allowance plus one bag for *G.

Yes, it's the law, so they do it. The computer tells them what to charge. I was flying with my wife on Shenzhen Airlines; she was on an award ticket using a free stopover, and I was on a paid one-way ticket. Even though they don't even fly to the US, they check-in agents were able to figure the allowances out properly -- I was on the weight system and she was on the piece system.

If I cannot even trust the united.com website to show the correct allowance, how much faith should I have that some check-in counter on the other side of the world will get it right?

Not saying you are wrong, just uneasy about it. As a United Platinum, I can take three 70lb bags for free, when flying economy. Plus my no-status partner on my reservation shares my allowance.

So, when the two of us show up with six 70lb bags at Austrian airline counter in Europe, for example. What is really going to happen?

IME, as an 1K, with other LH Group airlines, from smaller european cities, you will get the 3x70 lbs per passenger -- but the 2 x carryon will be max 8 kgs each.item

That's always true checking bags anywhere. Despite what the rules say, you are at the mercy of the check-in agents. Most likely to be a problem at an outstation where you're relying on an exception (whether IATA, DOT, or FFP) to their normal rules.