UA will not Short Check bags (but some loopholes)
 

Wirelessly posted (Blackberry 8800: Opera/9.50 (J2ME/MIDP; Opera Mini/4.1.11355/546; U; en))

Was told by the sup in sfo today that you cannot short check bags anymore. A liability risk for united as you xan get to your final destination and say you never wanted you bag to be short checked. I think its total crap. Now I have to store my bag in sfo airport for another day and a half, pay the fee and if my incoming flight is delayed run a risk of not being able to check it in.

Over the years, I've been given all sorts of excuses by a variety of US airlines on why they can't short-check bags. If they want to short-check the bag and think about it some, they can .... even if it requires handwriting the tag or toying with bookings.

GAs and sups make up stories all the time when either don't want to do something or don't know how to. I've got a classic case of "we can't check bags through to LH anymore" floating around FT somewhere. I was told an entire story about new security regulations, special processes at LHR to assist me with the recheck, etc. etc. All totally bogus. They just make rules up as they go.

Was that no short check UA to UA, or UA to OA?

I can't speak for the OP's circumstances, but for mine it includes both UA to UA and UA to OA.

Ok, I'll be the one to play the naive role.

What do you mean by short checking of bags?

You're flying A-> B -> C, with a 3 hour layover in B.
You check a bag A -> B.
That is short checking.
IMO, the OP reflecting that this is now "officially" not doable is simply a case of an individual in SFO not wanting to do something.
Dave

I've been told as plausible a reason as any other: To prevent "Point beyond" ticketing.

Specific scenario was SFO-IAD-KWI-AUH. UA couldn't interline my bag through to AUH. However, a bag pick in KWI results in a obtaining a VISA ($). To avoid this, I asked to pick my bag in IAD so I could take as carry-on and gate check in KWI.

The response: "Well I don't think you bought a 9-thousand dollar ticket just to get to Washington. No problem." Seems logical.

That is clearly one of the reasons that a given Agent would not do a short check.
Throw away ticketing is the same.
Dave

What is the purpose of short checking?

Just a few possibilities... there are others:

• If you have a long layover and want to have access to your bag.
• If you don't want to deal with a carryon because you know the first flight of an itin will be full, but you don't want to wait at baggage claim at your final destination.
• If you are doing throw away ticketing :D ;)

UA's Contract of Carriage prohibits this. If they informally allowed it before, that was lagniappe (now in short supply in the aviation industry).

That makes sense to me.

And here it is on page 24 of the Contract of Carriage:

C) BAGGAGE WILL NOT BE CHECKED:
I) TO A POINT THAT IS NOT ON THE PASSENGER'S ROUTING.
II) BEYOND THE PASSENGER'S NEXT POINT OF STOPOVER OR, IF THERE
IS NO STOPOVER, BEYOND THE FINAL DESTINATION DESIGNATED ON THE TICKET.
III) BEYOND A POINT AT WHICH THE PASSENGER WANTS TO RECLAIM THE
BAGGAGE OR ANY PORTION THEREOF.
IV) BEYOND THE POINT TO WHICH ALL APPLICABLE CHARGES HAVE BEEN
PAID.
V) BEYOND A POINT AT WHICH THE PASSENGER IS TO TRANSFER TO A
CONNECTING FLIGHT, IF THAT FLIGHT IS SCHEDULED TO DEPART FROM AN
AIRPORT DIFFERENT FROM THE ONE AT WHICH THE PASSENGER IS SCHEDULED TO
ARRIVE.
VI) TO A POINT WHICH IS INTERMEDIATE TO THE PASSENGER'S NEXT
POINT OF STOPOVER, OR IF NONE, INTERMEDIATE TO THE FINAL DESTINATION.

Even for rather short layovers, I use short-checking of bags.

If I have items I don't want to take with me on my entire trip but want to drop off for someone else or for myself at an intermediate point before heading on to my ticketed stop/destination, then I do this. If I want to swap attire/gear used in one locality for fresh attire/gear for a different environment, then I do this -- this includes dropping off my laundry/dry cleaning. :o