A check in question

[Rwy in Sight]

Can a passager get his baggage checked through for a trip that goes from A-B-C-D and it consists of 2 tickets one A-B-C and the other C-D? The airlines do not belong to the same alliance.

Rwy in Sight

[Hartington]

Not impossible but unlikely. Used to be much easier but the airlines have got much more difficult about it these days.

I reckon it's mainly about trying to disadvantage people who take advantage of the fare system to put together combinations that are cheaper than the through fare but they say that it's because each ticket is a different contract and you must finish one before starting the next.

[PAXboy]

This is conjecture but:

• Depends on where A-B-C-D are and how many continents they span
• Whether any of the carriers involved are linked in a group (One World etc)
• Likely obstacles will be 'security' and the 'computer says no'
• Companies want to avoid liability if your bag goes missing elsewhere in the chain

For my part, I would not want to see my bag off on a long chain of multiple companies and would only consign through such a long chain if it were one ticket. It's a hassle to get it out and put it back but at least you will know where it is - or - on which leg it went missing!

[ExXB]

Originally Posted by Hartington

Not impossible but unlikely. Used to be much easier but the airlines have got much more difficult about it these days.

I reckon it's mainly about trying to disadvantage people who take advantage of the fare system to put together combinations that are cheaper than the through fare but they say that it's because each ticket is a different contract and you must finish one before starting the next.

Actually the problem, for the airlines, is because the passenger is travelling on two, or more, contracts. When things go wrong, under a single contract, MITA (Multilateral Interline Traffic Agreement) procedures established through IATA decades ago set out how any liability is shared between the airlines and who settles any claim with the passenger, and how. These rules only apply when the passenger is travelling on a single ticket and the airlines have agreed to interline with each other through MITA.

As an example, a passenger on a single ticket travelling HKG-A-LHR-B-GLA through checks his bag. For some reason or another airline A doesn't deliver the bag to airline B and it never shows up in GLA. MITA says that airline B settles the claim with the passenger and then goes back to airline A to recover those monies because they are responsible.

With two tickets there is no underlying contract for B to claim against A. And accounting departments began to play hard ball and now refuse claims they are not 'legally' required to pay (to another airline). MITA doesn't cover such 'informal interline'. So B, who is not to blame, ends up shouldering the entire claim.

Also impacting on this was the increase in liability limits which were quite small under Warsaw, but increased significantly under Montreal (MC99). Airline B flies the passenger LHR-GLA for 50 squids and ends up paying 1500 in liability. That got their attention real quick.

[Rwy in Sight]

All the flights are with two airlines in Schengen area - so no special controls at least as customs are concerned. One is with Star Alliance the other with Sky Team and they will go via their main hubs.

I asked the person involved to inquiry with the last airline to see what is their opinion.

Thanks for your affort.

Rwy in Sight

[Dawdler]

I used to regularly check through BHX-CPH-Malmo and return. The first leg was with Birmingham Executive Airways (Later a subsidary of BA) and the second leg was with the helicopter service from Kastrup to the the heliport on Malmo docks. This was run by (I think) an independent company with no apparent connection with either BEA or BA.

It was a good job I could check straight through as there was only 45 mins between scheduled arrival at Kastrup and the departure of the helicopter! On only one occasion did my baggage not arrive with me at Malmo, this was delivered a couple of hours later to my hotel thirty miles away.

[lfc123]

I know that it is technically possible, but for the reasons stated above I doubt the airlines involved would be keen to take on the responsibility: they'd much rather just fulfill their contract I'm sure.

Happened to me once: Was supposed to be flying A-B-C but first flight was cancelled. They put me on a different carrier (different alliance too) for A-B and then my original flight B-C. Bag went straight through with no probs.

[Pontius Navigator]

I imagine that booking two separate legs could involve collecting your luggage from the carousel, going landside, checking your luggage, returning through security to airside.

The time factor for that would be considerably more than through booking and thus mean you have to allow much longer at the intermediate and probably taking a later flight.

You would have to compare the higher cost of a through ticket with the ticket saving, extra hassle, and extra coffee etc on the ground.

It would look as if you can't check your luggage through on two tickets then it is not worth the hassle and risk of breaking your journey.

We once did a flight HUY-AMS-CPH. Our first leg was delayed 3 hrs due to fog. By chance the second was delayed 2 hrs. We made the second gate in the nick of time and never gave a thought to our baggage which was on the carousel when we went to collect it. On separate tickets, no chance.

Oddly on the return flight our second flight was delayed and we had about 3 hrs in Schipol. This time our luggage did not make it. Go figure.

[Rwy in Sight]

My friend flew on the airline scheduled to fly the last leg of his trip and asked about. They said it can be done, and it would help to have printed the e-ticket for the last leg of the trip.

If something goes wrond I will let you know.


Thanks again for all the answers.

Rwy in Sight