Baggage allowance on RTW ticket legs ?
 

Her indoors and I recently flew UK-Australia-USA-UK on a Qantas round-the-world ticket, with sectors on EK, QF, AA and BA.

EK, QF and BA were all happy to accept our 30kg checked baggage allowance on the international legs. We'd been warned that AA's in-flight service was the pits (it didn't disappoint), but we weren't prepared for a bolshie check-in agent at SFO who maintained that our baggage allowance on the AA leg to JFK was non-existent and that unless we stumped up $25 per bag they wouldn't fly.

Granted, $50 isn't a huge amount in the overall scheme of things, but I'd be interested to know whether this is something we should have foreseen, or if we were diddled.

The airline that sells the ticket sets the baggage allowances for each leg regardless of who operates it. If you go to your receipt for your ticket, it should specify what these allowances are by leg. They may or may not correspond to what the standard allowance might be for a one-off flight on a particular leg sold by the operating carrier.

This is my understanding of IATA regulations. Of course the outsourced check-in agent at the airport may not understand that. You should bring a copy of your receipt with you to show to the agent if there is any dispute. If the agent still claims you need to pay an extra charge that your receipt says you do not owe, your only recourse may be to pay it, get a receipt from the check-in agent, and submit it to the ticketing airline to seek reimbursement.

I have lost count the number of times in the USA I have experienced problems with clueless check-in and ground staff employed by the major US carriers. Some are very poorly trained and never inclined to believe that they may be wrong about an issue. Generally, asking for and getting a supervisor to speak to resolves the problem. Having said that, I must also say, in the interest of balance, that I have also come across some very switched on guys and girls too.

Your eTicket should show by sector the baggage allowance. A mixed F/J or J/Y journey needs to show somehow the difference allowances by sector.

The oneWorld RTW agreement will also set out the baggage allowance for the entire journey, Logically it won't have exceptions. However it is possible to include a side trip on the same ticket that could have a different allowance.

I'd write to AA and ask for your money back, supported by your eTicket. I'd also complain to QF asking them to intervene with their partner.

SeenItAll
The IATA rules provide that the "Most Significant Carrier's" baggage rules apply within each fare component. The definition of MSC is complicated but usually is obvious.

RTW tickets are a little different with no fare components but most (if not all) RTW agreements set out the allowances agreed by the participating airlines for the entire RTW journey.