Dear Alex,
I live in Thailand and for the past 12 years have been flying between Bangkok and the US. I recently had the sad experience of my US carrier, Delta Air Lines, terminating its baggage agreement with my international airline, Taiwan’s Eva Air.
It means that after flying from Bangkok to San Francisco via Taipei, I must reclaim my bags on arrival and pay extra baggage charges. As a result, I will continue to fly Eva Air because of its excellent prices and service but discontinue using Delta.
How can passengers ensure their bags get checked right through?
Rebecca Lomax, Bangkok
Alex replies:
It’s a confusing picture. The only sure way of having your bags through-checked is to book carriers belonging to the same alliance and to purchase a through ticket. But this could cost you more compared with the separate tickets you currently buy.
All carriers are looking to cut costs in these difficult economic times. That is why more and more of them refuse to through-check bags when passengers hold separate tickets.
Industry body SITA reckons that 52 per cent of bags that are lost or delayed are during transfers. Reuniting them with the owners takes time, patience and costs a lot of money.
But that’s not all. Recently, US carriers have discovered a new revenue stream – baggage checking. In my report (see “Lost in transit”), I explained how the US carriers collectively earned US$740 million in baggage fees from passengers during the first quarter of 2009. This was more than double the US$350 they earned during the same period in 2008.
By not accepting Eva Air transfer bags, Delta can save money on handling fees, avoid the expense of dealing with bags if lost, and earn extra cash as you are now classified “domestic” when you recheck your bags in San Francisco.
