[LondonAndy70]

My understanding is that linking the bookings will not allow luggage to be checked through for 2 separate tickets. A pain in the neck, but that’s the rules….

Although I’ve nver done it, Gatwick allows luggage to be checked in the day before the flight: https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/information/airport-information/london-gatwick

I also understand that luggage can be stored overnight at Heathrow if it is checked through.

[capetonianm]

Rwanda I replied to be met by utter bemusement and the question ‘but what country is that?

I have been asked more than once : “Where is South Africa?”
Saying that there are two major clues in the name usually just gets a blank look.

[EU_Flyer]

[quote quote=935457]I cant recall the flight but a few years back I definitely checked in baggage on 2 flights on two tickets, in fact the airlines were also different. I recall a comment with a check-in agent who told me that as long as the airlines had an agreement with each other then they can check them in regardless of whether its one ticket or two.
I think the issue here is an overnight layover and whether BA have the facility (or the wherewithal) to store a bag overnight in their system. Plus I imagine the likelihood of it going missing would be higher too.[/quote]

Interline agreements exist between airlines but in the case of BA they only execute them where the 2 airlines are on the same PNR or booking. If it’s 2 seperate bookings, irrespective of airline or agreement, BA won’t do it.

From my understanding the issue has to do with risk and not storage space. I think the airline that tags the bag has the responsibility for the bag for its entire journey – as the airline issuing the tag. So if it gets lost, even on flight number 2 on another airline, airline 1 has to find a way to deliver it to you as the airline bearing the risk given it may not be clear where the bag actually went awol. BA simply don’t want the hassle of trying to locate bags checked on seperate bookings which is understandable from an airline risk perspective but against what we’ve become accustomed to from a service perspective, especially in the case of BA.

By forcing you to recheck your bag on the second seperate booking, BA are saving all the risk of the bag going awol in transit.

If the airlines could make you recheck bags on the same booking but different airlines / flights they probably would to save money. But realistically and legally they can’t when they are on the same ticket as they need to deliver the bag to your final ticketed destination.

Finally, by accepting your bag the whole way on both bookings the airlines sort of accept the risk of ‘protecting’ you where flight 1 is delayed and you miss flight 2 as the bag has already been checked onto flight 2. This creates a whole seperate headache for the airlines and the passengers. But the airlines pass that risk onto the passenger where they can.

I’m not an expert but hope the above helps.

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Jacob, capetonianm

[capetonianm]

The above posting by EUFlyer perfectly illustrates one of the main differences between LCCs and legacy carriers.

easyJet have a service called Worldwide whereby for a fee they will take responsibility for through connections. The passenger has the choice of doing a self-transfer with the attendant risks, or paying a fee to transfer the risk.

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[SimonS1]

[quote quote=935915]The above posting by EUFlyer perfectly illustrates one of the main differences between LCCs and legacy carriers.

easyJet have a service called Worldwide whereby for a fee they will take responsibility for through connections. The passenger has the choice of doing a self-transfer with the attendant risks, or paying a fee to transfer the risk.[/quote]

With the easyjet service you still have to collect your baggage from the first flight and re-check it for the second at the dedicated desk. Easyjet is protecting the connection, but the easiest and most stress free solution is a single ticket on a legacy carrier where the bag is checked to the final destination.

4 users thanked author for this post.

Polly, Jacob, capetonianm

[capetonianm]

With the easyjet service you still have to collect your baggage from the first flight and re-check it for the second at the dedicated desk

I didn’t know that, thanks for the info. Somewhat reduces the value of the service which I have not used and probably won’t, and I’m not knocking EZY – I use them a lot and am a very satisfied customer.

[IanFromHKG]

Ah, ’twas ever thus… Here is a post I generated almost six years ago on the very same subject.

In (grudging) fairness to BA they have, since my post, made their policy abundantly clear, specifically opting out of the policy that every single other oneworld airline adopted of permitting through-check. Just as they opted out of the priority baggage policy that every single other oneworld airline adopts.

British Airways – “we’re not satisfied until you’re not satisfied”

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CathayLoyalist2, Polly, Jacob

[globalforay]

One alternative at T5 – there is a BA endorsed service called http://www.airportr.com/
For a fee they will pick up your luggage at night and check it in the next or the following day. It works well. There is a minimum fee of £30 quid and you have to book in advance – but if you have 2 or more bags it works well.

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CathayLoyalist2

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