You might have come across a great offer here on Travel-Dealz lately. But the airport of departure is just too far away to simply drive there. So the solution could be to book a separate flight that will connect you to another city. Especially with business or first class flights, this can still save you a lot of money.
If you’re traveling light and you only want to bring a carry-on bag, there shouldn’t be a problem. But what about checked luggage? Will it be forwarded to your final destination? Or do you have to pick it up after your feeder flight and check it in again?
There’s no short and simple answer here. Generally speaking you will never be entitled to having your bags checked through. But we will try to provide some information on the topic and some tips that might help. Also, we’d be happy to hear from your experience in the comment section so we can build up a knowledge base that will help others in the future!
The Basics
Good news first: in principle, it is possible to have your luggage checked through to your final destination, even if you have two separate tickets. But all airlines that are involved in your trip must have some kind of cooperation. There are various forms of agreements between airlines. And each one of them will grant different benefits to travelers.
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Interline Agreements
This is the most basic form of cooperation between two airlines. What carriers agree on is that they can sell flights of partner carriers and that they will handle passengers (and their bags) for each other if those are traveling on the same itinerary even if the flights show different airlines codes.
Codeshare Agreements
Codesharing is a more intense form or interlining. Two airlines might see that it would benefit both of them to partner up and allow another airline to sell flights using its own airline code. The result is the “operated by” phrase that many will already know.
Airline Alliance
Most of you will have heard of them: Star Alliance, Oneworld, and SkyTeam, the three big alliances. While having an interline or codeshare agreement doesn’t seem to be a requirement for a carrier to join an alliance, this will very often be the case.
How can I get my Luggage Checked Through?
We will now try and give a few recommendations that could be useful when trying to get your luggage check through on two tickets. However, none of them guarantee that it will work! Let us know if you’ve ever tried to get your bags forwarded to the final destination despite having two separate bookings.
What can increase your chances of having your luggage checked through? And what points should you definitely consider to avoid running into a disaster? Here are some hand-on tips.
Find out About Agreements
Now, we’ve taken a short digression into the world of inter-airlines agreements. Even if those agreements are meant to become effective only for passengers traveling on one single itinerary. Without them, chances of getting your bags checked through are close to zero. So will have to take a look at ways to find out about those agreements.
The easiest way to do so is ExpertFlyer. Unfortunately, you will need a PRO account to check which airlines have interline agreements with each other. If you don’t want to spend money just to find out which airline has an agreement with another one, you could also try contacting the carrier.
It can pay off to do your homework. If you arrive at the airport and it turns out that the two airlines you booked your ticket with don’t cooperate – there is no solution to your problem.
Contact the airline
Of course, it would be great if you’d arrive at the airport and have some (at least partly) official statement from the airline that you can show to the agent. Contact the carrier before your travels. Sent them an email or use social media to get some kind of response. Telöl them that you are planning on traveling on two separate tickets and ask how this will be handle.
Also, this won’t guarantee that everything will work out as planned. But it can definitely not hurt if you’re able to point out that you’ve received an encouraging answer from the airlines.
Factor in Some Extra Time at the Airport
As already mentioned, checking luggage through on separate tickets isn’t something that is done all the time. Consequently, it can take a while until the agent at the airport has set up everything in the right way. You might even have to convince someone to do what you are requesting.
It could even happen that an agent doesn’t know what to do at all. If that’s the case, you might have to wait for someone else to show up and help. Either way, don’t expect the process to be hassle-free. Or as fast as an average baggage drop.
The same goes for the airport where you’ll be connecting to your second flight. Add some extra time for your layover. This will be your emergency plan if you can’t get your bags to check through. You will need enough time to claim your luggage, go through immigration, check-in your bags again, and then there are the security checks.
Gather all the Information About Your Flights
The agents at the airport will have all the information they need to check your luggage for the first flight. But not necessarily for the second one. Since you will be flying with another airline, it can definitely make sense to present all the details for the other flight, such as booking code and ticketing number, to the airport.
All this will most likely be needed to send your bags right to your final destination. And if you can’t provide the information, it might not be possible to check through your luggage from a technical point of view. So better be prepared.
Perform a Final Check
If you want to make sure that everything is set up correctly, you can always perform a short check. Have a look at the luggage tag that the agent at the airport will attach to your suitcase or bag. It carries all the relevant information. And for you, the most important are the airport codes.
These codes will tell you exactly where the bags are heading for. If IATA codes are a closed book to you, check out this website. Memorize the codes that you’d like to see on your tag. If you see that the labels only show the IATA code of the first airport you’ll apporach, you can be sure that the agent didn’t check through your bags to the final destination.
Be Aware of Some Risks
Bags that get lost or damaged are something that no traveler wants to experience. But it just happens from time to time. And while you won’t have to worry about the liability of you’re traveling on one itinerary, this can change if you checked your luggage through on two tickets.
You could end up dealing with both airlines, none of them willing to help or compensate you. Sure, the convenience of not having to worry about your bags until you reached your final destination might be worth it. But maybe don’t pack items of high value into your checked bags. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
Theory and Practice
We’ve covered the main points that are relevant if you want to have your luggage checked through on two separate tickets. But how high are the chances that such a request will be satisfied? And does it actually really make sense?
The Airlines
There are no official pieces of information that could give reliable guidelines on which airline will accommodate your request on which one won’t. But if you trawl through websites like FlyerTalk, you will find various reports telling stories about the problems that travelers encountered when trying to get their luggage checked through on more then same itinerary.
A short – and definitely unrepresentative – survey that we conducted here at Travel Dealz showed that Lufthansa Group carriers seem to have more generous policies for checked through bags. For example, on a Swiss feeder flight, the luggage had been forwarded to the final destination, even though the next connections was on Lufthansa. Singapore Airlines managed to get luggage check though on the next Brussels Airlines flight as well.
Also, feedback from our readers points us in the same direction. United Airlines, SAS and Aegean Airlines have apparently been accommodating enough to check luggage through on two separate tickets. Although airline staff mentioned that they are not supposed to do so.
On the other hand, it has been brought to our notice that British Airways and Iberia (both part of IAG) won’t even send your bags to your final destination if the connections flight is operated by the same airline!
Can you tell us about your experience with checked through luggage on two separate tickets? We’d love to hear from you in the comment section!
Low-Cost Carriers
If one of your flights is booked with a low-cost carrier, your chance of getting your luggage check through are practically zero. Most of the no-frills carriers do not sign agreements with other airlines. So even if the agent on the ground would like to help you – which per se is already rather unlikely – they can’t.
So if your feeder flights are with Ryanair & Co: plan ahead give yourself some extra time at the airport to pick up and check-in your nags. Or try to travel light and just bring a cabin trolley. This will save you time and money when flying with low-cost airlines.
Your Travel Route
This is another point you should consider. Because in some cases, not the airline but the national laws in the country you’re visiting decide if bags can be checked through. Let’s have a look at the USA and Canada:
No matter where exactly you’re headed for. After arriving at a so-called point-of-entry, you will have to claim your bags, go through customs and immigration, and then check-in your bags again. Now, if your connecting flight is with the same airlines or on the same ticket, your luggage tag might have the final destination printed on it again. That can save you some, but very little time. So it’s not worth spending half an hours or longer at the airport your first flight departs from. Just to convince an agent to have your bags checked through.
We would recommend checking the regulations for immigration and customs in the country in which you will switch between tickets. Maybe there is no need to have your bags checked through after all.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, there is no way to ensure that your luggage will be checked through when traveling on two separate tickets. Yes, there are rules and regulations in place. But not even those will guarantee a smooth process. We know that it would be more helpful to have clear guidelines. Since we can’t provide those, here’s a summary of our tips:
- Choose the right airline: try to avoid low-cost carriers. A feeder flight with an alliance partner will increase the chances of getting your luggage checked through.
- Contact the airline ahead of time: write an email and ask, if they will check through your bags. You might not receive an answer. But if you do, you have something to show the agent at the airport. Could turn out to be useful.
- Be friendly to the agent: since the agent at the first departure airport can make or break the deal, it can’t hurt to be extra polite.
- Have an emergency plan: never show up at the airport with luggage that needs to be check through and 60 minutes of layover time! You’ve got to have a solution if the airlines refuse to check through your bags.
Comments (20)
It depends on 3 things:
1. You need to do online check in and get your boarding passes prior to going to agent
2. Both airlines need to be part of the same network/alliance
3. If you have all this above, then it all depends on the agent, whether he will book your luggage through or decline.
I managed to do it but it was agents good will, he could have declined.
Only time(a few months ago) I tried to check my luggage all the way to my final destination was declined!
First flight BRS-FRA on LH declined to tag my luggage to FRA-ARN-HEL on SK even though I am Diamond on SK/StarGold and Check-in agent in BRS called his supervisors to see if he can tag it to final destination, but it was refused. Upon landing in FRA I approached a LH baggage handling agent to confirm if they do/don’t this, even for StarGold passengers, and he was quite sure that it’s not permitted since even within the same alliance, airlines have varied luggage policies and it’s make the first airline tagging a luggage to another airline liable for costs associated with it in terms of piece/weight/size. Agent who told me was quite senior in position and age.
It really depends on the person working at the counter and your attitude, but I reckon it still can be done – in December 2022 I’ve travelled with someone who checked their bags from SYD-DEL-BAH-SAW via Air India and Pegasus on two separate tickets, and further forwarded to CPH on an additional Pegasus ticket at Bahrain. In this case the bloke is quite charismatic, but to be honest it was mostly the staff at both Sydney and Bahrain being super helpful when to came to quite a rough itinerary (with 2 separate VoAs required). Again I wouldn’t bank on it, but with the right staff (esp at airports where the check-in staff don’t work for the airline) it is possible.
It is almost impossible to check baggage on two different tickets from the start through the final destination.
Even more.
I myself have the experience of booking one ticket with a certain airline, with a transfer. I think it was via Frankfurt. So one ticket – one ticket number, two flight legs. Checked baggage went from the departure airport to the final destination.
Then I booked another ticket in such a way that each flight was separate, i.e. first to Frankfurt, and the second from there to the final destionation. I did this because this method of two cards was cheaper than just one card (as in the first described example).
The two tickets (two flights) were completely identical, i.e. same airline, same flight numbers.
Then I called and wrote to the airline so that they would also arrange for the second ticket (or two separate airfares) to have the checked baggage checked from the departure airport to the final destination. However, the airline did not honor my request!!
So I don’t see any point in publishing this because that’s not how things work in practice. Two different air tickets are two different contracts and have nothing to do with each other.
Based on the comments, this may be out of date. I remember – admittedly back in 2017 – my husband and I got a great Qatar deal CPH-AKL. We booked feeder flights on Star Alliance, so different airline and different alliance. For sure our bags were checked through on the return AKL-DOH-CPH-FRA-LUX and it worked like a charm. As far as I recall, but less certain here, the same was the case on the outbound. We did not check anything in advance, assumed we would have to pick-up and re-check, allowed for sufficient time for this.
Only time I tried to check my luggage all the way to my final destination was declined!
First flight BRS-FRA on LH declined to tag my luggage to FRA-ARN-HEL on SK even though I am Diamond on SK/StarGold and Check-in agent in BRS called his supervisors to see if he can tag it to final destination, but it was refused. Upon landing in FRA I approached a LH baggage handling agent to confirm if they do/don’t this, even for StarGold passengers, and he was quite sure that it’s not permitted since even within the same alliance, airlines have varied luggage policies and it makes the first airline tagging a luggage to another airline liable for costs associated with it in terms of piece/weight/size. Agent who told me this was quite a senior in his position and age.
I checked my luggage through from MUC to AKL via BKK and HKG. I had a ticket with Thai as far as HKG then a separate ticket with Lufthansa to AKL but the flight was operated by Air NZ. It was no problem to check through and get all boarding passes. Then the flight to BKK was delayed, we missed the connection to HKG and were rebooked onto Cathay Pacific which would still arrive in time for our next flight. They found the luggage, retagged it and it remained checked all the way through to AKL. I think we got really lucky with the good service though, and it was quite time consuming to find the luggage in BKK.
Prior to 2019, I have been able to check in my luggage to final destination on two separate tickets usually with boarding passes but I am hearing this is no longer allowed today. I have booked my daughter on two separate tickets (one ticket for KTM-BKK sector and another for BKK-IAD via Dubai) and I am worried she will not get luggage checked though to IAD final destination from Kathmandu. If she has to claim baggage and check-in again in BKK, it not only risky and troublesome but also have to get transit visa and go through the immigration clearance just to check-in again.
What I want to know is whether checking-in the luggage to final destination is technically possible by the system and whether it is at the discretion of the check-in staff? Help?!
I found this article helpful. Even just to know the general guidance is don’tdo it.
Hmmm. I don’t feel the article itself provided much help, but I’ll contribute my 2 cents here.
I used to work for an airline (a major US carrier). Checking bags all the way through was never a huge hassle. I mean, it wasn’t as easy as checking ’em just to the destination on the ticket you were checking in for, but should not have been difficult for any agent who had ever had to book or rebook a ticket. The passenger had to show us proof of the other flights, usually with a confirmed itinerary, etc. We would then add those identical flights to their record. We were NOT booking these that way, just inserting them in strictly for bag checking (it didn’t matter for this purpose if the actual flights had availability or anything). We’d then check the bags in, making sure we selected the entire route. Once we had the bag tags, we’d go back and take those unneeded segments back out, and only check the passenger in on our ticketed flight.
That being said, I understand if airlines are no longer doing this (I don’t agree, just understand) if they’re concerned about who has responsibility for the bags, etc. I’m getting ready to take a long trip involving 5 flights (3 European, 2 US). I had to book the way I did to use a $2,000 credit that was going to expire soon. I am most likely (about 95% positive, LOL) going to have to pick up my bags in Germany and re-check in to the US. Fortunately, I have 3 hours in Germany and I’ve found them very efficient there, so it shouldn’t cause any major problems. One of my friends who still works at the airline I used to work at informed me that they are no longer allowed to check bags on a separate ticket-EVEN if it’s on that same airline. Now that definitely doesn’t make sense to me since only that one airline would have any liability.
No luck with EY/SK from AUH via LHR to ARN on one ticket with the request to forward to LX from ARN to ZRH on a separate ticket. EY would have checked all the way to ARN but not further.
So I tagged to LHR only because I had more connecting time to kill there and thought, it would be easy between two *-alliance carrier. But again – not possible.
We had to reclaim and re-checkin at ARN again.
Hi Joe, thanks for sharing your experience with us! Sorry to hear that checking through your bags didn’t work out. In some cases it really seems to be pure luck…
Just checked through luggage on two different tickets with Cathay Pacific (MNL-HKG) and Swiss (HKG-ZRH). The check-in agent from Cathay Pacific was super helpful and even printed all boarding passes for me (incl. Swiss).
At least for StarAlliance I can say it works 90% of the time.
I/we often book nested flights and open jaws from Europe to North America or within Europe (mostly UA, LH, LX, SK, SN, A3) and feeders or local connections are award flights.
The reps sometimes tell me they are not supposed to check all the luggage through (mainly since the airline doing so is responsible for your luggage until it reaches the final destination on your tag / So John might be a rep?) but gladly do it anyway. Maybe *G Status helps in my case. I have very limited experience with other alliances as I only fly business on pre-defined complete itineraries.
Hi Jay! Thanks so much for sharing this with us! It really seems as if Star Alliance carriers would handle this topic better than other airlines. I will definitely include your feedback into the article!
Actually the carrier operating the last leg is the one responsible. So if you check in with United for a UA/LX itinerary, LX is responsible. You always get a file reference from the airline of your last segment and are supposed to claim with this airline.
I can see where this is problematic if it’s different alliances because who is really responsible in case of a misconnect? Interline agreements exist to answer this question though and it should not be a problem.
This article is such utter nonsense. There is not much correctness in here and I wonder who you referenced for correctness. Interline and codeshare agreements (codedhare is an advanced interline agreement) stipulate how ONE ticket (contract) is handled when 2 or even more airlines are involved. A interline agreement is totally irrelevant for separate tickets. Bottom line and short version: No airline is in anyway obliged to check through bags on 2 separate tickets. Ever! Even if booked in same itinerary!! If they do it is pure luck and beyond what they should do. Due to the increased liabilities and all sorts of (EU)regulations, airlines will even stricter insist on 1 ticket, 1 contract, 1 obligation.
Thank You!
Hi John, thank you for taking the time to send us your feedback! Really sorry that the article is not at all to your taste. We did point out that there is no way to make sure that your bags will be forwarded. But we tried to present a few options that you have when traveling on two tickets and want to check your luggage through to your final destination.
I agree, such a long article for nothing. The only thing you can do is ask in advance by writing the airline on Facebook or what ever and get a feeling for it, if it might be possible or not. (Mostly not) But Lufthansa is able to do so, even if the next flight is with an other Allianz. BA and IB most likely won’t do it, even if the next flight is within the same Airline. (own experience) The article is a bit waste of time and should have more pointed out the experience people had. Which you could have collected and displayed. An overview of, if it ever worked or not would probably make more sense. Then trying to let the reader think, that because of the headline you will find an answer. But this article gives no answer at all.
Hi Ben, it is great to hear about your experience! The title (which has been changed) might be misleading. Which was definitely not intended. The main reason we published this article was to give some guidelines on how it could work. As you stated correctly, there is no way to be sure. The article mentions that contacting the airlines upfront is an option. We would be more than happy seeing people leave a comment so we can improve this article and present an overview of all the experiences others made.