In an effort to save money, I booked a continuing flight with a different vender/airline. I would like my baggage to continue to my final destination. Is that possible?
I arrive at 1am, the continuing flight leaves at 9am that day. Since I will be sleeping at the airport (low budget), I don’t want to lug the checked bag while looking for place to sleep. Any ideas?
It’s not gonna happen. The two flights are on different itineraries, so the first airline will not check your bag through to the final destination. You’ll also have to exit security to retrieve your bag at baggage claim and then re-check it, then go back through security on your second ticket.
The good news is that at 1am there won’t be much of a line. Good luck!
Also if for whatever reason your first flight is delayed so that you miss the second flight, you’ll be on your own. Whereas if you’d booked both flights with one airline, the airline would ensure you get on another flight to finish your journey. (Possibly hours later or the next day, but they’d get you to your destination.)
You could not collect the bag from the first flight until later in the day. In my experience, they take any bags left unclaimed on the carousel to the airline’s lost luggage office in the arrivals terminal. That assumes there’s no problem with finding the bag once you are ready to collect it.
You have to name the airlines, because it depends on whether they are partners or alliance members (or not). IE, an American Airlines Flight to JFK followed by a British Airways flight to london on separate PNRs would both be covered in case of misconnect and AA would interline your bags for you because they are both members of oneworld (Interlining Baggage on Separate Tickets: United, AA, Delta, Alaska Policies).
Agreed. But …
At 1 am there may not be any open security at all. IOW, you go outside the secured area to pick up your bag and are then trapped on the outside, where there are no chairs or services, until 4am or 5am when inward security screening opens for the new day.
It totally depends on which airport in which country we’re talking about. Some have 24 hour security screening; the majority of US airports don’t.
It is possible to have connecting flights on different airlines on the same itinerary even if they are not partner airlines. My travel dept does this all the time, much to my annoyance. Bags are checked all the way through regardless. The trick is that all the flights are on the same itinerary. Booking them separately is a sure way to get screwed.
Your best bet will be to lug them with you.
The first thing you are up against is whether the airlines you are using have an interline agreement to accept bags from the other. Many low cost carriers (such as Southwest, Spirit, and similar airlines) do not connect bags to other airlines at all.
If you are booked on two separate tickets, it is unlikely, even if it is the same airline, that they will connect them. I suspect this is mostly for security reasons, but wouldn’t be surprised if the airlines are wise to the “save money by buying two tickets” thing and don’t want to make that easier for you. Plus, double the baggage fee for them since you are checking the bag twice, not just once.
You may try to leave them in baggage claim until the next morning, but make sure the claim will re-open early enough for you to pick them up. If the airline you are using has only a flight or two a day, it is doubtful the baggage claim is manned all the time. Most likely, there is only someone there when a flight arrives.
An alternative is to mail the checked bag to yourself. It’s not terribly more expensive than a couple of checked bag fees each way. IIRC, using UPS Ground to send a standard 50# suitcase was about $60. I would shrink wrap the case or put it in a plastic shipping bag. I used to send conference materials home that way.
I’m always surprised at how early US international airports are essentially “closed”. Orlando, for example, has hundreds of international flights every day yet it’s pretty much empty by midnight and the stores on the pre-security side close at 9.
How much are you saving? Because what you describe means that you would be paying a checked baggage fee on each airline separately, rather than once for the whole flight if you stayed on one airline.
My trip includes a small town served by one airline. This airline provides little international travel. Online sites don’t do a good job when there is a multi-city itinerary. Plus they have no information on some airlines.
It was an ordeal planning this adventure. I would have gladly paid a travel agent to do this. But it is complicated. There are dates I need to arrive for, and there is always the lack of funds on the horizon.
How much did I save? Maybe $200USD. And I get to sleep in the SEA airport. The meditation room is quite comfortable.
I’ve done a package trip from California to Fiji. My dive shop booked those flights for all of us.
It was my responsibility to get to Cali. I effectively had a round trip ticket from Cali to Fiji, and a round trip ticket from Fort Lauderdale to California.
I was able to check my bags all the way through. So…it can happen.