Internal US Flights... question

[Michaella]

Hi Ladies and Gents.. we are busily planning our Sept/Oct trip. We will have several flights internally in the US. We were advised to go with South West as they are the only airline that do not have extra charges for baggage.

Someone else just told us the US actually have a policy whereby if your domestic flights are on the same itinerary as your international flights, you have the same baggage allowance as the international flights...

Anyone have experience here?

Thanks in advance.

 

[PrincessInOz]

That was certainly true in previous years; and it used to apply universally in the US. We used to be able to travel on any of the major internal carriers without having to pay for check-in luggage when you showed your international ticket (any carrier), your inward boarding pass and your passport.

However, I don't believe that the policy is still valid anymore. It was certainly true in the past but I believe that AA and United have changed their baggage allowance policy about 2 years ago. That international traveller allowance is no longer in their current policy.

 

[battymum]

I believe if it is all on the one ticket you are not charged on the domestic legs, even if you stopover.

 

[cola]

if it is all booked together as one ticket, the international luggage allowance applies on all flights on the one ticket.

If you get an airpass added to your international flight it MAY also applies to those flights on the airpass.
http://www.staralliance.com/en/fares/airpasses/north-america-airpass/
Baggage
7.1 There is no free baggage allowance offered.
7.2 Please refer to the operating carrier for future information on applicable baggage charges.

http://www.oneworld.com/flights/single-continent-fares/visit-north-america/ If your journey involves more than one oneworld airline, or your flight is a code-share flight, where the operating carrier is different to the one shown on your ticket, your baggage allowance may be different to the allowance provided by the operating carrier.


If you book a ticket that is not linked in any way to your international booking, you're on your own with the baggage allowance like any domestic passenger.

 

[WAMUMOF4]

Not sure where you are flying but we also used jet blue last year they include 1 bag and carry on per person I would fly them again over Southwest although we had no issues with them either.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Not sure about the answer to your question.
However I will say do some research into lots of the carriers that fly your routes.
Sometimes picking a separate airline where you have to pay for the baggage is cheaper than booking all your flights on one itinerary.

SouthWest is good and I have flown with them in the past, but bare in mind that their routes may not always be direct. I didn't consider them for this trip because I couldn't fly direct with them between LAX and MCO. For some this isn't a big issue if they can save a few dollars. For me, I've paid enough for this holiday as it is; I'd rather pay a bit extra to lessen my transit times and avoid the risk of delays that cause me to miss transit flights.

Also, flight times need to be considered also. Virgin America are one of the more highly rated US Domestic Carriers and I am flying to MCO with them. But their return flight time (they only do one direct flight per day) did not suit me at all. So I am flying back with AA which, amenity-wise, is basically a flying bus. But it was cheap, direct, and timed right.

 

[kylieh]

JetBlue include 1st bag as well - I've noticed that a lot of people on Disboards fly with them. I think the prices are comparable with South West, but I'm not 100% sure. jetblue.com

 

[Marlea98]

And you need to check the baggage allowance very carefully for each carrier. You will need to go with whichever carrier has the lowest weight and smallest size as your baggage allowance.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[Sugarglider]

last Dec I flew Qantas CBR - MCO retn as 1 complete ticket. the USA domestic legs are on American Airlines and all my luggage was covered - no fees, same allowance as full international limits on all flights including australian and US domestic. too easy.

 

[Melbourne5]

And even better if you are a frequent flyer where extra baggage limits apply too! (Well at least virgin and qantas)

 

[australiankaren]

Not sure about the answer to your question.
However I will say do some research into lots of the carriers that fly your routes.
Sometimes picking a separate airline where you have to pay for the baggage is cheaper than booking all your flights on one itinerary.

SouthWest is good and I have flown with them in the past, but bare in mind that their routes may not always be direct. I didn't consider them for this trip because I couldn't fly direct with them between LAX and MCO. For some this isn't a big issue if they can save a few dollars. For me, I've paid enough for this holiday as it is; I'd rather pay a bit extra to lessen my transit times and avoid the risk of delays that cause me to miss transit flights.

Also, flight times need to be considered also. Virgin America are one of the more highly rated US Domestic Carriers and I am flying to MCO with them. But their return flight time (they only do one direct flight per day) did not suit me at all. So I am flying back with AA which, amenity-wise, is basically a flying bus. But it was cheap, direct, and timed right.

we're the same...virgin america over...delta coming back via DTW as their(vir america) time was not good to catch Qantas home the same night....although i tweeted delta and they said they'll interline my bags from mco straight thru to syd...fingers crossed as we only have 2.5 hr layover in lax for qf...

if in doubt, twitter the airline

 

[Michaella]

Thanks everyone we are Qantas FF so are trying to stick with them....

Sooo much to check out.. thanks for the advice!

 

[Anne_Aus]

I always try and fly jet blue or southwest just for the baggage inclusion.

Just a quick question to add to this thread how far in advance do you start booking your internal flights?
I have limited internal flights this time around, but since some are close to christmas/new years I was wondering if its worth waiting and see or just jumping on the ones I think are a reasonable price

 

[WanderlustNZ]

I always try and fly jet blue or southwest just for the baggage inclusion.

Just a quick question to add to this thread how far in advance do you start booking your internal flights?
I have limited internal flights this time around, but since some are close to christmas/new years I was wondering if its worth waiting and see or just jumping on the ones I think are a reasonable price

If they're at peak time, I would book as soon as I find an airfare I'm happy with.

I tend to do this regardless of the time of year I'm flying. I'm too much of a planner and worrier to hold out for big sales, so I normally jump on the supersaver/earlybird fares that are available when flights are first released. Sometimes this strategy works against me, but the majority of the time I'm content with my decision.

Some (most?) airlines increase their prices after a certain number of seats have been booked. Unless a sale is announced (less likely for Xmas flights), seats just keep going up and up. I booked the first 3 available Main Cabin Select Seats (premium economy) on my upcoming Virgin America flight. They were at a price I was really happy with it. I went into the system less than an hour later to check something and noticed that just by booking 3 seats I had caused the fare for this class of seat to skyrocket to a price I wouldn't have been able to justify. (From memory I think they increased from just over $300pp to about $500pp).
.

 

[Naughty Nurse]

We have travelled Virgin Australia with connecting flights via US Airways for 4 years in a row...and never been charged any baggage fees when checking in at the domestic US Airways terminals...despite our tickets stating that we would have fees for all our checked in luggage...but of course we didnt complain about this discrepancy