Multiple tickets with different airlines

[burne99]

Hi!

I am travelling from Australia on Qantas to lax and then flying American Airlines to Orlando. i collect my luggage, clear customs and then I usually drop my bags
And continue on but since I have two tickets, do I then need to go and check in my cases again or can Qantas check them to destination since they are partners?

I called them to ask and after I was on hold 30 mins they hung up on me

 

[DebbieB]

Hi!

I am travelling from Australia on Qantas to lax and then flying American Airlines to Orlando. i collect my luggage, clear customs and then I usually drop my bags
And continue on but since I have two tickets, do I then need to go and check in my cases again or can Qantas check them to destination since they are partners?

I called them to ask and after I was on hold 30 mins they hung up on me

As long as they are on one reservation, they can be checked to your final destination. If you have 2 separate reservations, you will need to check the luggage at LAX.

 

[Carriemel]

I'm pretty sure that the OP will have to claim bags in LAX. The bags would not be able to be sent to final destinations, as a lot of smaller airports do not have a customs station. You have to clear customs at the first US airport at which you arrive, then you'll drop your bags at the FIS. Generally, flying into LAX from an international destination, you will arrive at TBIT, which is sort of separate from the rest of the terminals. It appears that American flies solely from Terminal 4. It is an easy, few minutes' walk between the two.

Not sure when you're traveling, but by 2016, the TBIT - T4 connector will be opened. Here's a link to that. https://www.lawa.org/uploadedFiles/LAXDev/News_for_LAXDev/Terminal 4 Connector - FactSheet.pdf

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Hi!

I am travelling from Australia on Qantas to lax and then flying American Airlines to Orlando. i collect my luggage, clear customs and then I usually drop my bags
And continue on but since I have two tickets, do I then need to go and check in my cases again or can Qantas check them to destination since they are partners?

I called them to ask and after I was on hold 30 mins they hung up on me

Do you really have two tickets, paid for separately? Or do you have a single itinerary involving segments on two OneWorld carriers (Qantas and AA). The rest of this reply assumes the latter.

When you check in at the Qantas counter, your bag will be tagged to its final destination.

However, you will be reunited with your checked bags at LAX because that's where you'll clear the U.S. Customs and Border Protection process. Once you've done that, you're officially in the United States.

At Chicago-O'Hare's Terminal 5, there are counters to recheck your bags to their final destination after clearing U.S. Customs. There is no need to drag your bags to another terminal. I assume it's the same way at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX, but I've never cleared U.S. Customs there.

Even if the connector has not been completed by the time you travel through LAX, it's a fairly short walk from the Tom Bradley International Terminal to Terminal 4 (AA).

 

[burne99]

I have 2 seperate tickets, one frequent flyer points flight and then an AA flight that I had to book myself. (The internal flights were not loaded when I booked the FF flight)

 

[SuzanneSLO]

I have 2 seperate tickets, one frequent flyer points flight and then an AA flight that I had to book myself. (The internal flights were not loaded when I booked the FF flight)

Because your second PNR is also a oneworld carrier, Qantas will check your luggage through to its final destination. Let the agent know when you check in that you have a separate ticket on AA. As already noted, you still will need to collect your luggage for Customs, but then you can re-check it nearby, rather than at the AA check-in counter. -- Suzanne

 

[burne99]

So I just recheck it like normal that's great!!

Thanks for your help!!

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

I have 2 seperate tickets, one frequent flyer points flight and then an AA flight that I had to book myself. (The internal flights were not loaded when I booked the FF flight)

Booking two separate tickets, with the second flight dependent on an on-time arrival of the first flight, is a dangerous practice. If your first flight is delayed (which is always a possibility), you could be a no-show for the second flight. If you had tickets on two carriers without an interline agreement, you could be setting yourself to have your second ticket invalidated.

You're on carriers that not only have an interline agreement, but are also both members OneWorld. That should help. Even so, I would recommend calling both airlines to make sure at each reservation is noted with your plans. Tell Qantas of your plans to check your bags to your final destination. Try to get is set up ahead of time so you don't have to rely on an agent at the Qantas counter on your travel day. Tell American that your flight is dependent on the arrival of a Qantas flight and that your want to be protected on the next flight if Qantas is delayed, just as if your were on real connecting ticket.

Also, if Qantas or American changes its schedule, your do-it-yourslf connection might no longer work. So keep checking for schedule changes. Take action right away is there's going to be a problem. Having your plans noted in your reservations ahead of time MIGHT make the airlines more sympathetic to changing your ticketed intinerary if a schedule changes torpedoes your original plans.

With a "real connection" on a single ticket, even with two or more different airlines, none of this is an issue. But with a do-it-yourslf connection, you have to deal with risks.

How long is your connection time at LAX?

 

[burne99]

Connection time is 4.5 hours...

 

[jec6613]

Booking two separate tickets, with the second flight dependent on an on-time arrival of the first flight, is a dangerous practice. If your first flight is delayed (which is always a possibility), you could be a no-show for the second flight. If you had tickets on two carriers without an interline agreement, you could be setting yourself to have your second ticket invalidated.

So long as your frequent flier number is the same on both reservations, you don't run this risk on OneWorld. They're treated as a single reservation - although you may have to mention the second flight when checking luggage.

If they're not, call one or the other airline and ask them to link the PNRs to make things simpler.

Even if you don't do any of the above, they will still guarantee you as though you're on a single reservation - a pretty big benefit to flying OW.