Condor flight check-in, seat selection, bag check, etc help?
 

Hi there, I booked a roundtrip flight through Condor - the price was excellent, but it's kinda confusing how things are being handled. The round-trip involves 3 separate flights there (each a different airline) and the same 3 flights/airlines on the return trip. The Condor website and info is sorta sparse and kinda confusing. I'm struggling to understand the check-in, seat selection, bag check and transfer of checked bag.


Here's the roundtrip info (Buffalo to Amsterdam):

Departure: 5/20/16
Leg 1) Jetblue - flight B61916 - BUF to BOS
Leg 2) Air Tanker (Thomas Cooke?) - fight MT2681 - BOS to MAN
Leg 3) FlyBE - flight BE1271 - MAN to AMS

Return is essentially the same flights in reverse order (FlyBE from AMS to MAN, Air Tanker/Thomas Cooke from MAN to BOS, and JetBlue from BOS to BUF.)

Kinda seems like I need to check in for all 3 places. I'm guessing I am supposed to check-in right on JetBlue's​ site for Leg 1, right on the Condor website (who seems to essentially be the same thing as Thomas Cooke?) for Leg 2, and FlyBE's website for Leg 3. Then again, I could be way off.

I assume when I get to the airport I'll go to the JetBlue bag check to check my suitcase, but I'm not certain because I believe Condor might also have their own bag check-in... so again, I'm sorta lost.

I'm going to try to print my tickets ahead of time, so I think I'll already have all of those, but that leads me to my next question: it doesn't seem like I have seats selected yet on the flights and check-in is usually like 24 hours before the flight... do I select (or get assigned) seats at that time, or is there another step? Or are these airlines using the Southwest model where you board and just find open seats?

I'm also not entirely confident that my checked bag will be automatically transferred from airline to airline, or if I'll need to go retrieve it and check it sequentially for each leg.

Also, can someone tell me when I'll be going through customs or immigration or whatever? Obviously they force me to go through customs when necessary, but I'd like to know when that will be just to have an understanding of what I'm doing.

Can someone help me figure all this stuff out for sure, please?

What a mish-mash! I hope you are saving a bundle. With cut-rate airlines it is mandatory to read all the regulations on the seller's website. Go to Condor where you will see this message:
"If the flight is being operated by an airline other than the one named on your ticket (code sharing flights), the free baggage allowance conditions appearing on your booking confirmation apply.

"To book special services (such as seat reservations, transporting animals or sports equipment), please contact the operating airline directly."

It will be interesting to see what response you can get from Air Tanker, which specializes in tanker planes for refueling RAF jet fighters. The passenger craft it leases maybe are used for troop transport but that is speculation.
Flybe is a well-established no-frills airline in Europe, based at Manchester. Again you can get some answers from the web: https://www.flybe.com/manchesterhub/
Under seating you will see that whether you can make advance seat selection will depend on what price you are paying.
You may (or may not) need to go through immigration proceedings in Manchester to connect to the Netherlands since the UK is not part of the Schengen plan.
This is do-it-yourself travel, putting the onus on you to search out these answers. In your place I would phone Condor and start asking them your questions.

On baggage rules:
https://www.jetblue.com/airline-partners/

Jet Blue has partner / interlining agreements with Thomas Cook Airlines which has FlyBE as one of their partner airline.

The aircraft on the BOS-MAN leg is simply a wet lease from Air Tanker to Thomas Cook Airlines. It's NOT a troop carrier.
https://www.airtanker.co.uk/news-cen...l-leasing-deal

Your bags *should* be checked through from your first airport BUF to the final destination AMS.
Nevertheless, I'd keep my reservation confirmation for the whole trip and the check-in confirmations for the other two airlines handy at the check-in desk in Buffalo.