Inter-airline agreements, Luggage and Transit
 

A couple of queries have come up on the Australian board about changing planes when the airlines don't have an inter-airline agreement. Does this mean you always have to pick up your bags to check into the second flight, or does it vary from airline to airline? Is that the way the alliances discourage you from flying with the "other" group?

Also I'm wondering if there are any general rules about which countries have a transit facility. Recently travelling to Canada, but changing planes in the US, I had to go through immigration even though I wasn't in the country for longer than 3 hours. Whereas changing planes in Singapore or Heathrow, admittedly within the One World group of airlines, I didn't have to go through immigration.

I suspect it has more to do with Auckland airport than anything else.

The Auckland airport problem could perhaps be fixed if Air NZ insisted Qantas fly out of the international terminal, it would help their trans-Pacific business! :)

But the other examples, were changing at LAX from airlines such as NWA, and I think it was Frontier, to Qantas. Where the bags had to be collected to join the second flight, whereas this isn't the case with AA, Continental.

Whatever.


The query was about connecting via Auckland. Kiwi Accountant has posted a detailed answer on the other thread.

Yes, I read the response to the specific Auckland query, it was terrific--very helpful and informative.

However, I'm actually interested in these issues more generally (if there are indeed any general rules) as it would be really helpful to know how inter-airline agreements operate, and where you can be in transit, when planning a trip.

There's no simple set of rules about this, but let's try some high-level generalisations.

In most of the world, international-to-international connections are airside. That is, you don't go through immigration and your bags go straight to the ongoing plane. Normally, you go through security again at the connecting airport however rigorously you might think you were checked when you started the journey.

The main exceptions to this - leaving aside places off the international beaten path - are:

- in North America. Generally, you go through immigration, pick up your bags, go through customs and either drop them off (if they've been checked through) or recheck in. Almost universal in the US, but westbound international to international transfers in Miami go through immigration while their bags go straight to the ongoing flight (though eastbound connections conform to the North American rule). Also, US-to-international, same-airline, passengers in Toronto also go through immigration, but not Customs. All international-to-US transfers in Canada require you to retrieve your luggage in Canada, as that's where you go through US Customs.

- when connecting to an airline that's outside the mainstream airline system. Obviously if you're connecting to a private plane (though the last time I did this at JFK, the company even managed to get my bags onto the jet without troubling US Customs). Connecting onto low-costs or charters in Europe. But most airlines, even in different partnerships, automatically transfer bags to a second flight pretty well everywhere you'd tend to travel to outside North America.

- connections on two separate tickets. I've found this hit and miss. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. There's no rhyme or reason as far as I can see, except that it seems easier if both airlines are in a partnership.

- if one airline in the chain has made a policy decision to be a real pain in the ass about this. Remember partnerships are alliances just like the Warsaw Pact: its members can loathe each other a great deal more than their so-called opponents. BA, for example, is very clear that its major competitor is American Airlines, which competes head to head for a greater proportion of BA's revenue that Lufthansa or Air France. BA, to simplify, will do anything it can to refuse to through-check a bag onto another airline unless it's on the same ticket AND it's a One World partner. US-based airlines, on the other hand have such badly trained checkin staff they'll often do whatever you tell them as long as you tell them with enough assertion and real politeness. Most other airlines, though, will through check on the same ticket.

- if the connection is within a customs union. This gets complicated, since the only one that counts are the overlapping agreements in Europe (I've never tried it within the Southern African SACU countries for example). Unless one of the above circumstances apply, Customs in Europe in theory happens at your last airport (ie, your last airport is where you retrieve your bags and wonder why no-one's at the Customs barrier to check). BUT if you're connecting at one Schengen airport to a flight elsewhere in Schengen you go through immigration at the first Schengen airport and wonder why you're not going through Customs at the last one. Neither Zurich nor London are in Schengen, so you normally go through neither immigration nor customs at those two if you're transferring to another country. You DO go through UK immigration, though (but not Customs) if you're transferring to Ireland.

As the man said, if I've made myself clear it was because I wasn't trying hard enough. But all things being equal, assume international to international connections are fully airside throughout Europe and Asia, unless a low cost, a charter or BA is one of the links in the chain.

Wow, Flanneruk, that's incredibly helpful! What a comprehensive response, "high level generalities" was exactly what I was trying to get at. Thanks so much.

At Heathrow there is Customs even if you stay airside - it's just rarely manned.

And just because your luggage is checked through it doesn't mean that it won't be customs checked at an intermediate airport.

And just to summarize for Auckland, everyone landing in the international airport from overseas goes through the full routine, retrieve your bags, go thru passport control, customs, and agriculture. Whether you are connecting to another flight with any airline, or not. You have to hustle your own bags over to the domestic terminal, even if taking another ANZ flight.

Has it changed then?

When I last made an international-to-international transfer at Auckland, it was all airside, just like the rest of the civilised world.

Actually, it wasn't because we decided we had time to get a taxi into town and have a nice fish supper - thus letting us say we'd been to NZ for 90 minutes.

But it would of been if we'd not been so flash.