Questions about BA and packing plan
 

In two weeks DH and I will be flying Business Class on AA from Milwaukee to ORD, then ORD to LHR. Then on British Airways from London to Munich.

We each plan to have one checked bag and he will have a backpack as his carry-on, while I will have a backpack as well as my large tote purse as a carry-on.

Does anyone foresee problems with this plan? I know BA used to have a one bag carry-on allowance, but I think this has been lifted, correct?

Return flight is AA direct from FRA to ORD, so no issues there.

I am almost certain the ban has been lifted. We found out this past January (while I tried shoving my stuff into one bag) that soon the change will go into effect.

The airline websites usually tell you all the info you need about baggage. Why ask on a travel site for info that can be found in 10 seconds on the airline site?

http://www.britishairways.com/travel...n/public/en_us

Actually, Andy, I had already looked at that. I wanted to make sure there wasn't something I was missing.

Ok here's another question - since I'm on AA for the first two legs of the flight, and we can't get our seat assignments on BA until 24 hrs before the flight, can I still check-in for that leg of the flight online at the 24 hr mark, or do I have to wait to check-in until I get to the airport in Milwaukee?

I thought you couldn't do OLCI for international itinerary on AA.

Note that the "one carryon" rule was not just an airline rule. In London it was also an airport rule. So for about a year you could get through security at LHR and LGW only if you had only one carryon bag, even if your airline (like mine, American) allowed two carryons. So check the airport websites too. LHR lifted the "one carryon" rule before LGW did and I got caught there last Easter when I thought it had been relaxed for all London airports.

<i>I thought you couldn't do OLCI for international itinerary on AA.</i>

That is correct.

As far as seat selection on the BA flight is concerned, phone AA and ask for the BA record locator (BA use Amadeus while AA uses Sabre) for your itinerary, and then use it to log onto BA's website and see if you can select seats using &quot;Manage My Booking.&quot;

Gardyloo, your suggestion is interesting to me. Can you be more specific in how your plan works?

<i>Gardyloo, your suggestion is interesting to me. Can you be more specific in how your plan works?</i>

When you buy a ticket from AA that involves a connection onto British Airways, your e-ticket info will have a record locator (six characters) that AA issues for the whole itinerary.

However, AA uses a reservations system that's different from BA's, so in BA's records your itinerary will have a different six-character locator, one that's compatible with the Amadeus system (AA uses Sabre.)

At 24 hours before a flight, you can select seats on BA flights, unless you have Oneworld Sapphire or higher frequent flyer status, or are buying a full-fare (i.e., $$$$) ticket, in which case you can do it earlier.

To pick your seats, you use the &quot;Manage My Booking&quot; facility on BA's website, but to get to MMB you need to log in using the Amadeus locator and your name.

To get the Amadeus locator, you need to speak to a human at AA, who will look it up on your record, and give it to you. You'll need that BA locator to check in for any flights with BA.

Thanks so much. I'm going to try that out on our European trip.

Bear in mind that, even travelling in Business Class, you may not be able to choose your seats prior to 24 hours out. This page shows you all you need to know:

http://www.britishairways.com/travel...y/public/en_dk

If you don't meet one of the criteria, then I wouldn't bother tracking down the record locator.

<i>If you don't meet one of the criteria, then I wouldn't bother tracking down the record locator.</i>

Respectfully disagree.

The OP's connection will probably be on a BA A319 which has a 2x3 seating setup in business class. BA routinely sells the middle seat on the 3-side if flights are full, so even if the OP doesn't have status, by checking in 24h early the OP has a somewhat better chance of scoring the A/C seats (there's a small gap between the 2 seats on the port side) which are much more comfortable than the other side.

Yep, you were right Gardyloo, we are on the A319 on the LHR-MUC flight. So I'm going to call AA and see if I can get my BA record locator - let you all know how that works.

Either way it's only a 1 hr 50 min flight, so it shouldn't matter too much, even if we're not sitting together. At least we'll be in business class. :)

Robertalee-

Any luck on your upgrade yet for that one leg you were missing?

Sorry to be so late in replying to you. No, nothing as yet. I am checking multiple times each day.

About BA and carry-ons: we returned a week ago, and part of our itinerary had us flying on BA. We were each allowed a smallish carry-on (the ones we have with wheels were fine) plus a &quot;personal item.&quot; The latter was interpreted generously, perhaps because we were in Club Europe class.

Some people like the middle seat in business class on BA since you are not bothered by aisle traffic.

According to an email I got from BA, from 23 February, Club Europe (business class) seating will be 2-2, rather than 2-3.

Does anyone know when Spring Break falls for college/school students in 2009? This is the only explanation I can think of that is preventing our flight on April 15 from being upgraded. All the other Wednesdays in the month are available but this one.