I tried to search this topic before posting and came up with nothing, but I may not be using the right terminolgy...

Can anyone tell me if I will be able to check my bags all the way through to my final destination when I am flying on a split ticket? (A split ticket meaning, I bought a roundtrip from my home airport to a second airport, and bought another roundtrip ticket from that second airport to my final destination airport, because it was considerably cheaper. Each of these two roundtrips includes one layover, so a total of four airports and three different airlines are involved in this crazy itinerary.)

If it IS possible, is it recommended, or do you think the chances of my luggage not making it to the final destination are far too great? Thank you for your advice.

Is it all on the same airline?

Call the airline you're using on the first leg and ask if they have an interline baggage handling agreement with the airline on the second leg. If they do, then your only concern would be that the connection time at the intermediate airport is "legal" for the bags to make the switch. (This is also a concern for you, in the event your first flight is late arriving.)

If they hem and haw, or don't have an interline agreement, then you'll probably want to collect your bags at the interim stop then re-check them. Depending on the airport, you may be able to do this from within the transit zone so as to avoid customs and security, but that will depend on your route.

Celticdreams-

3 airlines:

Northwest (one leg)
AirFrance (second leg)
Czech Air (third & fourth legs)

If it is the same airline, I would be cautious about asking because I think that is illegal (by their rules). Your question is confusing to me because you say there are layovers, which implies you are staying there a day or more, I guess.

As I guess one of your ways it is two different airlines, I would say no you will not be able to because you didn't buy one ticket with a transfer. Your later flight is as the same as anyone getting on that plane, your earlier flight is nonexistent to them, so no, they will not check your bags through for you even if a partner.

That's just a guess. The chances of your luggage aren't any different as I don't think they will do it for you.

Gardyloo,
Thanks for the response - getting answers always comes down to knowing the right terminology, in my experience. Your "interline baggage handling agreement" phrase was just what I needed to be able to have this conversation with the initial airline.
(Their response, by the way, was "probably," but that it would depend on security guidelines in effect the day of travel. I'll hope for the best!)

Christina,
I think I have the issue resolved but your post made me curious - what is illegal about buying two separate tickets and combining them to make my journey cheaper? (Different airlines, in this case - but are you saying it would be illegal if it were all the same airline?)

sounds problematic. can you down size to carry on baggage only?

Jor
Unfortunately carryons just won't do it - this is a three week journey to first a warm-weather and then a cold-weather destination, so we have to pack more than normal for that reason; also are bringing many gifts for family.

It isn't just about interline agreements (near-universal in Europe, except with low-costs and charters).

Some airlines are claimed on boards like this to refuse through-booking when there are separately-issued tickets, and my experience is that few will allow through-booking if there's a stop of over 24 hours.

Also, some US checkin staff just don't seem to understand how European airports work, and swear blind to you (quite wrongly) that baggage has to go through customs when you change planes.

Personally, I've always found that, unless there's a long (>24 hr) or very (>1 hr) short transfer, quiet insistence, even when you've got separate e-tickets, always works. A recent example was Las Vegas-SFO-LHR-Prague-Bucharest.

The answer about there "probably" being a luggage agreement between the airlines involved is, or should be unacceptable. Either there is an agreement or there isn't and if one agent cannot tell you then ask for a supervisor.

It <i>ought</i> not be a problem for the OP because the first airline (NWA, aka KLM) and the second, Air France, are supposedly getting married, so interlining the bags in Europe (if that's where the connection is occuring) shouldn't be an issue. Air France and Czech are both members of the SkyTeam Alliance, so the logic might go that NWA = KLM, KLM = AF, and AF = CS, so for the purposes of suitcases it's all quite seamless. However, these niceties might be unknown to a counter person at airport X in the US, the NW/KL computer system might not be clued into the planned nuptials, thus AF and CS are not privy to the plans, ergo the OP's bags go round and round at CDG or someplace waiting for an attendent to read the tags and say, gosh, this should have been on the flight to Prague yesterday.

Bottom line, be very sure the handlers know what the full plans are, unless you can spend the time to schlep your bags around interim stops.

Perhaps it depends on whether all your airlines are based in Europe (i.e British, Virgin...etc)?? I don't know, I'm just guessing here...

But here's what happened to us...Last September we flew Virgin from Los Angeles-London, then London to Rome on the same day with British Airways. We didn't know if it was possible (and forgot to ask when we checked in). Any way, but on the way back we checked our luggage from Rome right through Los Angeles. We flew home from Rome-London via British, then to LA via Virgin.
So the moral of the story is, always ask, beg...etc, doesn't hurt if they say no.

I was kicking myself for not checking my luggage straight through to Rome...saves so much time, waiting for your luggage (god forbid if it gets loss or something), then dragging them to another terminal at Heathrow airport to get onto another flight is a pain in the backside.

sorry our last posts crossed so I didn't see your itinerary.

I wasn't sure about what I said on the rules, but just thought there are some rules that airlines have that you can't do unusual things with tickets to save money even though you are buying legitimate tickets. As long as you're buying their tickets, I think you should have the right to do anything, but I believe it is &quot;illegal&quot; for you to buy a RT ticket to one place and get off on-route at a stopover point if you are doing that because it's cheaper to buy that ticket than the RT ticket to the stopover city. I've heard various things like they will cancel your return flight if they find out or even assess the ticket difference price to your travel agent/credit card. So, I just thought it might fall under some kind of rule like that if it were all the same airline.

Babaldas - I wish I could remember the name of the consumer expert who researched this issue at length. But as it is, I don't think you have violated any contractual rules. If I've understood you correctly, you're simply linking two different itineraries. You're flying roundtrip A to B on 1 airline (or 2 partnered airlines) and then flying roundtrip B to C on another airline. I've done this too. If there are interline agreements between the airlines involved, no problem for baggage. But you might still have to pick up a boarding pass at the point where you continue onto the second itinerary, because the ticket agents for the first itinerary's airline(s) might not be authorized to issue boarding passes for the second itinerary's airline(s).

What Christina was possibly thinking of was a situation where You bought i) A to B on a roundtrip basis, and you bought ii) B to A on a roundtrip basis, with overlapping dates, such that you paired the outbound portion i) (a to B) with the outbound portion of ii) (B to A) and you either planned to 'throw away' the unused portions of i) and ii)or pair the return portion of ii) with the return portion of i) to make a second roundtrip. Recombining two tickets this way, in a fashion different from how they were sold, is supposedly against most airline rules.

Well, last year I flew Continental from STL to Milan via Newark. Caught a flight on Alitalia to Cairo. I called the airlines and they said there was absolutely no problem to check bags through--just let them know on your first flight so they can tag the bags correctly--they've got some agreement in place. Everything went just fine. . .just thought I'd mention our experience. . .

I flew Northwest overseas twice this past summer. They screwed up my baggage BOTH times. It was left behind in Amsterdam twice. They are among THE WORST when it comes to baggage handling. I was without my suitcase for 4 days, total. So, I would keep that in mind, if you are hoping for a smooth baggage claim experience..

I would definitely pack carry-on enough to survive (paperwork, clothing, prescriptions, toiletries, etc.) in case your luggage does not arrive with you. Will your your first destination stop be long enough for it to catch up with you?

A couple things... I would consider mailing the family gifts ahead. And/or shipping home clothing you'll no longer need when you change climates.

I have never tried such a complex flight plan myself, but have had my luggage left behind on MUCH more simple routes.

I had no problem in September when we flew Virgin Atlantic from JFK to London and then conncected to Aer Lingus from London to Dublin. Our luggage went straight through.