JW

For a trip later this year, it may be <BR>cheaper to book 2 separate tickets: <BR>Atlanta to Paris roundtrip, and Paris to <BR>Prague roundtrip. <BR> <BR>We want to go to Prague first, without a <BR>stopover in Paris. If the tickets are <BR>booked with a few hours between the Paris <BR>arrival and departure, can we check luggage <BR>all the way to Prague ? Or do we have to <BR>collect our luggage, and re-check it ? <BR> <BR>All flights would be on Delta and/or Air <BR>France. <BR> <BR>We would not be throwing away any tickets <BR>(back-to-back ticketing), which the airlines <BR>frown upon. <BR> <BR>

elvira

You have no choice; wherever you land in Europe, you'll need to pick up your luggage and go through customs/immigration (look for the "connecting flights" direction). When you check in at Atlanta, ask to have your luggage checked through to Prague. In Paris, collect your luggage, do the blah/blah, and there is usually a place where you immediately hand over your luggage for the connecting flight (everyone does this, no matter what kind of connection they are making).

JW

I've flown Atlanta-Paris-Prague before, <BR>and did not pick up luggage in Paris. <BR>This was in 1999.

Sjoerd

Elvira, you were misinformed. Most airlines will allow you to through-check your luggage to your final destination. Just show both tickets to the check-in person. Double check the luggage tags to see if Prague is the final destination. <BR>Delta and Air France are together in an alliance, so with these two airlines you shouldn't have any problems. Also, you won't need to go through immigration or customs in Paris. Both will be done in Prague. <BR>Just follow the signs at CDG for connecting flights.

elvira

I know I've had to collect luggage on a through flight, maybe Gatwick or Heathrow? It wasn't a big deal, since the 'checked luggage' spot was on the other side of customs. <BR> <BR>I guess I haven't had a through flight in Paris for a few years, so I'm either misremembering or the rules changed.

Christina

I have taken that exact same flight (AF through Paris to Prague) and others in Europe, and have never had to pick up my luggage at the first airport in Europe, it was always checked through for me as long as I was on the same airline. Don't know about London, though. I've flown Air France on that route, and will admit I am very surprised that it could be cheaper as a separate flight than as an extra leg, I've never seen that. However, I do not really know the answer to your question, as I suspect if it is two separate flights, they may not check it through for you, also you may have to go through a hassle to recheck in to the new flight, which you should if it is a separate flight. Really, this is very unusual pricing in my experience, so I think you should go to the source and ask Air France/Delta themselves about the luggage thing as it's very important.

Art

JW, Please check with Delta. Since you have totally seperate tickets, you may have to claim them and re-check them in in Paris both ways. Again because of the seperate tickets you (I think) have to go through customs in Paris and maybe in Prague as well. (They are not part of Eu yet are they?) <BR>

JW

Thanks for all the quick responses. I guess I'll need to call Delta/Air France before proceeding. <BR> <BR>We're planning to go in September. I had checked the prices for May, thinking that just before and just after summer would be similar in price. <BR> <BR>It looked like the fares from my hometown to Paris were really discounted, while fares to Prague were not discounted near as much. <BR> <BR>Plus, we want to do a stopover in Paris on the way back. Using Expedia and Travelocity, this fare was even higher. <BR> <BR>With separate tickets, the stopover is no problem. <BR> <BR>I guess I'll need to wait until post-summer fare sales start. <BR> <BR>

xxx

I was pretty sure you could check all the way through, but maybe it depends on the relationship between the two airlines you're flying and on whether the airports are both in EU countries.

Paulo

JW, I've experienced this situation twice in the distant past and on one occasion the time between landing and take off was only about 45 minutes (same airplane). <BR> <BR>The first time up, I didn't have any problems. They not only checked the luggage through but also gave me the relevant embarcation cards for the 2nd leg (keeping both tickets in the origin). <BR> <BR>The 2nd time around, there was no way in talking the guy at check in (here in Brazil) to simplify things (and have a repeat of my first experience). Once there were only 45 minutes between flights, there was no way we would make it (in theory we would even be late for check in, with the stand bye list already opened). Fortunately I was with my children (5 & 7 at the time). I played the worried and angry father role, asked for the supervisor and all went well <BR> <BR>He told me that, going by the letter of the "book", as stupid as it sounded, the checkin people were right in not complying. On the other hand, once in the same flight there were people flying "directly", it was not a matter of customs and stuff. <BR> <BR>Well, even though the US is US and Brazil is Brazil, I'd bet that the issue will be resolved at the checkin counter and the answer to an inquiry to Delta's customer service will have little bearing. <BR> <BR>Paulo