Hi there, want to know thoughts...

We will be flying out of Phoenix and heading to France the end of Summer on American Airlines. We will do Phoenix/Dallas with an hour layover, Dallas/NYC with a 2.5 hour layover, and then NYC/Paris arriving at 7:25am. We are looking in to train ticket times from CDG to Avignon. The question I have is...

Because of all the layovers we are thinking there may be a chance that our luggage won't get there the same time we do. If that is true, then should we wait at the Paris airport to see if our luggage makes it before we leave for Avignon? Or would the airline bring our luggage down to Avignon? I would hate to go down to Avignon and then have to go all the way back up to Paris two days later to claim our luggage.

Am I making to big of a deal out of this? Should we make our train tickets for later in the day in case our luggage does show?

Thoughts?

Thanks, emh

You need to pick up bags at CDG yourselves and take them with you for the TGV. I don't think the airlines will transfer them for you, even if AA sells the TGV portion as part of the plane ticket.

First, if such a thing happens, you shouldn't just go on your way, you have to file out the forms with the airline and check with their baggage people for them to (supposedly) tell you where it is and what to do.

If you are going to Avignon by train, I can't imagine they would transport them to you there somehow. If they did, I'd be amazed, as they are only obligated to have them at CDG airport (or deliver to a hotel in Paris, I suppose). But, I really don't know, I've only had such issues when I was on a connecting flight on the same airline and then, of course, they are obligated to get to them to you at the end.

This is why I do not check baggage--having it delayed twice (both times 24 hours) was enough to convice me.
I once had a bag helicoptered (!) from Malta to Gozo, but it doesn't sound like you are going to get that response.
Most times, the bag comes on the next flight--so maybe you could plan your schedule to incorporate that amount of waiting time just to be sure.

rk - I think the question is if the luggage doesn't make it to Paris on time (Paris being the final flight destination) - if the luggage is held up in Dallas or NYC - what to do?

In the US, if the bags don't make your flight, airlines will arrange for your luggage to be brought to your final destination. So if you fly into SFO but are staying in Santa Cruz, the luggage will be brought to you. You don't have to go back to SFO to claim it.

In France, will the luggage be shipped by the airline or will the customer have to return to the airport to get it?

Yes J, I think that is the main question. We have never had our luggage lost before but this is our first time out of the country - so we are wonderin what others would do.

emh

Interesting question, as we had a similar experience about 22 months ago. We checked two bags from Halifax to CDG on Air Canada. We had a 90 minute connection in Montreal. When we arrived in CDG, we were paged by the AC rep and told that the airline had failed to load our bags on the flight from Montreal.

They would be on the next flight, which was 24 hours later. Where did we want our luggage delivered? We were on our way to Clermont-Ferrand, which is about halfway to Avignon. We gave them the address of our hotel and they said they would get them to us as quickly as possible.

The bags arrived at CDG 24 hours later and were then handed over to a courier, who delivered them to our hotel the next morning. No muss, no fuss, just a bit slower than what we would have liked.

Anselm

Anselm is correct. They will forward the delayed bag to wherever you want them delivered to. It's not an issue if you're staying somewhere for a few days, but if you're going from town to town, the bags may never catch up to you.

Anselm - did you have status with Air Canada at the time.

BTW - loving your trip report

3-flight itineraries such as yours, all on one carrier, should not result in bag delay. I've done similar trips numerous times and have yet to have a bag lost or delayed. (Famous last words?)

Regardless, if they know where you are they will get the bags to you, usually within 24 hrs.

Thank you everyone.
We are going to have a carry-on with a day or so worth of clothes and our toothbrushes, so if we can atleast be as lucky as Anselme and that is the worst that happens, then we will be doing pretty dang good. We will be in Avignon for six days and then off to Dordogne so it hopefully would catch up with us in time.

Thanks again,

emh

wombat7, yes, I did have status then, although there was no indication that it made any difference.

Thanks. Glad you're enjoying it.

Anselm