Connecting Flights - Baggage Transfer

dubtraveller

Am travelling Dublin to Gatwick with Aer Lingus and Gatwick to Orlando(MCO) with Virgin Atlantic in late August....I booked my flights with Expedia and got them for a great price !! I'm not sure if the baggage will automatically be transferred through between flights(first time travelling with connecting flights) Was wondering has anybody had previous experience in the same situation as I am in ?

I have contacted both Expedia and Aer lingus. Both are telling me to contact each other however no-one in either company seems to know what is going to happen regarding the baggage transferral, and that I will find out on the day of travel at check in desk in Dublin.

Any Help will be appreciated !!

Zonda999

You'll be fine, they'll check your bags straight through to Orlando from Dublin

See here: http://www.aerlingus.com/travelinformation/baggageinformation/checkedbaggage/partnerairlines/

Virgin Atlantic are one of the airlines they will do this for

Baggage with other Airlines
Aer Lingus will through-check a passenger and his/her baggage as a courtesy onto any carrier with a baggage agreement in place, upon presentation of documentation of the itinerary showing Aer Lingus and partner carrier flights on the same ticket.
The baggage allowance for these itineraries will be subject to the allowances listed on your ticket. Please contact your local reservations office for further information if you are unsure of applicable baggage allowances.
We have baggage agreements with the following airlines:
Air Canada
Air France
Air New Zealand
Alaska Airlines
American Airlines
British Airways
Cathay Pacific
City Jet
China Airlines
Delta Airlines
El AlAirlines
Emirates
Etihad
Finnair
Gulf Air
Iberia
JAL (Japan Airlines)
JetBlue Airways
Kenya Airways
KLM
Malaysian Airlines
Martinair
Qantas
Qatar Airways
SAS
Singapore Airlines
South African Airways
Sri Lankan Airways
Thai Airways
United Airlines
US Airways
Virgin
Wideroe Airlines

Viva La Gloria

Am I right in thinking that once the flights are all on the same reservation then the bag(s) should be checked all the way through regardless? So if you had booked two separate flights then you would have to pick them up in Gatwick, re-check and go through security again?

Tangey99

....upon presentation of documentation of the itinerary showing Aer Lingus and partner carrier flights on the same ticket.

Provided you did one booking, and not two, i.e. you have 1 ticket that shows you going DUB-LGW-MCO, your bags should be tagged all the way to MCO.

helen22

I'm doing this flight DUB-LGW-MCO on the 23rd August and wondering if I will be checked in and issued with boarding passes for virgin flight whilst in Dublin. Has anyone done this flight and have 1st hand experience. Never done 2 different airlines before

Daisy03

A few years ago I flew to Boston via London. Flew to London with Aer Lingus and with Virgin onwards to Boston. It was on the one ticket.

In Cork we were given two boarding passes and told that as all we needed and no need to check in again in Heathrow. We decided to double check with the Virgin desk that our boarding passes were ok. They basically ripped up our boarding passes and said that Aer Lingus were wrong that we would need to be issued with Virgin boarding passes.

I am doing a similar flight in a few weeks to Orlando via Manchester and will definitely be double checking with Virgin in Manchester when we land regardless of what Aer Lingus say.

There was no issue with our bags though as they went straight through.

helen22

Daisy03 wrote: »

A few years ago I flew to Boston via London. Flew to London with Aer Lingus and with Virgin onwards to Boston. It was on the one ticket.

In Cork we were given two boarding passes and told that as all we needed and no need to check in again in Heathrow. We decided to double check with the Virgin desk that our boarding passes were ok. They basically ripped up our boarding passes and said that Aer Lingus were wrong that we would need to be issued with Virgin boarding passes.

I am doing a similar flight in a few weeks to Orlando via Manchester and will definitely be double checking with Virgin in Manchester when we land regardless of what Aer Lingus say.

There was no issue with our bags though as they went straight through.

Thanks. If they can check my bags through does that mean were checked in too? Do we go to Flight Comnections and do everything there? Totally confused, never done 2 different airlines in 1 trip. Oh well hopefully it will run smoothly in Gatwick. I wanted to transfer in Manchester but no room

Tangey99

helen22 wrote: »

Thanks. If they can check my bags through does that mean were checked in too? Do we go to Flight Comnections and do everything there? Totally confused, never done 2 different airlines in 1 trip. Oh well hopefully it will run smoothly in Gatwick. I wanted to transfer in Manchester but no room

No, bags and you are two separate things. Your bags being check thru to the final destination does not definitively tell you that YOU are check in for all flights.

However should you not ultimately get checked-in for a flights that your bags are on, your bags should be taken off the plane.

As was mentioned above the airline carrying you on a particular flight might not like the boarding passes printed off by the previous connecting airline, even though they did it according to their procedure. If the first airline prints you boarding passes for both flights, when you get to the 2nd airport, find a check-in desk and ensure they are valid with the actual airline you are flying with.

And remember if your bags ARE checked in all the way thru, KEEP the bag stubs, they might attach them to your boarding passes that you use on the first flight, and you might consider throwing those passes away after you've taken the flight. But should the worst happen and your baggage get misled, its' those baggage stubs that they use to track your bags. Mostly they attached them to the boarding pass carrier, or sometimes your passport.

mockingjay

helen22 wrote: »

I'm doing this flight DUB-LGW-MCO on the 23rd August and wondering if I will be checked in and issued with boarding passes for virgin flight whilst in Dublin. Has anyone done this flight and have 1st hand experience. Never done 2 different airlines before

Yes, I travelled this route two weeks ago, Aer Lingus check you and your bags through to Orlando, however they didn't issue us with a Virgin Boarding pass in Dublin. We had to go to the Virgin Transfer desk in Gatwick, this was very close to where you disembark the AL plane, still within the terminal. There was a bit of a queue here but not bad. You might see here from an earlier post, I had seats assigned from March on my Virgin flight, they were still there at my 7am Dublin check-in, but by the time I arrived in Gatwick they had split my family from our four seats in the middle and given us 2 x 2 away from each other - very mean, they wouldn't do a thing about it other than say they never guarantee your seats, but when I got on I checked & it was a couple about 65 in two of them and a younger couple in the other two, I have two kids!!!

Apart from that it was seamless, no problems with bags, boarding etc. quite a nice route to take. There is a bit of a wait on arrival in Orlando customs though, that's the only disadvantage, as you don't do it here or London. On the return journey Virgin check you and your bags the whole way through, and give you your boarding passes, but in London you have to go out through customs, into the terminal as normal and go through the departure gates again but you don't have to get your bags, it's the same terminal so not too inconvenient - however - take care not to buy alcohol/cigarettes/perfume etc in Orlando duty free because you are exiting and reentering security at Gatwick. It's a fantastic holiday - hope you have a great time.

helen22

Thanks I feel much better now. I will get off that plane quickly then straight to the Virgin desks.