Advice on luggage Perth to LA

[ashleyn]

Hi All

In a few weeks Mrs ashleyn & I will be off to LA via BNE from Perth on QF15 (upstairs J, looking forward to that). The layover in BNE is 12 hours which we'll spend in an Airport hotel. Question is, will our checkin be sent all the way so we'll only be with our hand luggage overnight ? I suspect this will be the case but would like confirmation from someone who has done this recently.

 

[cove]

You don't have to check your luggage through to LAX out of Perth.
Now the Brisbane Airport hotel is nowhere near the terminal so you take a bus to get there. That hotel is nice but don't think about walking with your bag. There are some shops next to the hotel and the location was clean and tidy.

 

[clazman]

I did per - bris - Nadi with QF and I had to collect my bags in bris

 

[anat0l]

This question gets asked a lot by our sandgroper brethren who are jetting off via the eastern seaboard.

The general consensus is that if you have an overnight layover, your bags won't be checked in all the way to your final destination, even if it is on the same ticket and less than 12 hour transit.

In your case, expect your bags to be checked to Brisbane, then claim them (at the domestic terminal). Make the most of your overnight, then head to the international airport next day and check your bags in for your flight to Los Angeles.

Make sure you know how you are getting to (and from) your airport hotel. Note that depending on the time of night and day of the week, it can be a rather long wait for a taxi (not that there's necessarily plenty of other choices depending on where you are staying, but keep this in mind). Note that the terminals and any hotels are not within any kind of walking distances of each other (a lot like in Perth).

 

[esseeeayeenn]

QF will only check bags through if the transit time is less than 8 hours.
However, not all QF staff know this. The call centre will tell you all sorts of things. None of them are true.

 

[ashleyn]

Thanks all for the info, I have the shuttle bus back from the hotel but was going to rely on a taxi to get there, at 11pm on a Saturday are there any other viable options ?

 

[anat0l]

Thanks all for the info, I have the shuttle bus back from the hotel but was going to rely on a taxi to get there, at 11pm on a Saturday are there any other viable options ?

Just get to the taxi line as soon as you can. Not much better choice - is there no shuttle going to the hotel of your choice?

Expect a chance at a slight grumble from the taxi driver since your fare will be short.

I would have also said UberX but unfortunately they might be entertaining the crowd in the CBD anyway, if there are any cars around at that time.

At Saturday 11pm that is not the business crowd (let alone business going away / coming back home crowd), but there are also no Airtrains left.

If you have a friend in Brisbane, perhaps call in a favour in exchange for a good bottle of booze or other suitable gift? It'd have to be a dedicated friend for sure...

 

[cove]

Get your bags into the taxi before you tell the driver what your destination is. Be prepared to give the driver a tip and you should be ok. I cannot remember if I paid five or ten dollars extra to be fair.

 

[esseeeayeenn]

Good advice. I had a taxi driver refuse to drive us between terminals in Brisbane for a short connection. I had to pay $20 extra to persuade him.
That said they are legally obliged to accept a fare. But a subsequent complaint to the taxi board won't get you to your hotel.

 

[anat0l]

Good advice. I had a taxi driver refuse to drive us between terminals in Brisbane for a short connection. I had to pay $20 extra to persuade him.
That said they are legally obliged to accept a fare. But a subsequent complaint to the taxi board won't get you to your hotel.

$20 extra?! You must have had a lot to lug with you and/or in a hurry.

At that much for a bribe, I'd have choice expletives to share with the taxi driver, slam the door and find another taxi / method.

The way things are going, complaints to the taxi board are as useful as complaints to the ACCC, i.e. like a tiger with no teeth.

As said, load the bags before you tell them where you are going. I don't know if there is a taxi rank supervisor working at times like this; if there are, sometimes this mitigates the chance of just being fobbed off.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Hi All
In a few weeks Mrs ashleyn & I will be off to LA via BNE from Perth on QF15 (upstairs J, looking forward to that). The layover in BNE is 12 hours which we'll spend in an Airport hotel. Question is, will our checkin be sent all the way so we'll only be with our hand luggage overnight ? I suspect this will be the case but would like confirmation from someone who has done this recently.

You'll need to collect your bags in BNE as you have an overnight break of journey in BNE.

QF will only check bags through if the transit time is less than 8 hours. However, not all QF staff know this. The call centre will tell you all sorts of things. None of them are true.

It has more to do with where your overnight break of journey is rather than the time frame for instance if you're travelling on QF51 BNE QF x/SIN UL CMB with a transit from 1835 until 1000 the next day your bags will be checked through to CMB & you'll get your QF & UL boarding passes despite the overnight break of journey and the fact the connecting flight exceeds 8 hours.

If you're travelling on QF829 DRW QF x/SYD QF NRT you'll be in transit from 0630 until 2130 however your bags can be through checked still as they're not sitting around all night in an unattended area because there are staff around during the day.

Even if you have a transit less than 8 hours, if it involves an overnight break of journey at the Australian gateway city then your bag still won't be through checked and you'll need to pick it up at your first city.

 

[esseeeayeenn]

I have experienced QF refusing to check bags through for a same day period of 10 hours in Sydney. In transit BNE-SYD-VLI.