Domestic flights luggage check-in

[warbrook]

On Australian domestic air travel, does checked luggage have to be collected and re-checked at every stop, even when flights are connecting, i.e. no stopover? Example: Canberra-Brisbane-Cairns?

Warwick

 

[Stevo.1702]

Assuming both flights are booked on the same ticket and on the same airline then yes it will go through. If your domestic itinerary has a mix of Jetstar and Qantas then you will need to collect bags and re-check them in.

 

[warbrook]

Thanks Stevo!

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Even if you have 2 separate pnrs on QF ie mainline and/or link you can still have your bags through checked. As mentioned above QF will not through check to JQ or vice versa, in fact JQ will not even through check to themselves whether same or separate pnrs.

VA weren't able to through check on separate pnrs but I don't know whether that changed when they changed their checkin system to Sabre.

 

[warbrook]

Thanks Oz

Turns out our local Flight Centre at Tuggeranong gave us incorrect information on this. They reckoned that because our visitors were travelling from Canberra to Cairns, they would have to recheck their baggage in either Sydney or Brisbane (depending on which connection they took). So after reading responses on here I rang Qantas and the Flight Centre office in Canberra to confirm that our visitors' baggage would be checked through to Cairns (on their two connecting QF flights). They confirmed that it would be.

So thanks again Oz and Stevo!

Regards
Warwick

 

[mannej]

Flight Centre giving out incorrect information? That is highly unlikely

Note my sarcasm, but there shouldn't be any issues having the luggage checked through to the final destination here.

 

[warbrook]

Haha, thanks Mannej.

Live and learn!

W

 

[legroom]

Echoing others' advice that it is possible to check through luggage if tickets are on the same airline (at least on QF), I'd add one more proviso.

Don't tell them you are leaving the airport during the stopover !

My mate told them "Oh, I will leave SYD to go to the CBD for 3 hours..." and his check-through request was denied.

Maybe they were worried he won't return and they would have to fish out his piece and delay the flight ?

That was on QF in J (MEL SYD BNE) in July this year.

 

[warbrook]

Thanks for the advice, Legroom.

Our visitors certainly weren't leaving the airport, as they had only an hour from arrival in Brisbane to departure to Cairns. Because they (mother and infant, with three bags and a bunch of baby stuff) were told by Flight Centre that they would have to check in again at Brisbane, we purchased a return fare (CBR-BNE-CBR) for my wife to accompany them and help them through the process at Brisbane. Having discovered that FC had misinformed us, I cancelled my wife's tickets (booked and cancelled online), but of course we're out of pocket for the cancellation fees and as the return leg was with Virgin (which was more convenient time-wise), we now have money sitting in a Travel Bank. Qantas said they would refund the CBR-BNE fare less $88 cancellation fee. Virgin said they would refund to a Travel Bank, less $80. That was on Wednesday. I haven't seen the refunds yet, but I guess it takes a while.

We don't travel often and I should have checked in this forum before accepting the info from FC.

Warwick

 

[ozbeachbabe]

I would be asking Flight Centre for the out of pocket expenses.

The best FC story I heard was not telling clients they had to get an ESTA as the consultant didn't reslise Hawaii was part of the USA.

 

[warbrook]

"I would be asking Flight Centre for the out of pocket expenses."

I was thinking of doing that. Unfortunately, it was our visitor who went into town to ask them. I finished up booking the fares online; so at least I didn't give them the benefit of any commissions! I'll steer clear of them.

Warwick