New Baggage Allowance To USA?

[mof]

So I just booked a return flight from SYD->LAX->LAS->LAX->SYD for the first time in 3 years.

It would seem that in March 2021, Qantas updated the baggage allowance for USA trips.

At first this seemed awesome because my frequent flyer status appeared to indicate I would now get 3 checked pieces at 32Kg each. However, when I went to view my baggage allowance on my booking on qantas.com, it is telling me that my baggage allowance actually falls to the lowest allowed by the codeshare carrier I have in the USA. So it has reduced my allowance to 1 piece at 32Kgs (being I have a QF code share on American Airlines metal).

I don't care much for the journey from SYD->LAS, but the journey back I want at least 2 pieces. So my thought is to remove the LAS->LAX segment and just book a cheap SouthWest flight from LAS->LAX that will give me 2 pieces I can then check in at LAX for the QF flight back to Australia. Seems if I stick with my current ticket, the only way I can get an extra bag is to pay $100USD at checkin in LAS, which is ridiculous considering a SouthWest flight is available for a total of $54USD with 2 checked bags included.

Anybody know whether Qantas will allow me to cancel one segment like this and if so, will they just refund the difference since technically it is just a "change" since the ticketed first and last destinations have not changed?

 

[Princess Fiona]

Your baggage allowance is the same on QF and AA due to OW status.
The allowance listed on MMB will be wrong.
You are entitled to the same allowance on the US domestic leg so 3 x 32kg

 

[mof]

Your baggage allowance is the same on QF and AA due to OW status.
The allowance listed on MMB will be wrong.
You are entitled to the same allowance on the US domestic leg so 3 x 32kg

Hi,

Thanks, but pardon my ignorance, what is MMB?

My first interpretation was as you suggest, but I am seeing conflicting information being:
1. My E-Ticket has a table that says I get 3 x 23Kgs (not sure why 23kg and not 32kg)
2. Logging into qantas.com and going to the trip and viewing baggage allowance explicitly says that due to the AA segments all my flights have an allowance of 1 piece.
3. There is this line on https://www.qantas.com/au/en/travel-info/baggage/checked-baggage.html

"Note: any additional Frequent Flyer checked baggage allowance you may be eligible to does not apply to QF codeshare services operated by carriers other than Qantas"

The last line is the one that has me concerned, since by US DOT law, Qantas "rules" apply and the last bit is the Qantas "rule".

 

[snabbu]

MMB = Manage My Booking on the QF website.
What is your QF status?

 

[justinbrett]

Your baggage allowance is the same on QF and AA due to OW status.
The allowance listed on MMB will be wrong.
You are entitled to the same allowance on the US domestic leg so 3 x 32kg

There are some minor difference to what QF and AA grant to frequent fliers. If you are flying J with status there's virtually no difference.

OP doesn't specify class or status - but sounds a bit like it's Y as PS or SG as that was increased (from 3x23Kg to 3x32 Kg) which might also explain why the eticket has different information.

The Qantas extra entitlements only apply to QF metal, they don't extend to codeshares, even as oneworld. Technically you're entitled to the greater of what AA would give you in their own right, or what Qantas would have given you with no status on the way out (1x32Kg for Y, 2x32Kg for Y+/J).

The AA entitlement is 1x 32Kg for PS, 2x32Kg for SG and 3x32Kg for WP (usually you only get 23Kg flying Y, you get 32Kg if flying J/F, but all pax get 32Kg going to Australia).

Having said all that - I've been in this exact situation before, many times actually, and if you get the right person when you check in, explain what your QF allowance was when you flew over, flash your FF card, they will likely waive the excess fees. However, as time goes on these processes become more and more automated. The problem is if they don't, AA will charge you to take it all the way to Australia, and when you explain that QF won't charge it, it all gets too hard for them. The AA $100 fee for a second bag is to take it to Australia, if it was just domestic it would only be $40. But their system won't allow them to charge you just for the domestic sector.

I've done the return trip home from LAS many times and I always bring back a lot of bags. Compared to other solutions like flying to LAX and collecting bags etc - I'd just try your luck, worst case it will cost you US$100. That's a round of drinks in Vegas.

 

[mof]

There are some minor difference to what QF and AA grant to frequent fliers. If you are flying J with status there's virtually no difference.

OP doesn't specify class or status - but sounds a bit like it's Y as PS or SG as that was increased (from 3x23Kg to 3x32 Kg) which might also explain why the eticket has different information.

The Qantas extra entitlements only apply to QF metal, they don't extend to codeshares, even as oneworld. Technically you're entitled to the greater of what AA would give you in their own right, or what Qantas would have given you with no status on the way out (1x32Kg for Y, 2x32Kg for Y+/J).

The AA entitlement is 1x 32Kg for PS, 2x32Kg for SG and 3x32Kg for WP (usually you only get 23Kg flying Y, you get 32Kg if flying J/F, but all pax get 32Kg going to Australia).

Having said all that - I've been in this exact situation before, many times actually, and if you get the right person when you check in, explain what your QF allowance was when you flew over, flash your FF card, they will likely waive the excess fees. However, as time goes on these processes become more and more automated. The problem is if they don't, AA will charge you to take it all the way to Australia, and when you explain that QF won't charge it, it all gets too hard for them. The AA $100 fee for a second bag is to take it to Australia, if it was just domestic it would only be $40. But their system won't allow them to charge you just for the domestic sector.

I've done the return trip home from LAS many times and I always bring back a lot of bags. Compared to other solutions like flying to LAX and collecting bags etc - I'd just try your luck, worst case it will cost you US$100. That's a round of drinks in Vegas.

Yes, this is pretty much my understanding. I am silver (so ruby in oneworld) and so I "get" why it is 1 x 32Kg based on the new AA rules. I've read through everything to catch up on what's changed and I understand why it is like this. I have travelled before and previously been in a party where AA would not honour a QFF frequent flyer baggage privilege upon checkin at LAS, and forced the extra fee.

I just hadn't realised the rules had all changed when I booked the ticket and assumed it was like it always has been that I would get 2 x 23kg on the way back. I only realised things had changed when I looked at my eTicket. Had I have known, I would have only booked Qantas return to LAX and arranged direct booking of internal carriers. It just seems so stupid that one pays a premium to book all sectors, yet gets stiffed like this on the baggage.

Anyway, it is what it is, so back to my last question in my original post. The solution for me is pretty much to just replace the LAS->LAX leg with a SouthWest flight so I get 2 bags from LAS to LAX and can check them both in with Qantas as LAX. My understanding is that so long as a ticket itinerary starts and ends at the same places as the original booking, anything to do with changes to the routes/dates is just considered a change. If it makes any difference, I did book this as a multi city on the Qantas website to get the combos of flights I wanted. As such, has anybody had experience with removing a segment before and what does Qantas do in this case since it would have to result in them owing a refund or credit for the change?

 

[madrooster]

For the cost of 1 'extra' bag... which might be say 50 USD... you're going to pay probably about that anyway for a LAS-LAX flight on WN. You'd also be unprotected in the event of delays etc. Is it really worth cutting off your nose to spite your face?

 

[jpp42]

OP, how much time do you have in LAX? I would say you could try your luck at getting the AA check-in agent to only check the bag as far as LAX (they usually can do this), and therefore only pay the $40 domestic fee. This would then allow you to re-check it at the Qantas desk under your silver allowance. But it does require exiting security at LAX to claim and re-check the bag. To me, avoiding another TSA hassle might be worth the extra fee.

I definitely wouldn't give up the protected connection and other advantages of a single-PNR itinerary for this pettiness.

 

[justinbrett]

Honestly for the sake of $100, which you might not have to pay if you sweet talk them, it’s really not worth stressing over.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

My understanding of baggage is it's complicated. First you have to look at the itinerary and carriers in the itinerary. For instance, if your outbound is a combination of an international segment with one or more domestic segments, generally the baggage rules of the carrier with the longest segment (i.e. the international one) takes precedent over everything else and would therefore apply to all the domestic segments too. Once you've figured out which airline is responsible for your trip in terms of baggage, the next step is to look up the baggage allowance of that airline. For instance, with American you'll get one free bag if you're QF Silver, 2 free bags if you're QF Gold, and up to 3 free bags if you're QF Platinum, or above.

All of that being said, yes the airlines have become chintzy when it comes to baggage for flights between Australia and the US. It used to be that you would have two free checked bags on such itineraries regardless of status, but now it's dropped to one. This is one of the key reasons why status remains so important!

-RooFlyer88

 

[mof]

Just thought I would provide a follow up on this with some information people may find useful.

Upon arrival to LAS, I decided to wander across to the departure side of the terminal and have a chat with the American Airlines checkin staff to see what my options were (so I knew what I would be in for when I left). Wasn't busy and the lady I spoke to was wonderful and happy to chat away.... so it turns out that although Qantas will direct you to the American Airlines and their website which is quite comprehensive on charges, apparently the AA website does NOT actually reflect what American will actually charge. When they pulled up my ticket on their systems, rather than the extra 24Kg costing $100USD (as per website), the price would have actually been $220USD for one extra 24Kg bag had I turned up at the airport with an extra bag when I left. After they looked into it after I queried why it was different to the website, apparently under the arrangement Qantas has with AA, because they include a 32Kg allowance (as opposed to the standard 24Kg), they have also negotiated with AA such that an extra 24Kg is more expensive to compensate (at $220USD per 24Kg)... needless to say, I didn't do so much shopping and left with only 1 checked bag.

Also, checkin staff are no longer able to check through the bag to only LAX (at a domestic price). Apparently they used to be able, but things have changed and it is not possible for them to do anymore.

The advice the AA check in staff gave me was that in future I should book the internal AA segment on a separate ticket. I presume they mean separate bookings with Qantas but linked... although not sure if that would work.

The irony of all of this is that when I did return, my flight from LAX to MEL was cancelled and resulted in an overnight stay in LA where bags were unloaded and collected then rechecked anyway.... albeit would have been no use to me because somehow Qantas managed to still send my bag to Australia unaccompanied on another flight ahead of me so it got to Australia a day before I did.... baggage staff were scratching their heads over that occurrence given the massive security breach!

 

[Batterytraveller]

I had to go look this up, because I thought the ‘most significant carrier’ rule applies and what do you know it doesn’t. AA code on your first flight then the AA rules apply. QF code and the QF rules apply.

This seems like a stupid rule to me but assuredly someone is making money out of it.

https://www.qantas.com/agencyconnect/au/en/policy-and-guidelines/baggage-information/interline-and-through-checked-baggage.html

As for the bag flyingwithout you it’s not that much of a security breach, you had every intention of flying with your bag and may even have preferred it.

 

[mof]

I had to go look this up, because I thought the ‘most significant carrier’ rule applies and what do you know it doesn’t. AA code on your first flight then the AA rules apply. QF code and the QF rules apply.

This seems like a stupid rule to me but assuredly someone is making money out of it.

https://www.qantas.com/agencyconnect/au/en/policy-and-guidelines/baggage-information/interline-and-through-checked-baggage.html

As for the bag flyingwithout you it’s not that much of a security breach, you had every intention of flying with your bag and may even have preferred it.
View attachment 280848

People need to be careful how they interpret this rule. In my case QF was the first ticketed flight (and most significant carrier) and so Qantas Rules DID APPLY. The issue is that Qantas rules are to defer to this supposed agreement they have with American Airlines. I.e. The whole 32Kg x 1 Bag when code sharing and excess at $220USD per bag is Qantas' rule... not American Airline's rule. If AA was most significant carrier, I would have had 1 x 24Kg bag included on all legs (instead of 32Kg) and my excess would have instead been $100USD per bag... assuming of course AA did not try to do a similar "special deal rule" like Qantas are doing.

 

[mof]

As for....

"As for the bag flyingwithout you it’s not that much of a security breach, you had every intention of flying with your bag and may even have preferred it."

... definitely not my preference.... because of the way it happened, nobody could locate my bag until I arrived in Sydney (at LAX, AA said they handed it to Qantas, and Qantas said they didn't have it in LAX and so figured AA had not given it to them and they just blamed each other)... so I pretty much had over 24 hours of stress not knowing where my bag was... and to top it off, Australian Quarantine of course decided they needed to go through my bag and so either busted or lost my TSA lock

 

[Batterytraveller]

Australian Quarantine of course decided they needed to go through my bag and so either busted or lost my TSA lock

Never lock your luggage, any nogoodnik is going to have TSA keys, they’ve been posted on the internet; and, bizarrely, no customs agent seems to have them. I’m not even sure what the purpose of fitting locks to luggage is. Just set your combination to 000, never add an extra lock and look out for a nice note from the TSA when they check your dirty laundry. At least they leave a note.

 

[ksthommo]

Who know's what to believe, eticket screenshot below.
No included checked baggage on the eticket for the LAX/DEN sector for myself (QFF Gold), 1 piece only on MMB.
Wife has one piece, QFF Bronze.

Should at least get 2 pieces on the LAX/DEN sector, Oneworld Sapphire?

 

[mof]

Who know's what to believe, eticket screenshot below.
No included checked baggage on the eticket for the LAX/DEN sector for myself (QFF Gold), 1 piece only on MMB.
Wife has one piece, QFF Bronze.

Should at least get 2 pieces on the LAX/DEN sector, Oneworld Sapphire?

View attachment 280881

.. and this is exactly why I started this thread.... from my experience, the MMB is correct... QF rules apply to you (QF first on ticket), so whatever the AA website says about sapphire getting 2 checked bags is irrelevant. If MMB says you get 1 x 32Kg, then that is what you will get. Qantas' Rules.

Would be interesting to find out whether extra bag would be charged at $220USD on return for Gold/Sapphire or whether there is a different rate to what AA had for my ticket for Silver/Ruby.

For me, the take away from all of this is that it is actually impossible to find out what your baggage allowance actually is until you have booked your tickets and can view the MMB, but worse still, to this day, I have never been able to find a source of information that specifies what extra bags/excess luggage is going to cost under the Qantas Rules. As I said, had to ask AA staff to look it up on their system to find out once I was in the US.... perhaps you might have some luck calling AA before you leave..... Qantas call centre was useless before I left.

 

[Batterytraveller]

What is most astounding about this policy is that the baggage allowance can (often?) be less on the return than it was outbound.

 

[mof]

What is most astounding about this policy is that the baggage allowance can (often?) be less on the return than it was outbound.

It would be good if anybody can post their experience on this here.

To Qantas' credit, the MMB reduces every sector to the lowest common baggage allowance. So for me every single leg PER->SYD->LAX->LAS and then the reverse was all listed in the MMB as 1 x 32kg bag... I only checked one on the way out of PER, so I have no idea what would have happened had I tried to check more than one.

 

[Lynda2475]

I have QF, BA and AA flights on my OWA and MMB says 2×32kgs on all legs including domestic US with AA.