2 PNRs and checking bags

Good evening, V-Flyers. First post here, so please be gentle with me

I posted this on FT a week ago - 111 views and zero replies, so I'll ask the real experts here: (timeline changed for obvious reasons)

*snip*

Going on vacation next week.

Due to award unavailability in UC from IAH-BOS-LHR-(gateway)-IAH, I ended up booking BOS-LHR-IAD as a CO codeshare, with a separate paid itinerary (IAH-BOS-IAD-IAH) to get to and from the gateways.

(At the time the only way to use Washington as a gateway on an award itinerary was to fly IAH-DCA-IAD-LHR-IAD-DCA-IAH, with connect times between the DC airports a tad too close for comfort, plus the return flight is on a US national holiday.)

I am aware that paid and award PNRs cannot be combined.

When I check in at IAH, hopefully I can get the bags checked all the way through to LHR. What I'm seeing, however, on VS's website is the following:

Passengers who have booked connecting flights that appear on the same ticket can usually be through checked with their baggage to their final destination.

At some airports however you are required to collect your baggage and clear customs - even though your baggage may be tagged for to your final destination. See below for details.

Passengers who have arranged connecting flights using two or more different reservations and hold separate tickets for these flights must collect their baggage at the destination of their Virgin Atlantic flight, clear immigration and customs and re check in with the onward carrier.

I'm only seeing this on the VS's UK website - nothing like this appears on the US version.

Has anybody else had to re-check luggage (as opposed to the post-customs baggage belt) landside in a similar situation, or has VS checked the bags all the way through?

*snip*

Thank you all in advance.

Hello and welcome.

As I read it you have ground transport between DCA and IAD (on your outbound and the reverse on your inbound) so to me that means you will have to collect your bags at DCA and get them to IAD yourself.

I don't think any airline will transfer your bags between airports on that sort of basis.

There is no DCA connection on either end - that was the only way I could have had a single PNR, but I really did not want to have to retrieve luggage, take a cab or car service to IAD and check in again. I am not asking about CO or VS transporting bags between the two Washington, DC airports. I am sorry if my first post was confusing.

The flight to UK is IAH-BOS on CO(paid segment), then BOS-LHR-IAD as the award segment as a CO codeshare on VS, then back to my home gateway on CO IAD-IAH (paid segment). The VS segments (award) are on one PNR, the CO segments (paid) are on another. I want to be able to check my bags all the way through to LHR in at IAH, and back to IAH when I check in at LHR on the way back.

Hope this clears things up a bit.

yes much clearer thanks.

You should ask CO at IAH IF they can tag your bags all the way through to LHR, have your VS PNR etc to hand for them. There is no absolute guarentee they will do this but asking won't hurt! If they do check-through you should ensure that the final destination on the bag tags does show LHR and do this before the agent sends them down the belt at IAH.

If they have been checked through I belive (from reading Trip Reports on here) that the procedure at BOS is that you need to show the gate agent your baggage stubs so they can check the bags have made it on board.

On the way back you will have to collect your bags at IAD and clear US customs. I'm not sure if CO and VS share the same terminal at IAD so don't know if there is a CO bag drop just after customs or not. Have a look at the IAD website.

From the IAD map it looks pretty straightforward (after clearing customs/immigration you just put the bags on a transfer conveyor belt or something), but I'm more concerned about VS checking the bags all the way through to IAH, given this information on the UK VS site:


Passengers who have arranged connecting flights using two or more different reservations and hold separate tickets for these flights must collect their baggage at the destination of their Virgin Atlantic flight, clear immigration and customs and re check in with the onward carrier.


With less than 3 hours to connect, I'm concerned that it may not be enough time if we have to check bags airside and then reclear security. The return date is a US national holiday, so I anticipate a higher volume of pax.

[honey lamb]

I've been away for the weekend and have just seen this. Last year I flew on separate PNRs GSO-EWR-LHR. The GSO-EWR leg was on CO and the EWR-LHR on VS. I asked my bags to be tagged all the way through to my final destination of ORK but the whole thing fell apart because Aer Lingus did not have an interlining agreement with CO. However CO could have tagged my bags all the way through to LHR and were prepared to do so but I chose to pick them up EWR for the simple reason I wanted to make sure that they went in the UC bin and the agent couldn't guarantee that. When I went to check my bags in at EWR they could tell on the system that there had been a request for the bags to be tagged all the way through.

With regard to returning through IAD, as tonty says, you will have to collect your bags and clear customs. After customs there are airline desks still on the secure side which I have had to use to check in but my bags have been tagged through in those instances. I have then had to go landside to go to the gate for my onward flights but I do not know if you have to go landside to re-check them. My suggestion, if no-one can answer that, is to ask at the desk in the transfer hall in the first place