Checked baggage fees on domestic flights for International travelers?

April 23, 2010 5:52 PM

Do International travelers have to pay checked baggage fees for domestic flights within the United States?

A colleague of mine was in the US and Canada recently and she claims that most (all?) of the checked baggage fees were waived on the domestic flights during her trip - as long as proof could be provided of international flights on a current itinerary.

I'm not seeing any such policy listed on any airline websites and I'm wondering if she was just able to talk her way out of the fees, since I don't think she'd lie about this.

I guess the presumption is that International travelers are always going to have checked baggage, whereas the fee is mostly there to encourage locals to only have carry on?

I'm flying with Delta, US Airlines and Continental within the States on my upcoming trip, if that helps. Maybe different airlines have different policies regarding this?

posted by crossoverman to Travel & Transportation (10 answers total)

I flew Delta domestic to ATL, then international, and was able to check my bag for free both there and back, as it was considered part of an international flight. Not sure how that would work out if you're using different airlines for different legs.
posted by quadrilaterals at 6:12 PM on April 23, 2010

I flew United on my recent trip. I had two separate itineraries because I had booked part of it with frequent flier points. The check-in person was going to charge me for luggage, but then asked about my onward flights, and said she would waive the charge since I also had international flights. I didn't ask for this, I had just pulled out my credit card ready to pay. If you use the automated check-in machines, you won't get any option but to pay the fee.

If the domestic flights are attached to your international itinerary, I think the fee is waived, but I would do counter check-in to make sure.
posted by AnnaRat at 6:17 PM on April 23, 2010

Best answer: If the flights were purchased as part of an international itinerary the fees do not apply. Best to confirm with your airline(s) though.
posted by FlamingBore at 6:21 PM on April 23, 2010

Response by poster: If the flights were purchased as part of an international itinerary the fees do not apply.

Not all of them were booked on the same itinerary, unfortunately.
posted by crossoverman at 6:46 PM on April 23, 2010

I had a flight on Alaskan from Vancouver, BC to LA, then a V Australia flight to Sydney. I called the Alaskan call center before I left and was told that as long as I could prove I was flying out of the US within 12 hours of landing, my baggage fees would be waived at check in. The check in agent confirmed this, which saved me about $40. Obviously YMMV, but it's definitely worth a call into the airlines call center to check.
posted by chromatist at 7:40 PM on April 23, 2010

Not all of them were booked on the same itinerary, unfortunately.

Then I would say you're in for some baggage fees.
posted by FlamingBore at 8:08 PM on April 23, 2010

Best answer: Keep your boarding pass for your international flight into the US. Whenever I have presented it for a connecting domestic flight, I have had my baggage fee waived (even on a different itinerary).
posted by meerkatty at 8:08 PM on April 23, 2010 [1 favorite]

It doesn't hurt to ask, but I was pretty pissed a couple of years ago when Delta charged me for baggage on a domestic leg of an international itinerary to and within the US. It was all Delta, all part of a one big itinerary booked at the same time.
posted by bluedaisy at 10:53 PM on April 23, 2010

I just had two weeks in the States and while I was there flew from New York to Columbus, OH, outwards on US Air and back on American. Both times the $25 fee was charged for my checked bag. The fee is, I believe, only waived if your internal flight forms part of your international itinerary (i.e. if you fly from outside the US into a hub and from there on an internal flight to your final destination).
posted by essexjan at 3:36 AM on April 24, 2010

Response by poster: The fee is, I believe, only waived if your internal flight forms part of your international itinerary (i.e. if you fly from outside the US into a hub and from there on an internal flight to your final destination).

I'm getting this feeling from advice here and elsewhere.
posted by crossoverman at 7:35 AM on April 24, 2010