partner airlines check-in question

May 19, 2011 6:34 AM

I booked a flight from Stockholm to San Francisco, connecting in Frankfurt, through Continental Airlines website. However the flight from Stockholm to Frankfurt is operated by SAS, and from Frankfurt to SFO by United. Which airline should I check in with in Stockholm: SAS, United, or Continental? Will they give me tickets for both flights when I check in in Stockholm? Will they check my luggage all the way through to SFO? I can't find any info online, thanks for any help!
posted by mahamandarava to Travel & Transportation (16 answers total)

airlines run certain legs with partner airlines. If you booked with continental, check in with them. At the airports, they'll show the gate with both flight numbers rotating (continenal flight xxx, SAS flight yyyy).

They'll move the lugage along with your flight plan.
posted by rich at 6:37 AM on May 19, 2011

Continental. They'll issue your tickets for the entire trip. You may have to pick up your luggage in Frankfurt when you change planes if they route you through customs. If you don't (which may be likely, since you're traveling within the EU), your luggage will be moved to the next plane automatically.

It's all seamless.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 6:40 AM on May 19, 2011

Continental. That is who booked your ticket, that's who you deal with. Their subcontracting is not your problem to worry about
posted by Brockles at 6:46 AM on May 19, 2011

You may actually have to check in at SAS -- I did, when I was flying Lufthansa and then Air Canada, booked with Air Canada -- but they should be able to give you tickets for the entire trip and book your luggage through (as Lufthansa did for me; I had to go through passport control in Frankfurt, but not baggage claims).

These weren't partner flights -- there was no Lufthansa number for my Air Canada flight or vice versa -- they were just on the same airline agreement (Star Alliance, I think).
posted by jeather at 6:50 AM on May 19, 2011

I've had the same experiences as jeather: checking in on the airline I was flying on, not the airline I booked with (this was through Star Alliance too).

I would expect them to give you tickets for the whole flight, and check your luggage through, though YMMV (it wasn't for me when I flew LHR->SFO (Virgin) and SFO-AKL (Air New Zealand), I had to offload and re-check luggage).
posted by Infinite Jest at 7:04 AM on May 19, 2011

Check in with the airline operating the first sector of your trip. That means SAS. And they will probably have an interline agreement which means you will be able to get boarding passes for the whole trip and check the luggage through to the destination.

If you want to double-check, you should call Continental.
posted by grouse at 7:07 AM on May 19, 2011

I would assume that you check in with SAS, as they operate the flight from Stockholm to Frankfurt. You can probably also call or tweet the airport to ask.
posted by knile at 7:09 AM on May 19, 2011

Bear in mind that the worst thing that happens if you go to the wrong desk is that you have to go to the other desk, possibly changing terminals as well. This is inconvenient, certainly, but as long as you arrive early, you're fine.
posted by jeather at 7:15 AM on May 19, 2011 [1 favorite]

nthing what everyone else said - just check in with the first carrier, and confirm they have tagged your luggage to SFO.

Every time I have transferred in Frankfurt I have had to clear security again, so don't buy any liquids that would get confiscated!
posted by samj at 7:29 AM on May 19, 2011

Just to clarify what Infinite Jest said, the reason that he had to offload and recheck his luggage in SFO was because there is no sterile airside transit in the United States.

That is, even if you are passing directly through the US to your final destination (as Infinite Jest was, from the UK to New Zealand via the US) and not entering it at all, the US requires you to pass through Customs & Immigration, picking up your bags, etc., regardless. (If you're not a citizen of a Visa Waiver Program state, you'll even need to get a formal transit visa.)

YMMV with intra-Schengen transit; I suspect, based on my limited experience, that you will be checked through entirely.
posted by andrewesque at 7:41 AM on May 19, 2011

Yeah that's what we always did when flying out from Göteborg to: to check in at the SAS desk. Often there's not even an alternative.
It may happen that your booking number bounces on the self-check-in Torture Towers. I never could establish a reason for why it sometimes works and why it sometimes doesn't. Check-in procedures (and software bugs; sometimes a combination): the matter of modern fairy tales.
posted by Namlit at 7:45 AM on May 19, 2011 [1 favorite]

Got something with "too" today. Second time. My excuses.
posted by Namlit at 7:46 AM on May 19, 2011

I called Continental and asked the question. Their response was to check in with the airline the originating flight is on (SAS), and they'll issue you boarding passes and check in your luggage. In Frankfurt SAS will hand off your luggage to United.
posted by Runes at 8:42 AM on May 19, 2011

Response by poster: Looks like the consensus is to check in with SAS, and (crossing fingers) all should go well. Thanks, everyone for the responses, and especially to Runes for calling and asking the question (which I should have done myself, I know...), that was really awesome of you!
posted by mahamandarava at 9:24 AM on May 19, 2011

That clicks with my friend's recent experience. She booked through Delta, but the last leg of her trip was operated by SkyWest. When she booked, she was instructed to check in with SkyWest at the last layover.
posted by WasabiFlux at 3:52 PM on May 19, 2011

Response by poster: United sent me an email the day before departure with SAS's confirmation number, allowing me to check at their automated kiosk. I got a boarding pass for both legs, luggage was checked through just fine. Thanks all.
posted by mahamandarava at 12:43 PM on June 18, 2011