BCN-SYD Check In options

[scibo10]

Hi

I am a QC Silver member and am flying from BCN to SYD via LHR this Friday. My BCN-LHR leg is an Iberian coded flight operated by BA. My LHR to SYD leg is on QF32.
I am unsure how to proceed with my check-in at BCN in order to guarantee my benefits from QC membership (eg priority tagging).
As a QC Silver member, I have both my Silver FF card and my QC card. I know that the QC card means nothing to IB or BA, so will have to show them my silver FF. However am I correct in assuming they will offer me the option of receiving both my boarding passes and have my luggage tagged directly to SYD? If this is the case, I assume that I will forgo some of my QC benefits. Is the only other option to collect my bags at LHR and recheck-in, or is it possible to ask at BCN to get my bags tagged directly to SYD, but only obtain the boarding pass for the first leg, then get the other pass at LHR?
Thanking you in advance.....

 

[Mal]

I havn't flown this route, but have a suspicion that you will only be able to receive your BCN-LON boarding pass in BCN and will have to collect your LHR-SYD BP in LHR.

Codeshare partners don't tend to be able to access other airline's booking systems. IB may be able to access a Qantas booking, but not sure. They should be able to tag through to Sydney without a drama though once they see proof you're flying there.

As for club access, your BP and your QP card should be enough to get the access.

Priority Baggage may be an interesting one. Technically the tag on the bag shouldn't matter as the computers control where your bags are kept on the plane (I assume your FF number is registered). Not entirely sure what will happen here either.

 

[JohnK]

Priority Baggage may be an interesting one. Technically the tag on the bag shouldn't matter as the computers control where your bags are kept on the plane (I assume your FF number is registered). Not entirely sure what will happen here either.

I may be mistaken but I remember reading somewhere on QF website recently that priority baggage only applies to QF flights not OneWorld partners.

So if bags are able to be checked through from BCN to SYD then no priority baggage but if picking bags up at LHR and checking in again then bags can be tagged priority baggage through to SYD on QF flight.

 

[Dave Noble]

They should be able to check your bags in and issue the boarding pass through to Sydney. There is no point imo in wasting time having bags check to LHR, having to clear customs n immigration and then having to lug the luggage landside to check in again at T4.

Dave

 

[Mal]

Priority bags is not a OW benefit.

It is purely a QF thing, unless other airlines in OW choose to give it to you (BA sometimes does, CX definately does).

However as has been mentioned before, apparently the bag tags really don't matter as for Qantas it's the computerised baggage systems that put the bags in the right places for priority baggage rather than the pretty little tags

Whether that is true or not depends on a lot of things - airport included, and I'm not totally convinced on that either.

However, as Dave rightfully points out, the time saved in slumping your bags from one terminal to another at Heathrow, immigration and customs makes it not worthwhile regardless of the extra priority you may get through Qantas (~55 mins of bag moving vs maybe an additional 20 mins in SYD).

 

[HardieBoys]

I'm pretty certain IB can issue boarding passes on connecting BA flights. I flew from Barcelona to Copenhagen via LHR in 2005, and the IB check-in staff automatically issued the BA boarding pass.

 

[Mal]

Not all OW airlines can issue other OW boarding passes. The staff at BKK seem to have major hassles issuing tickets on later OW flights, as do staff in some other countries I've been to (eg CX from KUL).

Seems to depend on a lot of things including the carriers used and the mood/experience of the checkin staff. Either way, I can't see it being a massive hassle to pick up a BP at Heathrow if it comes to that. The important thing is to get the luggage checked through directly so the OP is not having to lug it around with them and visit the friendly Immigration staff.

 

[scibo10]

Thanks to all who replied.

I will endeavour to get both boarding passes at BCN if possible. I will confirm whether BCN can handle doing this easily or not once I find out on Friday. Another piece of info we can lock away I guess.

Cheers

 

[Dave Noble]

Thanks to all who replied.

I will endeavour to get both boarding passes at BCN if possible. I will confirm whether BCN can handle doing this easily or not once I find out on Friday. Another piece of info we can lock away I guess.

Cheers

BA definately can issue QF BPS. If it turns out that they cannot/will not issue the BP ( which would surprise me) ,they should be able to check the bags through and you would be able to collect the new BP at the Flight Connections Centre en-route from T1-T4

Dave

 

[bravoecho1]

Having done this trip in 2004, I can confirm that bags were checked through to BNE (in my case) and BP's were issued for all legs.

 

[Sergio]

As an Spaniard living in Australia, I have flown several times between Australia and Spain and I can tell you my experience, which is different dependind on the airline you are flying with.

If you fly IB/BA/QF you shouldn't have any problem to get a boarding pass until destination in Australia. I usually fly HBA-BIO and return. BIO-LHR is always an IB flight (codeshare with BA), and the second leg BA or QF. In both cases, I have always received a boarding pass to MEL or SYD. Not to HBA (It is necessary to collect the baggage and recheck-in, I imagine for quarantine measures).

However in the outbound (HBA-BIO) I always receive three boarding passes (HBA-MEL/SYD, MEL/SYD-LHR, LHR-BIO), even flying QF first leg, BA second leg and IB third leg, and I collect the baggage in destination (BIO).

Diferent experience, however, using another OW partner like CX. I flew BIO-MAD, MAD-FRA, FRA-HKG, HKG-SYD (stopover in HGK). Although my baggage went directly to destination (HGK), I only got a boarding pass until FRA and there I had to go to the check-in counter to get the new boarding pass for my CX flight.

 

[jwak]

I live in BCN and complete BCN-SYD-BCN every month. IB/BA will issue boarding passes and check the bags all the through. They don't use priority tags and as the bags are transfered at Heathrow they cannot be placed in the prority container (as MAL stated). Enjoy the trip its a long one!

 

[NM]

Connections at LHR are easy (just can be time consuming at peak times), and if your onward boarding pass has not been issued you can collect it at the Flight Connections area just after passing through the security check point. This will not have any affect on whether the bags get checked all the way to SYD and will not have any impact on lounge access at LHR.

As Dave Noble said, don't waste time and effort in collecting and re-checking bags at LHR as that will entail the need to clear immigration processing first and that is the most time consuming part of any arrivals process at LHR.