Not using final leg of trip

mapryan

All

I have a flight I've booked for the family for next summer that goes
Leeds Bradford -> London Heathrow (on British Airways) -> Vancouver (Air Canada)

We actually live in London so are happy to do the Leeds leg on the way out, but it's going to be a real PITA to go to Leeds on the way back and we'd much rather get out at Heathrow

I've spoken to the Agent about dropping off that leg but they said it's sold as a package that can't be changed. So, assuming we get are bags back at Heathrow on the way home, should we be able to get out there or do we run the risk of being charged the full price for the journey because we didn't complete the whole trip? I'm thinking it would just result in the final leg being cancelled but I'd be interested to hear other people's experiences

Cheers

Mike

jpsartre

If you just do it once there are unlikely to be any repercussions. However, if you have checked luggage it will be checked through to LBA. You can ask at check-in in YVR to have your bag short-checked to LHR but I'd be surprised if they agree to do this.

mapryan

jpsartre wrote: »

If you just do it once there are unlikely to be any repercussions. However, if you have checked luggage it will be checked through to LBA. You can ask at check-in in YVR to have your bag short-checked to LHR but I'd be surprised if they agree to do this.

Yeah, I was wondering about that. We're a party of 5 and will probably only have one or two bags. I could check all the bags under my name and then complete my journey to LBA and the other 4 passengers drop off the flight at LHR. However, I think that might cause complications when I try to board the final leg on my own without them

Alan_Bowen

Air Canada and BA are not part of the same alliance and AC flies into T3 at Heathrow and BA to Leeds flies out of T5. Since AC would be liable if your bags went missing or you missed your ownward flight, I suspect they would be more than happy if you asked to be simply checked through to Heathrow. Do not check in on line for the onward flights, otherwise BA will wait for you since there are so few passengers flying to Leeds, 14 on the flight last Thursday and it looks like 9 this week, the lowest has been 3 apparently, so its a case of 'use it or lose it. I suspect Leeds will disappear of BA's radar fairly soon

duchy

I've short checked to London several times -I usually make sure I have a longish "wait" at Heathrow - and at check in just say I'll need my bags at London as I'm goin gto shower and get changed (you could also say -they got lost last time so I want to check them myself at Heathrow this time) ..... Never had it queried-Just make sure the tags they put on only say LHR and not LBA on *all* of them and you'll be fine.

Checking all bags under your name ...would that put you over the baggage allowance for one person ? (One person travelling -one baggage allowance).

agrinnall

I'm struggling to understand why you have booked a journey starting at LBA when you live in London. Even if some or all of you will be in Leeds at the start of the trip wouldn't it have been easier to just book from London and make your own way to Heathrow?

mapryan

agrinnall wrote: »

I'm struggling to understand why you have booked a journey starting at LBA when you live in London. Even if some or all of you will be in Leeds at the start of the trip wouldn't it have been easier to just book from London and make your own way to Heathrow?

Money. For the 5 of us travelling during the summer holidays from London the cheapest flights were around £900 and around £1200 with Air Canada. From Leeds the same flights were £600! (From Newcastle they were even cheaper)

mapryan

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll try and short-check the bags and see how I get on.

Cheers

Mike

agrinnall

mapryan wrote: »

Money. For the 5 of us travelling during the summer holidays from London the cheapest flights were around £900 and around £1200 with Air Canada. From Leeds the same flights were £600! (From Newcastle they were even cheaper)

Bizzare! There's just no sense to fare pricing sometimes.

zerog

The other way to do it is to book from Amsterdam (if all BA and from London) and then make your return to Amsterdam depart from Gatwick, so they have to release your bags at Heathrow.

Then add a one-way to Amsterdam on the same plane that you will be flying back to London to begin the actual trip. You can check your bags in London for the long-haul leg even though you haven't flown the short haul leg yet.