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I am flying from from BOM-IAH with a baggage allowance of 2 bags of 23kg each for check-in luggage. On the return, I booked a flight from AMD-BOM on Air India which only allows for 1 bag with 25 KG in check-in baggage. So, I booked tickets for 2 persons, to be able to have check in 2 bags, one for each passenger.

After checking in both passengers and bags, if the other passenger does not board the flight, would I be allowed to take his bag for him? Would they remove the baggage from flight when they realize that the other passanger has not boarded?

I just want to avoid the return fare for the second traveller. If this will not allow, then I have to book return flight for that passenger.

The flight ticket is 1400 Rs, and extra baggage is 8000 Rs, so extra baggage is not a feasible option :).

Giorgio
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Lafda
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  • https://travel.stackexchange.com/q/65393/4188 and https://travel.stackexchange.com/a/61950/4188 are both relevant. –  Jul 04 '17 at 22:30
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    No. That's why they scan your boarding pass when you board: so they know who is actually on the plane. if you do not board, they remove your luggage. It's a security hazard. Google what happened to Air India Flight 182 for examples. – Roddy of the Frozen Peas Jul 05 '17 at 02:12
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    Couldn't you have just paid for an extra bag, instead of buying another seat? That would surely be cheaper as well. – PhilippNagel Jul 30 '20 at 01:14
  • Is the second ticket on your name? – kiradotee Jul 30 '20 at 09:13
  • yes, GoAir started same service, but now charging 2500 INR, but still its cheap :) compare to paying 1000+USD till AMD, and 600 USD to DEL or BOM and get GoAir from there with 2500 INR (35 USD) till AMD. – Lafda Jul 30 '20 at 20:41
  • Check what their baggage allowance rules are for extra seats. – Loren Pechtel Jul 31 '20 at 03:10
  • From US airlines its free, but if we book from India, other airlines charge per KG. And per KG will be always costlier then per bag. – Lafda Jul 31 '20 at 14:45

1 Answers1

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Your extra bag, unfortunately, will not travel as the second passenger will never be boarded.

This is an almost universal security practice across all airlines and airports; except for fringe situations like charter aircraft, pleasure flights and some domestic airlines - none of which applies to you.

Now, how you can avoid this is if you have one flight from IAH - BOM return; because then the most significant carrier rule applies. This basically means that the baggage rules that apply for the majority of your journey, will apply throughout the journey - across all carriers, from the time of check-in until you collect your bags.

There are (as always with these things) a few caveats - mainly, who is the marketing carrier vs. the operating carrier. Therefore, it is best to check with your airline - as you may be entitled to additional considerations based on your itinerary.

Burhan Khalid
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  • It's a very real possibility but I am not sure it is as universal as people think it is. – Relaxed Jul 05 '17 at 07:02
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    The only exception I have seen for unaccompanied luggage is if the luggage was left behind, it is then loaded onto the next flight. However, the passenger has to travel already. All the flights I have traveled on have this rule enforced. – Burhan Khalid Jul 05 '17 at 07:19
  • "almost universal": a major exception is US domestic flights don't do this, they are happy for unaccompanied bags to travel. Obviously an irrelevant fact to the question though. :-) – Calchas Jul 05 '17 at 07:36
  • From the prior question Will Emirates accept one 25kg bag instead of two 23kg bags?, "I have an Emirates flight from Houston, Texas to Mumbai, India. I booked an Air India flight from Mumbai for the domestic portion.". That sounds more like two separate bookings. – Patricia Shanahan Jul 05 '17 at 10:38
  • @BurhanKhalid It's an odd way to back up your statement that doesn't really convince me. You (and I) have used a very biased subset of airlines and airports, that's not a very useful way to approach this question. How would you even know whether the rule is systematically enforced on a flight you happen to be traveling on? – Relaxed Jul 05 '17 at 17:48
  • @BurhanKhalid this was the rule in one of the carrier GoAir in india, they carry same luggage as internation, if you have internation flight within 24 hours of your international flight, but now they change, they are charging for the extra luggage. – Lafda Jul 05 '17 at 20:05
  • @Relaxed - I don't know how else to convince you; other than it was agreed by IATA in the 1980s in Annex 17 to do baggage reconciliation (the technical term for it). – Burhan Khalid Jul 06 '17 at 04:39
  • @BurhanKhalid Well, that, for example, is a start… save for the fact that it's apparently not the case anymore and not quite what it says in the first place, cf. https://www.iata.org/policy/Documents/baggage-reconciliation.pdf – Relaxed Jul 06 '17 at 05:06