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Hello! Question for the forum on booking with BA and whether they can check in bags across airlines.
I will be in Newcastle, England for Christmas and then flying to Dammam, Saudi Arabia on Dec 27th with my wife and two kids (six and three). All UK and Irish citizens / residents.
I’ve spotted on BA.com flights from Newcastle on the 27th to London Heathrow (9.45am – 11am) and then onward to Bahrain at 13.45 same day, landing in at 23.20PM. Total cost only £200 for all four plus 120,000 Avios. A super deal considering the economy, or premium economy costs without Avios.
However I would then need to book another flight from Bahrain at 02.10AM (so 2 hours and 50 minutes after we land) with Qatar. That lands into Dammam an hour later. I can’t book this whole journey as one on the BA site so would do it separately. That flight with Qatar for all four of us in economy would be £239 + 32,000 Avios. So all in all 3 flights for four people for less than £500 (and for what its worth the first leg is business…) feels like a bargain and could save a decent chunk of change.
Questions for the forum. Do you think BA could check through the bags from Newcastle all the way to Dammam, given the two bookings and two airlines? I’m guessing it should be fine but given the time of the landing and with two young kids in tow I wanted to check.
Many thanks
FionnIt’s BA policy to only check luggage through if all flights are under the same booking reference.
Questions for the forum. Do you think BA could check through the bags from Newcastle all the way to Dammam, given the two bookings and two airlines? I’m guessing it should be fine but given the time of the landing and with two young kids in tow I wanted to check.
Many thanks
FionnNo it’s not fine as BA won’t interline bags on separate bookings. It won’t do it for BA-BA flights on separate tickets let alone another airline.
But you don’t have 2hrs 50 mins at Bahrain to make your next flight. You have that less the bag drop deadlines for that separate flight. You need to check what it is and then subtract it from the 2hrs 50 mins. So you’ll have a lot less time than you may think to clear immigration , collect bags, check them in and reclear security etc.
That’s pretty tight. I know nothing about immigration there, but I know you’ll have to pick bags up and check in again.
I’d not try it personally. Just too stressful and too much can go wrong for me to even attempt it.
With kids in tow it’s a bigger risk. More to manage if it goes wrong and more risk of a meltdown/toilet trip/tired legs/left Teddy on the Jet Bridge scenario which could slow you down.
We have a tight connection next Easter, but we’re on one ticket, so I know that we’re protected financially and that Lufthansa will have a duty of care if we fail to connect. You are completely exposed and relying on goodwill of Qatar if you arrive in Bahrain late.
Don’t do it.
Bahrain to Dammam is an hour’s drive across the causeway. In my experience, that was always much easier than flying (though this may have changed since I was last in the region)
Have a look at flying from LHR to Riyadh on BA, and then on Saudia from Riyadh to Dammam.
There are multiple flights per day from RUH to DMM, so you can build a buffer.
Cash prices are as low as £50, or if you have Virgin miles, around 5.5k miles plus about £8 per person.
I don’t think your travel insurance would cover any missed self connections in this case as it’s usually minimum 3 hours, so I wouldn’t
There are two airlines that fly this route so I’d try and build in a bigger buffer. Also redemption options via Riyad and Jeddah but be mindful of the visa fees
Call BA and ask them to book the routing all as one – they may be willing able to do this – this may end up costing less in taxes and also protect you if connections are missed.
Thanks for all the advice, super helpful. I’m definitely taking the two airline plan in Bahrain off the table given the feedback. Will look at the Riyadh option. And / or just play it super safe and do KLM from Newcastle to Amsterdam to Dammam, but pay the fare and keep the Avios for another day.
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