Question about luggage and multiple stops on flight

Not sure if this questions belongs here, but since we are ending up in Maui maybe someone has some advice!

OK, so as to save money I have pieced together our flights using miles, certificates and money. I am departing from Fresno arriving in Los Angeles flying United. I have a 3 hour layover then I fly from LA to Honolulu on American Airlines. After a 2 hour layover I fly from Honolulu to Maui on Hawaiian Airlines.

My question is about my luggage. Should I be worried? The American and Hawaiian flights are connecting flights but the United is not. How do I get from the United flight to the American flight within the airport and still keep track of my luggage?

I appreciate any advice or experiences in this matter.

Question about luggage and multiple stops on flight

Lucky -- I would post this on the Los Angeles Forum re: question about LAX.

Question about luggage and multiple stops on flight

When You Land in LAX, you will have to collect your checked in Luggage, and then re check it in with American.

You have a 3 hour layover so you have PLENTY of time.

Make sure you tell American that your final destination is Maui OGG.

United is in Terminal 6 at LAX and American is at Terminal 4.

Walking to terminal 4 should take you abou 5-7 mins.

American Charges 1st bag fee of 15 dollars and Hawaii I think allows the first bag free (interisland) but charges 17 for the second.

You will have another 10 min walk in HNL to the Hawaiian Interisland terminal.

Or you can take the stinky Wiki-Wiki Shuttle.

(I prefer to walk)

You should call United to be sure, but I think that if you show your whole itinerary to the United agent they should be able to check your luggage to your final destination, even if you have separate tickets.

If you want my advice, take only carry-on.

Thank you for the advice, much help.

When you check in for your first flight ask if they have ';interline'; agreements with the other airlines to get your luggage to Maui.

Maui has two popular airports Kahului = OGG and Kapalua = JHM.

Show them your tickets and let them know which is your final airport.

If they have interline agreement with all the airlines then watch that they tag your luggage with your final destination. Most likely Kahului =ld read OGG.

the tag should read OGG.

Put a copy of your itinerary inside your luggage and your cell phone number noted on it.

Hawaiian Airlines is a bit lame, so if you end up with lost luggage follow up with the other airlines directly.

Have to take exception with Jim on that last comment about Hawaiian Airlines being ';lame';...

While they were once the laughing-stock of the inter-island market (you always scheduled the last flight knowing you had a good half-hour leeway if you were running late), they are now clearly one of the most dependable carriers in the sky.

In example, the most recent reportings by the US Govt show they are #1 in on-time performance, are #1 in the least cancelled flights, are #2 in fewest lost baggage claims, and #2 in fewest over-bookings.

See:

…dot.gov/reports/2009/April/200904ATCR.PDF

And, this is not something new, they have been at or near the very top in these catagories for several years now. Since coming out of their last bankruptcy, they have been a solid carrier with above-average to excellent service records.

Hi

the lame refers to Hawaiian Air not having the equipment to read the bar code that the airlines put on your luggage tag. So when they lost my bag I filled in all the paperwork and went home.

They lost my bag on the Seattle to Maui flight and they could not read the bar code on my luggage claim stub to know where it was. I went back to the Maui airport the next day at the same time. My bag was sitting there. They said ';we were just going to phone you';.

Last week I picked up a friend at the airport. Her bag got lost between New York and Maui. The final airline was Hawaiian Air so she filled in a lost bag report with them. I looked at her luggage claim stub and saw that it was only tagged as far as HNL = Honolulu.

So we all new the problem and the probable location of the bag. The Hawaiian Air agent said the bag would be delivered to her home then next day after it came on one of the interisland flight. No bag came so my friend phoned the airline that had flown her to Hnl and had mistagged the luggage. They had no report from Hawaiian of her lost bag. They processed her new report and delivered her bag to her home.

Know your destination 3 letter codes and make sure your bag is tagged correctly. I worked for an airline and a tour package company and mistakes happen. Label the inside of your bag too, so if the luggage tag gets torn off in some machinery they can still find you. Have you seen that t.v. show of the store that sells unclaimed luggage contents? And pack as though your bag is being dropped 25 feet. These little tips will help you avoid disappointment.