[esfield]

Flying through Frankfurt to somewhere else via a United-Lufthansa connection? Don't leave anything important in checked baggage.

I left San Francisco on UAL five days ago and traveled via a change in Frankfurt to Milan, where I arrive four days ago. My bag remained in Frankfurt until yesterday morning. Why? UAL checked it through to Frankfurt as a final termination. Lufthansa recorded the UAL baggage number when I checked in for my second flight but could not find the bag because it was sent to German customs.

The mismanagement of the bag follows from the fact that UAL also would not issue a boarding pass from Frankfurt to Milan because "our software only manages United flights." I'm really tired of UAL software, which is mostly outsourced to India and wherever it is, is incapable of correction and extension.

The saddest part of the baggage story (apart from the two workdays it cost me) is that half the people on our Transatlantic 747 (booked as a 777) also were making connections through Frankfurt, also had no boarding passes issued at SFO, and probably also waited days for their bags. The second saddest thing is that Lufthansa is being blamed.

I don't personally EVER expect to travel internationally with United.

[stonecold_1981]

this has nothing to do with the boarding passes or united software. If United is saying that since they couldnt issue the boarding passes the bags were not checked to the final destination (Milan), then they are lying. I've flown to Asia many times (UA going into FRA and LH to Asia). Most of the times I was not give a boarding pass for the onward journey. But my bags were checked to the final destination.

When you checked-in w/United @SFO, you would have been given a baggage ticket. Check what does it say as the final destination, if it says FRA - MXP then it should be LH's fault. If it says just FRA then it's UA's fault

[azstar]

It's possible that two separate tickets were issued. A United ticket SFO-FRA, and a separate LH ticket FRA-MIL. If that's the case, the UA agent would not know what your final destination was. But, they certainly should have asked "is Frankfurt your final destination?" If not, they would have to add manually the LH information to generate a baggage tag. The "new" UA/CO computer system does not always issue the connecting boarding passes. Sometimes it does, sometimes not. But, that would not affect the final destination of your baggage and you can easily obtain a boarding pass for your remaining flights at your departure gate.