Aer Lingus, why do you want to be Ryanair?

grundie

Hello all,

A story of caution about Aer Lingus and it's international baggage policy.

My wife is from Syracuse, New York and as such we travel there a few times each year. When Aer Lingus announced its partnership with JetBlue we were rather happy as it meant we could buy one ticket and have our bags checked through from Dublin direct to Syracuse.

There is a problem though as JetBlue and Aer Lingus have differing baggage policies.

We have just returned from Syracuse after a two week stay to have our son christened. We left with one case each, but planned to return with three (extra baby presents). As Aer Lingus' baggage policy seemed to take precedence we planned to pay for an extra bag at Syracuse airport. However, the JetBlue rep at Syrcause was adamant we could check up to four bags if we could get them arranged in such a way that no bag was more than 40lbs each. So we took a spare bag from my wife's fathers car and the JetBlue rep helped us rearrange the contents so that she could check them in.

We advised her to call her superiors for advice as we were certain Aer Lingus would not like this. She did call and advised us that we would be Okay.

At JFK when we were collecting tickets for the Dublin leg, the Aer Lingus rep told us we had to pay $100 for the extra two bags or they would be unloaded. He took the Ryanair approach to customer care by constantly saying "You should have read the terms and conditions" repeatedly. Our argument was that we did, but the JetBlue rep was adamant the rules were different. He then argued that JetBlue was a different airline and that the only connection was that they agreed to pass on passenger luggage between them. He even said that there was no partnership between Aer Lingus and JetBlue, just and 'interline' agreement and that we had purchased different tickets for each airline.

The Aer Lingus agents attitude was awful. My wife was trying to argue our case, she wasn't rude, just exasperated. She was just pointing out inconsistencies in his argument, for example we booked one ticket with one reference number for all legs and that the sign on the check-in desk made reference to a partnership between Aer Lingus and JetBlue. His responce was to threaten to call security on her.

At this point I stepped in and said that we would pay the fees, but that on arrival at Dublin we would immediately lodge a claim with the small claims court and mention him by name in our action. I told him that as far as we were concerned we had booked a ticket with Aer Lingus and that JetBlue were effectively acting on their behalf and that it was up to Aer Lngus and JetBlue to ensure they were both aware of each others baggage policy to prevent issues such as this one from arising. It was at this point he called Aer Lingus HQ and got permission to let out bags go through.

So be aware, if you travel on a Aer Lngus/JetBlue ticket you need to be wary of this.

Cabaal

Your problem isn't with Aer Lingus its with Jetblue, Aer Lingus are not responsible for misleading or incorrect information provided by a third party as ultimately its their T&C's you should be going by.

While you may not have liked the Aer Lingus's staff members response it was however the correct response as again the rep is not responsible if you were told something else by JetBlue.

Tell me this, when you booked the tickets did JetBlue and Aer Lingus have separate T&C's?

Cabaal

Baggage T&C's on their site says:

Longhaulhaul flights (USA)

Economy Class

* Passengers are permitted 1 bag up to 23kgs (50lbs) free of charge.
* Baggage fees apply for 2nd and subsequent checked bags.
* A maximum of 9 additional bags per passenger can be booked on the website.
* Bag Size: One bag at 158 cms/62 ins, second and subsequent bags at 140 cms/55ins.
* The weight of any one piece of baggage must not exceed 32Kgs/70lbs.
* Any additional bags and Excess weight (23kgs - 32kgs) will be charged. See table:
Applicable on flights between
Per bag per flight
Europe USA EUR GBP USD
2nd and subsequent bags weighing up to 23kgs (50lbs) 40 36 50
Excess for all bags over 23kg-32kgs (50lbs-70lbs) 40 36 50
* No pooling or sharing of baggage allowances is permitted, even within a party travelling on the same booking.
* The fees are non-refundable.

Business Class

* Passengers are permitted 3 bags free of charge.
* The weight of any one piece of baggage must not exceed 32Kgs/70lbs and combined weight must not exceed 69kgs (150lbs).
* Infant baggage allowance is 10kgs (22lbs) in addition to one collapsible stroller.


Special Items

* Sports Equipment such as (golf bags, skis etc) is carried as standard baggage.
* Infant baggage allowance is 10kgs (22lbs) in addition to one collapsible stroller.
* Medical equipment (dialysis machines, wheelchairs etc.) are carried free of charge.
* Small musical instruments may qualify as hand baggage. Medium sized instruments may be carried in the cabin if an individual seat for the instrument is purchased.
* If the instrument will not fit in the extra seat, it must be checked in and normal excess baggage rates apply.

goes on to state:

Interline Baggage - (other airlines)
Aer Lingus will through-check baggage as a courtesy onto any carrier that have a baggage agreement in place, upon presentation of documentation of the itinerary showing Aer Lingus and partner carrier flights on the same ticket.

This includes the following airlines: American Airlines, Air France, Air India, Alaska Airlines, Finnair, British Airways, Air China, China Airlines, Cathay Pacific, China Southern, Emirates, Etihad, Gulf Air, Iberia, Japan Airlines, KLM, Kenya Airways, Kuwait Airways, Malev, Malaysian, Martin Air, Northwest, Austrian Airlines, Pakistan Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, South African Airways, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airlines, United Airlines, Sri Lankan Airlines, US Airways, Virgin Atlantic and JetBlue Airways.

Excess Baggage
Shorthaul flights (Europe)

* Excess weight will be charged €9 or equivalent for each additional kilo per flight exceeding the maximum baggage allowance if the excess weight fee is paid up to two hours prior to departure on aerlingus.com, or alternatively the standard excess weight fee of €12 will be charged at the airport on day of departure.
* No one piece of baggage can exceed 32 kg in weight.
* Necessary medical equipment will be excluded from the excess baggage rules and these items will not be subject to 32 kg maximum weight allowance or excess baggage charge.

Longhaul flights (USA)

* Baggage exceeding your free allowance will incur charges:
Applicable on flights between
Per bag per flight
Europe USA EUR GBP USD
2nd and subsequent bags weighing up to 23kgs (50lbs) 40 36 50
Excess for all bags over 23kg-32kgs (50lbs-70lbs) 40 36 50

Nothing to say whats acceptable on one airline has to be accepted on Aer Lingus, again its JetBlue that gave you wrong info.

The partnership they have is merely to make it abit easier to fly and change flights it doesn't mean they have make all there company policy's the exact same.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

grundie wrote: »

Hello all,
At this point I stepped in and said that we would pay the fees, but that on arrival at Dublin we would immediately lodge a claim with the small claims court and mention him by name in our action...

In that case, will you now contact the Aer Lingus rep and apologise as the error was with Jetblue and this guy was only doing his job? A bit OTT to say you would name him in your action. I think it's time you admitted Aer Lingus were not at any fault in your complaint.

grundie

Leighton Abundant Sunflower wrote: »

In that case, will you now contact the Aer Lingus rep and apologise as the error was with Jetblue and this guy was only doing his job? A bit OTT to say you would name him in your action. I think it's time you admitted Aer Lingus were not at any fault in your complaint.

Aer Lingus' policies were not at fault. However, Aer Lingus and JetBlue were at fault in not making sure each other is aware of each parties baggage restrictions.

If an airline is going to be selling tickets that involves other airlines, they should make sure each airline concerned is aware of such details. It is not the hardest thing in the world to let check-in staff know that they should advise customers that different legs of their journey may have different restrictions.

The JetBlue rep called "the folks at JFK" (JetBlue's HQ, I assume) when we asked her to confirm what she was saying. I heard her ask "...and is that the same with Aer Lingus", we had no reason to doubt her after that. We read the T&Cs and came prepared to pay for extra bags, but the airline transporting us on behalf of Aer Lingus told us there was no need for this.

The Aer Lingus fellow at JFK didn't first ask us to explain about the extra bags, he first line was to accuse us of not reading and ignoring the T&Cs. He got aggressive first! He had his head in his hands and whispered "Jesus Christ" under his breath as he was checking us in. He could have said "Oh, you have too many bags checked in, did you know you have to pay us for those?" before going off on one. He only lightened up and started acting civil after I made the threat of legal actions.

As I said earlier, we did read the T&Cs. Unfortunately, we got caught up in problem caused by Aer Lingus and JetBlue not talking to each other and had to deal with an angry check-in rep as a result.

grundie

Cabaal wrote: »

The partnership they have is merely to make it abit easier to fly and change flights it doesn't mean they have make all there company policy's the exact same.

When you buy one ticket that covers multiple airlines then there should be one agreed policy on baggage and the like for that ticket. That would really make things easier.

jor el

Naming the agent in any small claims procedure is meaningless, as that's not how small claims works. I'd say you have no case in small claims anyway, as the charge was levied in the US.

You should simply write to Aer Lingus, tell them what happened, and ask them to clarify with customers, and Jetblue, what the baggage restrictions are. They might refund the fee, as a goodwill gesture, since Jetblue told you that your baggage allowance was larger. Arguing it at the check in desk in JFK was never going to get you anywhere.

wmpdd3

grundie wrote: »

Hello all,

A story of caution about Aer Lingus and it's international baggage policy.

My wife is from Syracuse, New York and as such we travel there a few times each year. When Aer Lingus announced its partnership with JetBlue we were rather happy as it meant we could buy one ticket and have our bags checked through from Dublin direct to Syracuse.

There is a problem though as JetBlue and Aer Lingus have differing baggage policies.

We have just returned from Syracuse after a two week stay to have our son christened. We left with one case each, but planned to return with three (extra baby presents). As Aer Lingus' baggage policy seemed to take precedence we planned to pay for an extra bag at Syracuse airport. However, the JetBlue rep at Syrcause was adamant we could check up to four bags if we could get them arranged in such a way that no bag was more than 40lbs each. So we took a spare bag from my wife's fathers car and the JetBlue rep helped us rearrange the contents so that she could check them in.

We advised her to call her superiors for advice as we were certain Aer Lingus would not like this. She did call and advised us that we would be Okay.

At JFK when we were collecting tickets for the Dublin leg, the Aer Lingus rep told us we had to pay $100 for the extra two bags or they would be unloaded. He took the Ryanair approach to customer care by constantly saying "You should have read the terms and conditions" repeatedly. Our argument was that we did, but the JetBlue rep was adamant the rules were different. He then argued that JetBlue was a different airline and that the only connection was that they agreed to pass on passenger luggage between them. He even said that there was no partnership between Aer Lingus and JetBlue, just and 'interline' agreement and that we had purchased different tickets for each airline.

The Aer Lingus agents attitude was awful. My wife was trying to argue our case, she wasn't rude, just exasperated. She was just pointing out inconsistencies in his argument, for example we booked one ticket with one reference number for all legs and that the sign on the check-in desk made reference to a partnership between Aer Lingus and JetBlue. His responce was to threaten to call security on her.

At this point I stepped in and said that we would pay the fees, but that on arrival at Dublin we would immediately lodge a claim with the small claims court and mention him by name in our action. I told him that as far as we were concerned we had booked a ticket with Aer Lingus and that JetBlue were effectively acting on their behalf and that it was up to Aer Lngus and JetBlue to ensure they were both aware of each others baggage policy to prevent issues such as this one from arising. It was at this point he called Aer Lingus HQ and got permission to let out bags go through.

So be aware, if you travel on a Aer Lngus/JetBlue ticket you need to be wary of this.

Does this mean you didn't pay the fees?

TheDriver

live and learn to be honest, one of those points to note for everyone. TO be honest, don't think either side is at fault here, just crossed wires and they need to sort out their rules

mickoneill30

TheDriver wrote: »

live and learn to be honest, one of those points to note for everyone. TO be honest, don't think either side is at fault here, just crossed wires and they need to sort out their rules

Seems like the most sensible post here.
It's great people saying it was JetBlues fault. That would be 0 help when you're half way through a flight. If JetBlue are giving out wrong info it does affect Aer Lingus so they should be made aware of it and revisit / retrain JetBlue about their contract.

ch750536

I always find it amusing the length people go to in proving its not the carriers fault.

Moral of this story is 'it certainly wasn't the clients fault' & as such, in my opinion, they should not have to pay.

Whether Jetbue or Aerlingus pays, personally I don't care.

MunsterCycling

Write to Aer Lingus and ask them to get an explanation from the JFK duty manager what exactly was their employees attitude about?

Regardless, never ever trust a brain dead check-in agent.

eth0_

MunsterCycling wrote: »

Write to Aer Lingus and ask them to get an explanation from the JFK duty manager what exactly was their employees attitude about?

Regardless, never ever trust a brain dead check-in agent.

Aer Lingus are NOT at fault here, JetBlue are. Please re-read the posts!

OP - you have no case wit Aer Lingus. Write to Jet Blue, send a photocopy of your excess baggage charge, and politely request they refund you because their misinformation was the reason you were charged by Aer Lingus.

mickoneill30

eth0_ wrote: »

Aer Lingus are NOT at fault here, JetBlue are. Please re-read the posts!

I think he was talking about the bit where the Aer Lingus rep was threatening to call security. That's not good customer service. If the customer was being abusive then fair enough. If they weren't then that's crap service.

The fact that they eventually got their bags through kind of makes me believe they weren't being abusive. I used to deal with the public too. If I got an abusive customer they got the T&Cs and nothing else. If they weren't twats and I could see their point I had leeway.

jhegarty

eth0_ wrote: »

Aer Lingus are NOT at fault here, JetBlue are. Please re-read the posts!

OP - you have no case wit Aer Lingus. Write to Jet Blue, send a photocopy of your excess baggage charge, and politely request they refund you because their misinformation was the reason you were charged by Aer Lingus.

if Aer Lingus sold the op the ticket , then are Jet Blue not operating as their agent ?

KetchupKid

Cabaal wrote: »

Your problem isn't with Aer Lingus its with Jetblue, Aer Lingus are not responsible for misleading or incorrect information provided by a third party as ultimately its their T&C's you should be going by.

Why do Irish people love to defend Aer Lingus? Do you work for them?
The OP's problem is with Aer Lingus, they are the ones he bought his complete ticket from and JetBlue is partnering with AE, but his contract is with AE, AE and JetBlue should be singing from the same hymn sheet, but they aren't and it's a net gain for AE to charge the OP more money!! I am sick and tired of AE. I've been flying them for years now and I've been lied to and ripped off by them too many times and things are now getting a lot worse and our options to the US are getting smaller and smaller.