Singapore-Iberia Frankfurt Connection

[Snackdaddy]

Greetings,

 

Does anyone have any positive or negative experiences connecting in Frankfurt from Singapore (Terminal 1) to Iberia (Terminal 2)?

 

Here's our story:

We purchased our JFK/FRA tickets online from Singapore and our FRA/BCN tickets online from Expedia. Since we purchased 'separate' tickets we were concerned about claiming our bags, clearing customs and checking-in with Iberia in time. In total, we have approx. two hours, however we have to be checked-in with Iberia one hour prior to departure.

 

The Frankfurt Airport customer service representative (who by the way, repsonded to our email inquiry in less than 4 hours) told us that we would probably have to claim our luggage, clear customs, make our way to Terminal 2 and then check-in at the Iberia counter. They said to allocate 30-45 minutes for this process.

 

When we sent an email to Singapore's customer service, they called my home that night and then followed up with an email informing us that Singapore shared an "interline baggage agreement" with Iberia and we would should ask the Singapore ground agent at JFK to check our baggage through to Barcelona.

 

When we tried to confirm with Iberia whether they had the "interline baggage agreement" with Singapore, we found that Iberia's customer service left much to be desired and we never received an answer to our question. We don't want to get to BCN and find out that our bags were never checked through to Barcelona.

 

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

[Globaliser]

I'm afraid that you are probably not going to know the answer to this for sure until you arrive at JFK for your outbound flight.

 

An interline baggage agreement technically only applies to baggage that's checked for a journey written on a single ticket, and airlines have no obligation to through-check your bags if you're bought two separate tickets, even if they have an interline agreement. (I would have thought it almost certain that SQ and IB do in fact have an agreement, but this in itself doesn't mean much.)

 

When you arrive at JFK, ask the check-in agent to through-check your bags to BCN. If they are through-checked, your baggage receipts will show both flights and a final destination of BCN. In that case, when you get to Frankfurt, all you need to do is to follow the signed connections route without having to pick up your bags. Although you'd need to clear immigration at FRA as well as re-clearing security, I imagine that there will be some transfer route that avoids you having to exit to the landside (public) part of the airport, picking up your onward boarding pass at a transfer desk somewhere - but FRA experts will know more about this.

 

If SQ will not through-check your bags to BCN, you will know this because your baggage receipts will only show one flight and a final destination of FRA. In that event, you will need to do the full monty: Clear immigration, collect bags, clear customs, transfer landside to the other terminal via the shuttle train and then check-in with IB. My impression is that two hours will be cutting it a little fine, although still feasible. Your backups are that IB check-in probably won't actually close at -60 minutes because the business class check-in deadline is likely to be -45 minutes (according to their website) so you have another 15 minutes of cushion there; and that there should be one more IB flight to BCN later in the day, although you will be relying on the airline's discretion whether they would carry you, and whether and how much they might charge you extra.

 

If you want to try to get a more definitive answer about whether SQ would through-check your bag all the way to BCN, you might try posting your question on this forum, which is specific to SQ.

[Snackdaddy]

Globaliser,

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to provide me with such a comprehensive answer. I will follow-up with Flyer Talk. Thanks again.

[Snackdaddy]

I just wanted to give you an update.

 

I checked with Singapore and Iberia's customer service and they both assured me that they share a 'baggage interline agreement' and we would be able to check our bags through to BCN from JFK. In fact, Singapore would tag our bags "Priority Transfer." Finally, I actually spoke to a very pleasant Iberia customer service representative. Thanks again for your help. I'll check-in after our trip to let you know how we made out.