Delays and no Baggage Agreements
This couple traveled to Goroka from Dallas Texas in April 2010. When they purchased their tickets, they never realized that V-Australia did not have baggage agreements with Air Niugini or American Airlines. Here’s their story:
The American Airlines airplane departed Dallas very late and that put the Los Angeles connection very tight. Once arriving in LAX on American, we had to go to baggage claim and claim our bags.
Once our luggage was in hand at LAX, we had to go outside the terminal and travel outside on the sidewalk a fair distance to the V-Australia luggage check-in counter. After about 10 minutes of walking we came to the Tom Bradley International Terminal. NOTE: That is not the correct one! We had to keep on going for another 10 minutes or so to TERMINAL 3. As we approached Terminal 3 we saw inside the building that the one V Australia Desk was at the far left of all the check in counters. We were just walking in the glass door of the building when we saw the last two attendants walking away from the counter. They didn’t seem too happy to have to unlock and turn the equipment back on so that we could check our two pieces.
Now, about the LAX to Brisbane portion…Once we got to the V-Australia gate, they were announcing that there was a delay in boarding because of issues with the aircraft. So there was about a four-hour delay in our departure from LAX to Brisbane. By now were concerned for the luggage claim and recheck we faced once we arrived in Brisbane.
Once the airplane landed in Brisbane, there was no time left to claim the luggage and be able to board the Air Niugini (Qantas Flight Number) aircraft.
I am not recommending this as a standard procedure, but I simply told the attendant, “sorry that you have no luggage and baggage agreement with any of the airlines, but I am late for my Air Niugini flight and somehow V-Australia and Air Niugini will have to agree to work together this time.” If we had claimed our baggage and rechecked it in at the Air Niugini counter there in Brisbane, the flight to Port Moresby would have been long gone.
We headed straight for the “Transit Passenger” line & security on the right side of the long hall. We cleared security, went upstairs and went immediately to the “TRANSIT Passenger” Desk at Gate 80. We advised them that we had arrived on V Australia and that we were trying to catch our flight to Port Moresby and asked them if they could call Qantas and V Australia and ask them to work together to transfer our luggage to our Qantas Flight. They made the call and we made the flight. Since we were requesting our boarding passes from Brisbane to Port Moresby we also asked for our boarding passes from Port Moresby to Goroka. They may or may not normally give people a Goroka boarding pass, but since they did, that was key for us to make it on our afternoon GOROKA flight as well.
Once we got to Port Moresby and got our luggage for clearing customs in Port Moresby, we saw that they had POM tags on them and that the Brisbane Claim Tags were rolled up and taped as records that reflect our claim tickets.
V-Australia Advice
This story is from a family of four who have been missionaries in PNG for many years. This last time they returned by way of V-Australia (VAU) and then Air Nuigini (ANG) the same day to Goroka, in July 2010. They were the cheapest tickets, and considering all the headaches, they said they would use them again in the future.
HOWEVER, they learned a few things along the way…Here’s their advice:
1) Australian VISA
BECAUSE we were not booked all the way through on one itinerary (we purchased separate tickets online through V-Aus and ANG), you will need an Aus Visa even though you are not leaving the airport! It seemed madness to us because we had proof of “departing from Aus tickets” in hand. This is a weakness of V-Aus, because they do not partner or work with ANG. We actually arrived in LAX and were told by VAus we needed Aus Visas before we could board the plane! I complained a bit that all their online info did not even hint that someone arriving V-Aus and leaving on a different airline the same day would need an Australian Visa…Their manager assisted us with the Visas before we boarded, but it could have been bad if they did not grant them for some reason. I think if all of our passports were not American, we could have been bumped off the flight due to the Visa situation. I definitely would ask about the Visas.
2) Collecting Bags, Going Through Customs, Checking in, Overweight Charges
BECAUSE we were not booked all the way through on one itinerary we were required to collect our bags, go through customs/immigration, then recheck in with ANG/Qantas. V-Aus would not or could not check our bags through to Port Moresby, because they did not work with ANG and our separate purchases for tickets meant two itineraries. Add 2+ hours of standing in lines to your layover! Again this seemed ridiculous to us seeing we never left the airport, but that is what they required. I talked to several officials in the airport including V-Aus, Qantas, and the info desk people about transferring our bags and our status as “transfer” passengers and they all said we were not transfer passengers because we have 2 separate itineraries, we had to get our bags, go through customs, and recheck in for our departing flight. The typical time to collect bags and go through Customs/Immigration with your Australian Visa is 2 hours but can easily be more. A hectic time, but I’m looking at it like, “Hey, it’s what you have to do to save some bucks, it’s okay, because we saved over $2,000 dollars on our tickets.” That’s like paying yourself $1,000 an hour to stand in a line with 2000 frazzled strangers, you can be calm and endure it thinking of the money you are saving.
Checking into a combined ANG/Qantas flight meant we were NEW passengers, not ongoing/continuing ones because we had 2 itineraries. So all international luggage allowances ended, and you do have to submit to ANG/Qantas requirements. I tried talking to them about my ongoing status as a passenger and showed them my V-Aus ticket stubs and itinerary, it did not matter. ANG/Qantas had their own requirements and limits, and we had to pay overweight charges in the neighborhood of 400 Aus Dollars. (We each had 2 checked bags under 50 pounds each, but the ANG/Qantas allowances of 20kg (44lbs) per person are about half that.) They were apologetic and understanding but still made us pay, though at a reduced rate. Still, paying 400 Aus dollars for overweight charges was ok because 1) we had to, and 2) it was still cheaper than other bookings we explored.
WE THOUGHT we were good, yet when we went to board the flight we had to weigh our cabin carry-ons, which with each carrying a computer (I also had a projector), we were overweight and were forced to go back to check-in and check another bag or two OR to get rid of stuff. Qantas is known for being tight about the weight allowances, and all these difficulties stemmed from having 2 itineraries, a way I think other airlines are trying to punish V-Aus and their passengers for taking away their business. I kind of felt this through all my dealings with he Qantas ground staff, they were cordial and nice, but underneath it all seemed to be an attitude “If you just fly with us you can avoid these problems…” I did not let it bother me, I was still saving money! Having gone back to check-in and now running late, they gave me a nice lecture, graciously did not make us pay overweight for the additional 4 bags we checked. Their cabin allowance was 1 bag (7kg/15lb) each person, so with 4 computers our other small carry-ons had to be checked. They can charge you additional money for these bags! They did not, because of our earlier payment, but if flying like this again I would either 1) be prepared to pay for overweight, 2) pack so we had only one cabin bag within the weight allowances of 7kg/15lbs, or 3) fly business class where the allowances are doubled (yeah right, not as a missionary!)
Basically, it has its headaches, but is workable especially if you know in advance what is coming and can be prepared. We had almost 4 hrs of layover in Brisbane and were on our feet almost the whole time, it was tight! We were able after checking in and entering the departing lounge to get a quick bite to eat (30 minutes).
traveling to png 