Should I have been charged extra for my checked luggage?

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By Christopher Elliott

Deborah Bouchette researches the luggage rules for an upcoming flight, but is surprised by a 200 Euro fee to check her bag, anyway. Her airline says she should get a refund – so why isn’t she?

Question

I traveled to Europe on a codeshare flight between Delta Air Lines and KLM. Before I left the United States, I carefully checked the size and weight restrictions for my two bags on both the Delta and KLM websites, because I’m an artist and I needed to take rolls of paper with me. I made sure my bags complied.

The trip from Portland, Ore., to Copenhagen, Denmark went off without a hitch; I paid $50 to check a second bag. However, on the flight from Toulouse, France, to Portland, Ore., I had to pay 200 Euros for the second bag. When the gate agent saw my second bag, she declared it “too long,” she never measured it. Although the flight was on KLM, the airport staff worked for Air France. There was no KLM or Delta presence that I could find in that airport.

When I landed in Portland, I immediately sought a Delta agent and had the bag measured. That agent put a note in the file that the bag in question was within their size limits.

I called Delta’s customer service line the next day, but instead of issuing the promised refund, that agent told me to write a letter to their office. Since then, I’ve been bounced between Delta, KLM and Air France about my refund, ending with a denial from Air France. Can you help? — Deborah Bouchette, Hillsboro, Ore.

Answer

You shouldn’t have been charged 200 Euro for your checked bag. That may have been the Air France policy, but you were flying on KLM, and as you say, its rules were different. This is common with codesharing flights.

It’s too bad you didn’t take this trip before the new federal regulations went into effect that say the baggage rules of the first carrier apply to your entire flight. Then this would have been a slam-dunk in your favor. A quick, polite email sent to the Transportation Department would have generated a speedy refund from Delta. (Related: Who’s really to blame for these absurd luggage rules?)

But you were trapped in a codesharing nightmare from which there seemed to be no escape. For those of you just joining us, codesharing is the questionable practice of one airline selling seats on another airline’s flight. In your case, you bought a ticket on Delta. The flight was operated by KLM and the airport staff in Toulouse worked for Air France, another Delta codeshare partner. (To make things even more complicated, Air France and KLM are owned by the same company, but operate as separate airlines.)

Codeshare and baggage rules

You did the best you could to make sure you complied with the luggage rules. The difference between Air France’s policy and KLM’s tripped you up. When you contacted Delta, which sold you the ticket, for help, it punted to KLM, which in turn passed the buck to Air France. (Here’s how to get a refund on a nonrefundable airline ticket.)

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Confused yet?

I hope the new federal baggage rules will help, but I can’t be certain. Why does an Air France ticket agent in Toulouse care about how the American DOT will handle a luggage complaint for a codeshare partner? If you said “probably not much at all” then you must know the airline industry. (Related: Codeshare confusion: Whose baggage policy applies to my flight?)

I contacted Delta, which, unsurprisingly, referred the matter to Air France. After some more back-and-forth, the airline agreed to refund the 200 Euro it erroneously charged you when you left France.

Are rules for checked luggage too confusing?

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Christopher Elliott

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that empowers consumers to solve their problems and helps those who can't. He's the author of numerous books on consumer advocacy and writes three nationally syndicated columns. He also publishes the Elliott Report, a news site for consumers, and Elliott Confidential, a critically acclaimed newsletter about customer service. If you have a consumer problem you can't solve, contact him directly through his advocacy website. You can also follow him on X, Facebook, and LinkedIn, or sign up for his daily newsletter. He is based in Panamá City.

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