Expert: Roberto Gomes - 1/30/2012

Question
I'm booking a trip from Charlotte(CLT) to Sydney(SYD) and have most of my miles with USAirways.  I'm looking at a flight on USAirways to either LAX or SFO then connecting to a United flight to SYD. I'm trying to reduce connections by not flying all United.

I wanted a recommendation on the best site to book with so I can get early seat assignments on both flights (if possible).  When I look at both airline sites it looks like you can select seats for that carrier but not the other even though both flights are booked. I'm not sure if this is possible on other sites like Expedia.

I also wanted to verify the baggage will transfer at my connection point since they are both Star Alliance members.  It looks that way but I could be wrong.

If I had to choose I would book on the United site so I can at least pick seats for the long haul flight.

Any recommendations would be appreciated.

Answer
Dear Dan
If I understood your question, you are looking for a seat using your miles.
In this case, you will need to enter directly on airline webpage, since the correspondent booking code is only available there.

If this is not the case you can shop around in sites just like Expedia. A research within airlines websites are also recommended. Some fares does not give you the right to pre-assign seats, in another words, the cheaper the fare the lesser the chance you`ll have to make a seat assignment.

In the airlines mentioned on your itinerary it is possible to check the bag all the way to the final destination, if your ticket is conjugated, i.e., one ticket with the two legs. Some airlines tag bags to final destination if the customer show a proof that the second leg is confirmed. Other don`t since they understand that is two separated contracts and in case of loss they will be liable for prorating any costs.

Hope this clarify your question.
Best Regards,
R.Gomes