Baggage rules when flying with several airlines | Finnair Iceland
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Baggage allowance when flying with several airlines

Does your upcoming booking include flights with more than one airline? On these so-called interline journeys, your checked baggage allowance depends on which airline is the Most Significant Carrier.

Here's how to determine how much baggage you can take on a trip with several airlines:

  1. Identify the Most Significant Carrier for your journey. It depends on the route you are flying.
  2. Check and follow the baggage policy of the airline that is the Most Significant Carrier on your journey.
  3. Note that the Most Significant Carrier may change each time you collect your baggage at the airport, and it can be different, for example, on each bound of a round-trip journey.

Your ticket should always have the correct allowance marked on it. If you are unsure, you can check with the airline whose flight numbers are shown on your ticket (for example flight numbers starting with AY for Finnair, such as AY1331) or at the airport.

What is the Most Significant Carrier (MSC)?

The Most Significant Carrier is the airline whose baggage policy will be applied based on the specific rules defined by IATA (the International Air Transport Association).  

The checked baggage policy of the Most Significant Carrier applies until you reach the destination where your baggage has been checked in. That is where you pick up your bags at the airport, and it has been marked in your bag tag.

If you are planning to take extra baggage on top of your allowance or special baggage, please see the information further down on this page.

World map indicating the IATA area borders between 1. Americas, 2. Europe and Africa, and 3. Asia and Oceania

IATA areas defining the Most Significant Carrier (MSC)

The Most Significant Carrier is defined based on geographical areas determined by IATA (the International Air Transport Association).

IATA has divided the globe into three areas:

  • Area 1: North America, South America, Central America and Hawaii.
  • Area 2: Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
  • Area 3: Asia, Guam and Oceania.

Identify your Most Significant Carrier*

You fly across different IATA areas

If your journey goes across different IATA areas, the airline on which you first cross the border between the IATA areas is the Most Significant Carrier, and the baggage policy of that airline applies until you reach the destination where you collect your baggage.

You fly across continents within one IATA area

If your journey crosses different continents within the same IATA area, the airline on which you first cross the continent border is the Most Significant Carrier, and the baggage policy of that airline applies until you reach the destination where you collect your baggage.

You fly across international borders only

If your journey does not cross any continent or IATA area borders, the airline on the first international flight is the Most Significant Carrier, and the baggage policy of that airline applies until you reach the destination where you collect your baggage.

* Please note that not all airlines follow these regulations and may use their own baggage policies instead. Therefore, we recommend you be prepared to follow the policy of the most restrictive airline on your journey to avoid unpleasant surprises.

Exception: travelling to or from the United States or Canada

If you are travelling to or from the United States or Canada, the baggage policy of the first marketing airline (the airline whose flight numbers are shown on the ticket) applies to the whole journey regardless of the stops where you collect your baggage. This airline is called the Most Significant Marketing Carrier.

However, the airline listed as the first carrier on the ticket can transfer the baggage rule to another airline, whose policy will then apply to the entire journey. Therefore, we cannot guarantee that the Finnair baggage policy will be applied in every case even if your ticket has the Finnair AY flight numbers.

You can always check the baggage allowance from your flight ticket.

 

Examples of flights with several airlines

Flight segmentIATA areaMarketing airlineOperating airline
Berlin–HelsinkiWithin a continent on area 2FinnairFinnair
Helsinki–Hong KongCrosses IATA border from area 2 to area 3FinnairFinnair
Hong Kong–SydneyCrosses continent border within area 3FinnairCathay Pacific

In this example, the flight from Helsinki to Hong Kong crosses the IATA area border and the marketing airline for that flight is Finnair.

Therefore, Finnair is considered the Most Significant Carrier and Finnair’s baggage rules define the baggage allowance in the ticket. 

Flight segmentIATA areaMarketing airlineOperating airline
Helsinki–DohaCrosses continent border within area 2FinnairFinnair
Doha–Cape TownCrosses continent border within area 2FinnairQatar Airways
Over 24-hour stop
Cape Town–FrankfurtCrosses continent border within area 2LufthansaLufthansa
Frankfurt–HelsinkiWithin a continent on area 2LufthansaFinnair

In this example, on the way from Helsinki to Cape Town, the flight from Helsinki to Doha is the first to cross the continent border and the marketing airline for that flight is Finnair. Therefore, Finnair is considered the Most Significant Carrier until Cape Town, where there is an over 24-hour stop and where you collect the baggage.

On the return journey, the flight from Cape Town to Frankfurt is the first to cross the continent border and it's marketed by Lufthansa. Therefore, Lufthansa is considered the Most Significant Carrier and Lufthansa’s baggage allowance will apply on the journey back from Cape Town to Helsinki. 

Flight segmentIATA areaMarketing airlineOperating airline
London–HelsinkiWithin a continent on area 2British AirwaysBritish Airways
Helsinki–AthensWithin a continent on area 2British AirwaysFinnair

In this example, the whole journey is within the same IATA area and continent.

The flight from London to Helsinki is the first to cross the international border and the marketing airline for that flight is British Airways. Therefore, British Airways is considered the Most Significant Carrier, and their baggage rules define the baggage allowance in the ticket. 

Flight segmentIATA areaMarketing airlineOperating airline
Dubai–HelsinkiCrosses continent border within area 2FinnairFinnair
Helsinki–LondonWithin a continent on area 2FinnairBritish Airways
Over 24-hour stopover
London–New YorkCrosses IATA border from area 2 to area 1American AirlinesAmerican Airlines

As the journey goes to the United Statesin this example, the general rule does not apply. Instead, the first airline on the ticket defines the baggage rules. Therefore, Finnair’s baggage rules will be applied to the whole journey even when there is a stopover.  

Please note that the rule only affects checked baggage. Carry-on baggage allowance is always determined by the operating airline, which means you should check and follow the carry-on baggage policies for each airline on your trip.  

Extra baggage, special baggage and carry-on baggage on interline trips

The Most Significant Carrier rule only defines the allowance for regular checked baggage included in the ticket. It does not affect the carry-on baggage allowance, which is always determined by the operating airline.

If you’re planning to take more baggage than what is included in the ticket, the extra baggage fees are collected by the first airline that checks in your baggage. If that airline follows IATA’s Most Significant Carrier policy, the fees of the MSC will be applied. But, if they do not honour the IATA policy, they will apply their own policy and fees instead. In case Finnair is the Most Significant Carrier, check the baggage fees collected at the airport.

For special baggage, such as most sports equipment or larger musical instruments, the rules and additional charges of the operating airline usually apply.

In most cases, you need to pay the extra baggage or special baggage fees for interline trips at the airport; it cannot be done in advance.

We recommend checking both the operating and marketing airline’s policies and being prepared to pay either of their fees to avoid surprises at the airport. 

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