We’re flying soon, Delta/KLM Portland,OR to Amsterdam, one hour to transfer to flight to Athens.
We have paid for a class to be able to check bags.
It would be inconvenient to not have our luggage arrive. How dependable is this airline’s baggage transfer? The alternative would be to pack less and carry overhead-bin bags and schlep them (rushing) to the next flight.
Thanks in advance!
If you check a bag don't put prescription medicine in it or anything you can't do without. It is better to carry on going than returning. Otherwise pack light and carry on and plan on doing laundry. From the perspective of one who worked for an airline, it is a fact most lost luggage happens on short connecting flights or when passengers check baggage in late. No one can give a definitive answer about whether or not the flight route you decided to purchase has a dependable baggage transfer. All airlines have a history of losing baggage. Some people just have bad luck as I have been traveling transatlantic for almost 25 years and my bag whenever I checked it has never been lost.
Delta gave us live updates on our luggage status in their app on our international flights last year; but whether it gets successfully transferred one can only guess.
Last April I flew on KLM via Amsterdam to Gdansk, then back to LA from Krakow, again via AMS. Checked bag was awaiting for me in both cases.
If you check a suitcase, pack a small packing cube or Ziploc bag in your carry on tote with a pair of underwear & shirt. Just in case, you will have a change of clothes.
If you are checking more than one bag, split your outfits between the two bags. That way if one bag is lost/delayed, you each still have some clothes. And always pack a change of clothes and all essentials (including medications) in the bag you carry on the plane.
One hour is not a very long time considering you will also need to go through immigration in AMS. I'd be more worried about me making the next flight much less my luggage.
Emily, I think you may have one of the most important responses. I’m going to see if we can find a later second flight.
I've flown the Delta/KLM flight from PDX to Amsterdam many times. Depending on time of year, it's usually on time or even a little early, but as Emily notes you will be at the whim of the Amsterdam airport and security process to get to your next flight and leaves zero wiggle room (for you or your baggage). I personally would not be comfortable with only one hour layover, so it is wise to check for a later flight to Athens. And you can use this tool to check your specific travel day and flights to see how busy the airport is predicted to be so you can make a plan for moving through the airport: https://www.schiphol.nl/en/my-travel-day/today
Jean and travel4fun provided great advice. The bag you bring on the plane should contain enough clothing to get you through a couple days and all the essentials (meds, documents, chargers, etc.). My husband and I always distribute our stuff between two checked suitcases. If one goes astray, then at least we both have some of our things.
Also, I agree with Emily and CL. One hour is rather short for your layover at AMS. I prefer long layovers when I am starting a trip. Even though I might spend time spinning my wheels at the airport, it's easier to meet my goal of getting to my final destination on time. Flying home, I am much less choosey about layover times. There is no rush to get back home, so a missed flight isn't that big of a deal. Plus, trip insurance helps.
Only 1 hour layover? Even with the efficiency of Schiphol Airport expect NOT to see your luggage at your destination especially if Delta is late. I hope you are seated at the front of the aircraft as YOU may not even make the connection if Delta is late.
The baggage transfer depends on Schiphol airport employees — not Delta. Just make sure the ATH tags are on your bag handles before checking them.
I would rethink checking your bag. I would NEVER do that with only a 1 hour layover. Check them on the way home instead.
All of this is anecdotal. None of us can predict whether your bag will be one of the very small percentage of bags that is mishandled.
I’ve never had a bag lost on a short connection. Often airlines will put a brightly colored tag on bags with a short connection. The times that my bags were delayed were all on non-stop flights or long connections. The last time my bag was delayed was more than 20 years ago.
I always check my bag. I also bring a daypack with essentials, a change of clothes, and a couple pairs of socks and underwear. I could easily go 3 to 5 days with the contents of my daypack.
Thank you all again. Considering the rush for us to transfer, I think we may check one bag and carry on some shared essentials.
I worried about this and had a chat with a Delta rep, who was reassuring. There is a flight four hours later that they say they can put us on.
I hope to follow up in a week with a good report.
I will share my account of how this all worked out, which was not well, but at least the baggage situation worked well. It has some lessons at least for me.
My flights had been pretty much booked by a computer on the AAA Travel website. I don't think I'll use them again, even though the reps seemed sympathetic. Our first flight was from Portland, OR to Amsterdam, scheduled to arrive at 7:35 AM. I made repeated attempts to get Delta to change our second flight from 8:30 AM from Amsterdam to a 12:30 PM flight. When booking, I had just failed to pay attention to that narrow window. Delta said they couldn't change it 1) because AAA had booked it, and 2) because it was code-share with KLM. AAA said they couldn't change it because it was in Delta's hands.
So, as you can guess, our first flight landed at 8:40 AM, and as is typical in (AMS) Schiphol (I could offer an alternative for that name....), the second flight was over a mile away from our landing gate, and we had to go through Passport Control. We had booked a resort vacation in Greece for Passover, meeting our daughter and her family. KLM was nice enough to rebook us for a 12:30 PM Air France flight, so we got to the boarding gate, only to find it was that time the next day.
They put us up in a nice hotel, we then flew to Paris, then connecting to go to Athens. That, too, was a rush, but the distance wasn't so great. We arrived quite late that second day.
The baggage did go out & arrive with us. In fact, I tracked the AirTags and knew the bags had been held in Amsterdam until our flight to Paris.
Morals of the story: check the layover times carefully when booking. Don't use AAA Travel.
And on our return through AMS, we again had a marathon even with almost two hour layover. It is my firm intent to never again fly through that horrible airport. I've never seen so many well-dressed people sprinting with their luggage to meet impossible connections.
chkuttner, thank you for that. Next time use GoogleFlights or something similar to find your flight, then book it yourself directly with the airline. That way you stay in control. But i am glad it worked out and its an experience you can talk about for years.
