**Excess Baggage In Depth Information**

[HW John]

Excess Baggage and Other bits.
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Folks ive decided to put this information together, as recently a lot of users have had the same posts about it.
I'll explain the whole procedure so travellers have a bit more of an insight to the workings of it.

For those that dont know, I spent a few years on the ground working on check-in for major airlines such as Jet2, ThomsonFly, First Choice, Mytravel, Ryanair, Etihad, Emirates and FlyBE to name a few. I thought id pass the information on, as many travellers are stung at the airport.
Obviously i cant tell you everything about an airlines policy as the information may be a little out of date since then or i am still bound by the contractual terms and conditions about confidentiality which i signed that still binds me even though i have left that handling agent.

I must tell you home weighing scales are not to be relied on and are just an estimate. Its the airport's that count and these are tested monthly by the governing bodies to ensure reliability. If a belt does not go back to 0 when it is clear, it should not be used.

Why are excess baggage charges there?
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Well you probably know the answer already. Its a major money earner for airlines all over the world, most varying in price from �4 per kg to a whopping �160 per kg. Airlines tell their staff nowadays to charge for every kilo over. Pretty crap really and to tell you the truth..we sometimes dont always do it. I often used to add the extra few kilos onto the hand baggage allowance instead of the checked in allowance to make up for it. Its no big deal as the weight is all accounted for and the majority of the time the agents just estimate a weight anyway to enter into the system which then helps the dispatcher calculate the weight of the plane when it will be ready to go and the right fuel can go on and so forth.
Some agents are told to tell you that the charges are there as the plane will need to take on more fuel. This is not always entirely correct . Aircraft carry more than they need to anyway incase of a divert or any other need so basically its covered. It is very very rare they take on extra fuel just to pay for your few kilos unless it is needed. On smaller aircraft if the aircraft is overweight then its a different story and cases may have to come off. When i was at leeds a family tried squeezing everything into 1 case which weighed 31kgs.
As it left my belt and went onto the main one behind, it burst open and i ended up chasing knickers, nappies and some rather embarassing adult toys down the conveyor at 3.30am.
You may think why is an obese person not charged more for their weight and you are for your case. Well, i wont touch that subject but airlines cannot do that as its discrimination and they would be hung, drawn and quartered in court. Ryanair tried, then failed very quickly.

Ways to get around excess baggage charges.
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Well theres not a lot sadly, infact i can only really think of 1 way unless you are airline staff or in the armed forces but not making a fuss about it counts. Obviously if its quite a lot then theres not a lot you can do except pay, but the odd couple really doesnt matter too much. Just be pleasant and polite and always ask first if you can take a few bits out and put them in your hand luggage providing you are not carrying much and there is sufficient room. 99% of the time this will be ok providing you have plenty of time. It is at the agents discretion though so please remember that. Agents do understand your point of view, but they have to do a job thats set down by the airline. Agents dont make the rules, they just have to enforce them for the airline. I used to let families with babies or toddlers on an infant ticket off quite a bit as i know myself as a father how difficult it is to cram everything into 1 case. In that situation i put the extra kilos on the checked in allowance onto all the hand baggage. I always did think it was pretty unfair how most airlines dont give a portion of weight to the infant. After all, they still pay �30+ in most cases.

How it all works.
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Lets create a hypothetical family and airline. The Smith family are flying with Holiday airlines and have 20kgs checked in luggage allowance and 5kgs hand luggage each. Theres 3 of them. Ill give you instances where it would be ok without charge and then for them to be charged.


A) Case 1 goes on, 19kgs, case 2 is 23kgs case 3 is 16kgs. Total is 58kgs out of the possible 60. They can pool that allowance so they are still under.

B) Case 2 goes on at 19kgs, case 2 is 21kgs and case 3 is 23kgs. Total is 63kgs out of the 60 and charges would apply. Unless of course the 3kgs went in someones handluggage if that wasnt overweight. A kilo in weight is about a pair of jeans.


The only airline i know of that doesnt let you pool your allowance together is Ryanair. If one case is 14kg and the other 16kg, you will be charged the extra kilo without fail. Be warned.

It does say on airlines terms and conditions regarding baggage that the hand luggage allowance CANNOT be used against the checked in allowance. So if you have 2kgs hand luggage or none for that fact but have 23kgs hold luggage, this doesnt count as they are seperate.

A large majority of airlines tell agents that all hand luggage must be weighed and this is true. 10Kgs is the maximum for hand luggage as if it falls out of the rack and hits a child on the head, it could cause serious injury and possible death. I never wanted that on my conscience. If its over 10k, it has to be checked in. Thats why for charter airlines the upper limit on hand luggage is 5kgs.

How did charges for bags start?
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It started a few years ago as airlines tried to find a way to get more money. The airline who started it was Ryanair.
They wanted faster turn around times as a plane only earns its keep when its flying. They brought in the charge to try put people off checking in bags thus reducing the time spent on the ground. Other airlines soon followed suit with FlyBE closely following Ryanair by removing the paid for baggage and telling customers that those who dont want to check in bags need no longer pay a portion for the equipment hire to load the bags people want to check in. It soon spread through the low cost airlines like a bush fire. So this was given as optional. Hand baggage only passengers dont have to pay the extra while those who want to pay for it must cough up a premium price for it. The majority of the money goes into the airlines bank account though.
Pretty cunning really. Charter airlines still let you take it included in the price, whereas the low cost airlines will sting you for it. If you know you are going to check in bags, its always cheaper to pre pay for them online at the time of booking as the price at the airport is doubled. Common sense really, but some dont actually know this.


Pre Paid Extra Luggage and Seating.
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Airlines now are offering an extra 5 kilos for like �25. In theory it works, in practice sometimes it doesnt. If you are only a couple of kilos over each way, then you've paid extra for pretty much nothing. I will never pay for extra baggage as they generally charge you the airport excess baggage fee for it even at booking, plus im rarely overweight anyway. If im over a couple of kilos ill slam it in my hand luggage and avoid the fee. People do pay for it but i think its rather silly in some cases as the majority of the people are bang on their weight or a tiny bit over..nowhere near the 5kgs. But the airline has your money already!

ThomsonFly used to charge you �10 for a window seat. Extortion in the finest form as all but a few of their aircraft are in the seating configuration 3-3. Meaning if there was 3 of you travelling, you'd be guaranteed a window seat anyway and people would still pay the extra �10. This was soon dropped though.
Another thing is they charge 'Sit together' fee. A ludicrous amount for something that 99.9% of the time will happen anyway.
In all the flights me and my family have done (6 of us travelling), we have never been split up and always had either the adjacent row or the row infront/behind to them. Its another way of making money and sadly, people fall for it. The best way to guarantee it is to get to check in early.
Some airlines the check in agent seats you, and with some its already done by the HQ. Sitting together can also be classed as 2 aisle seats, however if there is 2 of you travelling, agents will not give you a window seat and aisle seat so the middle is vacant. This is because it needs to be done in a certain way to seat people together. Of course you can ask if the flight is full, if not is it possible to leave a spare seat although this is never guaranteed.


End of the line
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That just about sums it all up in a nutshell, if i remember any more info ill post it but if you have any questions feel free to ask away and ill do my best to answer them. Also anything that seems unclear to you, go ahead and ask! Some things i may not be able to answer but most i should.

Hope you've got a better insight to things now from the other side, all the best and good luck in your travels.

John

[kazl]

very informative

[HW John]

Glad you found it interesting.. 3 days of thought was put into that, plus over 2hrs typing, editing, condensing and changing the technical language so everyone could read it :p

[HW Jan.C]

Thanks for the time and effort that went into that post. I am sure lots of people will find it helpfull and interseting , it does explain things very clearly.
Jan

[HW iaintwoeyes]

Cheers John.

Very topical as there is a huge amount of confusion surrounding baggage at the moment.

[jackieblack]

Really, really helpful. Thank you.

[JohnnyB]

EasyJet - �7.50 extra suitcase.. so long as it doesn't weigh anything!!

My girlfriend has been stung for up to �62 at Gatwick flying with EasyJet to Budapest for this over 20kg rule so on this occassion I paid �7.50 extra for an additional (3rd) suitcase for the 2 of us. I was somewhat surprised this meant nothing, our limit was still 20kg each.. that wasn't obvious when I paid online!

We were 3kg over so I asked I was refunded the �7.50 or credited against the excess baggage charge there and then. The check-in girl said she couldn't do it but I should ask for a refund form at the desk when I pay the charge. The girl at the desk said she couldn't refund but the check-in girl might!! So I went back to check-in girl and she reduced the excess weight to give me an effective refund of �6.50 which I settled for.

Just bothers me airlines are so 'efficient' at taking your money (and its all paid up-front too) but so beauracratic when you want your own money back from them. The travel business really are disingenuos.. this industry needs to respect its customers or be forced to do so through legislation if they haven't got the scruples!

[naominom]

i am travelling with ryannair next month and with what you have said, does that mean i am allowed 15kg check in baggage, and 10kg hand luggage? i dont understand it all to be honest but i dont fancy being stung for excess baggage when coming home because you do tend to but duty frees when you are abroad.

[HW John]

You will only be able to have your 15kgs checked in luggage allowance if you pay for it, which i think is �5 or �7 a bag online each way. It can be paid for at the airport but the price doubles.

Just remember though, with ryanair you cant pool your allowance, so your hubby/boyfriend/whoever cant have 17kgs and you have 13kgs as he will be charged the extra 2kgs without fail.

[taraweeh]

Thanks John, such great info....really didn't consider so many factors....will try and wear two pairs of jeans next time my cases are over....