Who Knows About Baggage? Why Me?

[actiondell4]

Well i left Bangkok Airport last month ready for my return trip back to Australia,and i was proud i now had 3 suitcases to take back to Sydney with me.

I had bought cheap deoderants,soaps,toothpaste,flyspray,and cans of tuna and heaps of coffee.

Everything that i could get cheaper in Thailand i brought back with me.

There i was lining up to check in to return to Sydney with a big smile onmy face thinking i had saved a hel_l of a lot of money and wouldnt have to buy anymore toothpaste,deoderants etc until my return trip next year.

As soon as i got to the THAI AIRWAYS counter he weighed my 3 bags and said 48kg !

I think he said i was 18kg over?

Well....................you know what happened next?

He said its 775 baht per bloody kilo over the 30kg !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well what a waste of money it was on the SAVINGS i made on all the stuff.

Does anyone know of a airline or how i can get more baggage than just my standard suitcase on a flight.?

Any airlines allow more kilos per customer?

[Cobalt60]

Fly a few million miles more with Thai and get a Gold card. They let you off with more weight then.

[think_too_mut]

Did you pay 18kg x 775 baht?

It's almost 430A$.

[onzestan]

You can write, so I imagine that you can read also.

Read your ticket.

onzestan

[Aussietraveller]

Whatever Airline you fly, be a member of their Frequent Flyer program.

With Thai i believe that you have to fly 10,000 miles to qualify for the basic level, which does not entitle you to any extra luggage allowance.

If you fly with Qantas, you can get an extra 10KG of you are a frequent flyer.

The easy answer is to buy your tuna and toothpaste in Australia

[qualtrough]

Whatever Airline you fly, be a member of their Frequent Flyer program.

With Thai i believe that you have to fly 10,000 miles to qualify for the basic level, which does not entitle you to any extra luggage allowance.

If you fly with Qantas, you can get an extra 10KG of you are a frequent flyer.

The easy answer is to buy your tuna and toothpaste in Australia

The baggage allowances to Europe and OZ are a rip-off. Fly Asia to the USA or Canada and you are allowed 2 32 kg. bags in economy class.

[endure]

The US has always had the 'piece concept' baggage allowance while Europe uses the 'weight concept'.

[think_too_mut]

Whatever Airline you fly, be a member of their Frequent Flyer program.

With Thai i believe that you have to fly 10,000 miles to qualify for the basic level, which does not entitle you to any extra luggage allowance.

If you fly with Qantas, you can get an extra 10KG of you are a frequent flyer.

The easy answer is to buy your tuna and toothpaste in Australia

The baggage allowances to Europe and OZ are a rip-off. Fly Asia to the USA or Canada and you are allowed 2 32 kg. bags in economy class.

But the OP has flown within Asia Pacific. Not to America.

It's not only TG, any airline could do that. I can't imagine any airline allowing 48Kg of baggage in economy class.

[IMA_FARANG]

Well i left Bangkok Airport last month ready for my return trip back to Australia,and i was proud i now had 3 suitcases to take back to Sydney with me.

I had bought cheap deoderants,soaps,toothpaste,flyspray,and cans of tuna and heaps of coffee.

Everything that i could get cheaper in Thailand i brought back with me.

There i was lining up to check in to return to Sydney with a big smile onmy face thinking i had saved a hel_l of a lot of money and wouldnt have to buy anymore toothpaste,deoderants etc until my return trip next year.

As soon as i got to the THAI AIRWAYS counter he weighed my 3 bags and said 48kg !

I think he said i was 18kg over?

Well....................you know what happened next?

He said its 775 baht per bloody kilo over the 30kg !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well what a waste of money it was on the SAVINGS i made on all the stuff.

Does anyone know of a airline or how i can get more baggage than just my standard suitcase on a flight.?

Any airlines allow more kilos per customer?

1. Why don't they allow mor luggage per customer? Econonmics....each kilo of luggage takes fuel to fly. The more luggage you have the more it costs the airline. The less profit they get from your ticket hauling your bags around.

2. If he let you get 30 Kg free, I think he gave you a break. Unless I am wrong it is 20 kg for economy class tickets. If that is right (and I could be wrong) he gave you a 10 kg break by charging the overwieght from 30 kg not 20 kg.

3. There is a method called "unaccompied baggage" in which you can get your baggage on a plane, quite possibly the flight you are on (but no gaurentee), by paying for it a a rate that is much less than the "overwieght accompanied baggage" you have to pay if you are overwieght. Different airlines have different policies on how you can do this. Best idea is, if you know you are going to have a lot of baggage, try for this "unaccompied baggage" rate with the airline and arrange it before you travel with them. Talk to them about it at the airline office in town, before you go to the airport. Carry only what you need, and send the rest of your luggage unaccompied baggage. You may need to pick it up on your arrival in your arrival airport. Of course, you have to pay a fee, but it is usually much less than the overwieght baggage fee you pay (which can be 1% of a first-class ticket for overwieght baggage.) I've done it before, but it was quite a few years ago.

[qualtrough]

Whatever Airline you fly, be a member of their Frequent Flyer program.

With Thai i believe that you have to fly 10,000 miles to qualify for the basic level, which does not entitle you to any extra luggage allowance.

If you fly with Qantas, you can get an extra 10KG of you are a frequent flyer.

The easy answer is to buy your tuna and toothpaste in Australia

The baggage allowances to Europe and OZ are a rip-off. Fly Asia to the USA or Canada and you are allowed 2 32 kg. bags in economy class.

But the OP has flown within Asia Pacific. Not to America.

It's not only TG, any airline could do that. I can't imagine any airline allowing 48Kg of baggage in economy class.

I just mentioned that to show that the baggage allowance for Europe/Oz is pretty bad compared to Asia to US/Canada. Total baggage allowance per person on those flights for economy class is 64 kg, not 48 kg. Here is the info straight from the SQ site:

Checked Baggage - (Piece Concept)

*allowance per person

Class To/from Canada and USA

Economy Two pieces, of baggage are allowed. The total dimension (length + width + height) of both pieces must not exceed 273 cm (107 in) and the outside linear dimensions of each bag must not exceed 158 cm (62 in.) The weight of each piece is limited to 32 kg. Infants are entitled to one piece. In addition a fully collapsible stroller or carry cot may be checked in without charge. Krisflyer Elite Gold members are entitled to 1 extra piece of checkin baggage in any class of travel. PPS Club members are entitled 100% more free baggage allowance in any class of travel. In other words, they are entitled to 4 pieces of checkin bags under the piece concept.

Edited October 13, 2007 by qualtrough

[enyaw]

Well i left Bangkok Airport last month ready for my return trip back to Australia,and i was proud i now had 3 suitcases to take back to Sydney with me.

I had bought cheap deoderants,soaps,toothpaste,flyspray,and cans of tuna and heaps of coffee.

Everything that i could get cheaper in Thailand i brought back with me.

There i was lining up to check in to return to Sydney with a big smile onmy face thinking i had saved a hel_l of a lot of money and wouldnt have to buy anymore toothpaste,deoderants etc until my return trip next year.

As soon as i got to the THAI AIRWAYS counter he weighed my 3 bags and said 48kg !

I think he said i was 18kg over?

Well....................you know what happened next?

He said its 775 baht per bloody kilo over the 30kg !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well what a waste of money it was on the SAVINGS i made on all the stuff.

Does anyone know of a airline or how i can get more baggage than just my standard suitcase on a flight.?

Any airlines allow more kilos per customer?

1. Why don't they allow mor luggage per customer? Econonmics....each kilo of luggage takes fuel to fly. The more luggage you have the more it costs the airline. The less profit they get from your ticket hauling your bags around.

2. If he let you get 30 Kg free, I think he gave you a break. Unless I am wrong it is 20 kg for economy class tickets. If that is right (and I could be wrong) he gave you a 10 kg break by charging the overwieght from 30 kg not 20 kg.

Some airlines allow more, Ethiad for example have always given 30k baggage allowance in economy.

[nidge]

Whatever Airline you fly, be a member of their Frequent Flyer program.

With Thai i believe that you have to fly 10,000 miles to qualify for the basic level, which does not entitle you to any extra luggage allowance.

If you fly with Qantas, you can get an extra 10KG of you are a frequent flyer.

The easy answer is to buy your tuna and toothpaste in Australia

The baggage allowances to Europe and OZ are a rip-off. Fly Asia to the USA or Canada and you are allowed 2 32 kg. bags in economy class.

But the OP has flown within Asia Pacific. Not to America.

It's not only TG, any airline could do that. I can't imagine any airline allowing 48Kg of baggage in economy class.

I just mentioned that to show that the baggage allowance for Europe/Oz is pretty bad compared to Asia to US/Canada. Total baggage allowance per person on those flights for economy class is 64 kg, not 48 kg. Here is the info straight from the SQ site:

Checked Baggage - (Piece Concept)

*allowance per person

Class To/from Canada and USA

Economy Two pieces, of baggage are allowed. The total dimension (length + width + height) of both pieces must not exceed 273 cm (107 in) and the outside linear dimensions of each bag must not exceed 158 cm (62 in.) The weight of each piece is limited to 32 kg. Infants are entitled to one piece. In addition a fully collapsible stroller or carry cot may be checked in without charge. Krisflyer Elite Gold members are entitled to 1 extra piece of checkin baggage in any class of travel. PPS Club members are entitled 100% more free baggage allowance in any class of travel. In other words, they are entitled to 4 pieces of checkin bags under the piece concept.

This statement is very misleading. When i first moved to Thailand from the uk i was given the same information from British Airways. So i arrived at Gatwick Airport with my wife and 3 bags @ 32 kg each and my mountain bike + tools in a travel case. The lady at check in informed me that the weight allowance was 20kg each and the maximum weight for 1 bag was 32 kg, (2 people - 1 bag 32 kg other bag max 8 kg). So in total i was over weight by about 80kg athough i thought i was under the limit. Thankfully the plane was nearly empty and we were allowed to take the lot with no excess.

[chiang mai]

Well i left Bangkok Airport last month ready for my return trip back to Australia,and i was proud i now had 3 suitcases to take back to Sydney with me.

I had bought cheap deoderants,soaps,toothpaste,flyspray,and cans of tuna and heaps of coffee.

Everything that i could get cheaper in Thailand i brought back with me.

There i was lining up to check in to return to Sydney with a big smile onmy face thinking i had saved a hel_l of a lot of money and wouldnt have to buy anymore toothpaste,deoderants etc until my return trip next year.

As soon as i got to the THAI AIRWAYS counter he weighed my 3 bags and said 48kg !

I think he said i was 18kg over?

Well....................you know what happened next?

He said its 775 baht per bloody kilo over the 30kg !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well what a waste of money it was on the SAVINGS i made on all the stuff.

Does anyone know of a airline or how i can get more baggage than just my standard suitcase on a flight.?

Any airlines allow more kilos per customer?

First time flyer are we? I mean really, those regulation have been in effect since I first started flying in 1969.

[think_too_mut]

Whatever Airline you fly, be a member of their Frequent Flyer program.

With Thai i believe that you have to fly 10,000 miles to qualify for the basic level, which does not entitle you to any extra luggage allowance.

If you fly with Qantas, you can get an extra 10KG of you are a frequent flyer.

The easy answer is to buy your tuna and toothpaste in Australia

The baggage allowances to Europe and OZ are a rip-off. Fly Asia to the USA or Canada and you are allowed 2 32 kg. bags in economy class.

But the OP has flown within Asia Pacific. Not to America.

It's not only TG, any airline could do that. I can't imagine any airline allowing 48Kg of baggage in economy class.

I just mentioned that to show that the baggage allowance for Europe/Oz is pretty bad compared to Asia to US/Canada. Total baggage allowance per person on those flights for economy class is 64 kg, not 48 kg. Here is the info straight from the SQ site:

Checked Baggage - (Piece Concept)

*allowance per person

Class To/from Canada and USA

USA and Canada, the rules have been like that since 1953.

[onzestan]

Some airlines allow more, Ethiad for example have always given 30k baggage allowance in economy.

Only if you buy your ticket in the UK, for return flights originating from the UK.

cheers

onzestan

[Thanyaburi Mac]

Whatever Airline you fly, be a member of their Frequent Flyer program.

With Thai i believe that you have to fly 10,000 miles to qualify for the basic level, which does not entitle you to any extra luggage allowance.

If you fly with Qantas, you can get an extra 10KG of you are a frequent flyer.

The easy answer is to buy your tuna and toothpaste in Australia

The baggage allowances to Europe and OZ are a rip-off. Fly Asia to the USA or Canada and you are allowed 2 32 kg. bags in economy class.

But the OP has flown within Asia Pacific. Not to America.

It's not only TG, any airline could do that. I can't imagine any airline allowing 48Kg of baggage in economy class.

I just mentioned that to show that the baggage allowance for Europe/Oz is pretty bad compared to Asia to US/Canada. Total baggage allowance per person on those flights for economy class is 64 kg, not 48 kg. Here is the info straight from the SQ site:

Checked Baggage - (Piece Concept)

*allowance per person

Class To/from Canada and USA

USA and Canada, the rules have been like that since 1953.

FYI, Northwest, United, and Delta have gone the 20 kg route for a couple of years now, including TRANS PACIFIC, unless you're in/out of Hong Kong or Manila.  Fie on them, the U.S. carriers, that is.

EVA, China, and the others "foreign" carriers still allow 32 kg, good on them!!

Mac

an American

[cdnvic]

If you have a lot of baggage you are sometimes better off with a charter airline, as they are less likely to carry freight and generally have more generous baggage allowances, at least in my experience. But in the case of the OP, they were clearly over and should have been more careful. The fees Thai charged though are pretty extreme.

[qualtrough]

FYI, Northwest, United, and Delta have gone the 20 kg route for a couple of years now, including TRANS PACIFIC, unless you're in/out of Hong Kong or Manila. Fie on them, the U.S. carriers, that is.

EVA, China, and the others "foreign" carriers still allow 32 kg, good on them!!

Mac

an American

I stopped flying NWA a long time ago because of the horrific service, increasing restrictions on their frequent flyer program, etc. & etc. . I almost bought a NWA ticket not long ago when I could not get a CX flight I wanted, and am really glad that I didn't because I would have been really PO'd to find out the hard way that they have changed the baggage allowance. Thanks for pointing that out. I have never understood why anyone would fly them transpacific?

[onethailand]

I stopped flying NWA a long time ago because of the horrific service, increasing restrictions on their frequent flyer program, etc. & etc. . I almost bought a NWA ticket not long ago when I could not get a CX flight I wanted, and am really glad that I didn't because I would have been really PO'd to find out the hard way that they have changed the baggage allowance. Thanks for pointing that out. I have never understood why anyone would fly them transpacific?

Because I'm Platinum?

10 years ago NWA was truely NorthWorst - but since then I have had zero problems with them except in situations which were usually my own fault (like getting to the airport too late). On the other hand, since I travel carry-on 98% of the time, the baggage allowance would not have bothered me.

According to the website, however, economy can check up to 2 pcs of 23kg each... and WBC 2 pces of 32kg each plus 1 pc of 18 kg.

World Business Class:

Each of the first two checked piece cannot exceed a maximum weight of 70 lbs (32 kgs) and a maximum total linear dimension (length + width + height) of 62 inches (158 cm). The third checked piece of baggage with a maximum outside linear dimension of 45 inches (115 cm) per piece and a maximum weight of 40lb (18kg) is allowed.

Economy Class:

Each checked piece cannot exceed a maximum weight of 50 lbs* (23 kgs) and a maximum total linear dimension (length + width + height) of 62 inches (158 cm). Checked Economy Class luggage that is within the free allowance of 2 bags not exceeding total linear dimensions of 62 inches (158 cm) each but weigh over 51lb (24kg) up to and including 70lb (32kg) will be subject to an overweight fee of USD50.00 / CAD 50.

http://nwa.com/asia/en/travel/tips/index.html#luggage

Their FF changes sucked - requiring M or higher booking class in order to get an upgrade, but still it wasn't bad compared to most other airlines which require 80K for an upgrade at similar prices. But I believe WorldPerks is still one of the best FF programs for international travelers.

Sadly this year my travel routes have changed - so that I will lose Platinum for sure next year... I wonder if it's going to get much worse then...

[intumult]

Always have 30kilo allowance with Etihad. They not fly to Oz?

I know it says 20 kilo on site but a phone call and they say 30 kilo.

Just a thought.

edit

OOPs! Just saw the reply abt UK for Etihad. Sorry. Put it down to World Cup Fever

Edited October 13, 2007 by intumult

[britmaveric]

Need check with airlines and make sure you know the baggage limits. Not the airlines fault.

[ClaytonSeymour]

If you have a lot of baggage you are sometimes better off with a charter airline, as they are less likely to carry freight and generally have more generous baggage allowances, at least in my experience. But in the case of the OP, they were clearly over and should have been more careful. The fees Thai charged though are pretty extreme.

I guess you've never travelled with a UK charter airline then.

[ClaytonSeymour]

Well i left Bangkok Airport last month ready for my return trip back to Australia,and i was proud i now had 3 suitcases to take back to Sydney with me.

I had bought cheap deoderants,soaps,toothpaste,flyspray,and cans of tuna and heaps of coffee.

Everything that i could get cheaper in Thailand i brought back with me.

There i was lining up to check in to return to Sydney with a big smile onmy face thinking i had saved a hel_l of a lot of money and wouldnt have to buy anymore toothpaste,deoderants etc until my return trip next year.

As soon as i got to the THAI AIRWAYS counter he weighed my 3 bags and said 48kg !

I think he said i was 18kg over?

Well....................you know what happened next?

He said its 775 baht per bloody kilo over the 30kg !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well what a waste of money it was on the SAVINGS i made on all the stuff.

Does anyone know of a airline or how i can get more baggage than just my standard suitcase on a flight.?

Any airlines allow more kilos per customer?

Gulf Air 23kgs (LHR>BKK) + extra 10kg just for holding frequent flyer membership. Only good thing about them.

[chiang mai]

And in case any Brits haven't spotted it already: British Airways cut over from a weight based system to a per piece system in September on long haul flights. First piece is free up to a certain maximum weight (unsure what it is) but the second piece of checked "hold" luggage is in the order of £135 per piece.

[britmaveric]

And in case any Brits haven't spotted it already: British Airways cut over from a weight based system to a per piece system in September on long haul flights. First piece is free up to a certain maximum weight (unsure what it is) but the second piece of checked "hold" luggage is in the order of £135 per piece.

Who flies BA anyways???

[Thanyaburi Mac]

FYI, Northwest, United, and Delta have gone the 20 kg route for a couple of years now, including TRANS PACIFIC, unless you're in/out of Hong Kong or Manila. Fie on them, the U.S. carriers, that is.

EVA, China, and the others "foreign" carriers still allow 32 kg, good on them!!

Mac

an American

I stopped flying NWA a long time ago because of the horrific service, increasing restrictions on their frequent flyer program, etc. & etc. . I almost bought a NWA ticket not long ago when I could not get a CX flight I wanted, and am really glad that I didn't because I would have been really PO'd to find out the hard way that they have changed the baggage allowance. Thanks for pointing that out. I have never understood why anyone would fly them transpacific?

I'll probably change for next trip to the U.S. but have liked NWA, and Delta earlier on, because they go directly into PDX, my first stop for a week or three prior to heading to the DCA for a week or so to visit my son.

A couple times I've used EVA into SEA but problem there is getting back and forth to PDX, EXPENSIVE via Horizon, like $220 per pax last time I did it some years ago.  Now try to talk my sister into driving up to pick us up.  For the return, rent a car with drop off at SEA for $70 or so, not too bad.

Mac

[chiang mai]

And in case any Brits haven't spotted it already: British Airways cut over from a weight based system to a per piece system in September on long haul flights. First piece is free up to a certain maximum weight (unsure what it is) but the second piece of checked "hold" luggage is in the order of £135 per piece.

Who flies BA anyways???

A fair point, not me that's for sure!

[ajarnmark]

Well, here are some tips for how to carry overweight baggage with you (no success guaranteed, however it works in 90% cases).

1. Arrive well before time, i.e. try to be the first passenger, as they leave more allowance for the early birds (I noticed in almost every case)

2. Pack you baggage in at least three packages, i.e. valuable, non-valuable and cabin luggage. You are allowed (in Asia) 20Kg per person and 7Kg for cabin luggage, but usually they let you 20-30Kg and 7-10KG for checked in and cabin luggage respectively. So you can fairly take 27-40Kg in all. When you have one piece of non-valuables (like mama etc.) you can get rid of them in case if they dont allow.

3. Accompany a friend with you, if possible, so that person will take your excess baggage home.

4. Be humble and request the lady on the counter. I have seen being polite n humble you can get the things done.

These are my tips, anyone to add some more.

At one occasion I could manage to bring about 54 Kg in all, i.e. 34Kg in checked in luggage and 20 Kg in cabin, 2 pieces each, i.e. 4 pieces in all. But that happens once in a while. Its not that I am smart or handsome, it was probably just a chance and a mix of many factors, such as luck, polite check in staff etc.

[ClaytonSeymour]

And in case any Brits haven't spotted it already: British Airways cut over from a weight based system to a per piece system in September on long haul flights. First piece is free up to a certain maximum weight (unsure what it is) but the second piece of checked "hold" luggage is in the order of £135 per piece.

If you read between the lines BA's allowance in World Traveller (Economy) Class is actually worse now as the one piece allowance is 23kg i.e. before you could take 23kg spread into two suitcases.

The North & Central America, The Carribean, Brazil & Nigeria are different.

Here's the link anyway:

http://www.britishairways.com/travel/bagch...ic/en_gb#europe

It is open to misinterpretation as it states that they'll continue to accept individual bags up to 32kg whilst the individual bag limit is 23kg. I suspect some people will think this means they can take 32kg's in one bag in economy & you can understand why. I'm tempted to e-mail them for clarification.

[nidge]

Gulf Air 23kgs (LHR>BKK) + extra 10kg just for holding frequent flyer membership. Only good thing about them.

Not the only thing. Their business class lounge is fantastic. Once you get silver status on the frequent flyer you get free access when flying economy. Only 2 1/2 flights from uk to thailand to get that.