Excess Baggage

[Jim's_a_Thai_Fox]

Hi all,

I shall be leaving Dubai, where I have been living and working, and coming to Thailand at the end of February.

I shall be coming with 'everything I own', which in my case, isn't very much...about 70kgs packed in three bags. Given the 20kgs airline bag limit and the high rate of excess baggage per kilo charged, I am trying to explore the option of sending two bags (totaling over 40kgs) ahead of me on THAI cargo.

Upon arrival at Bkk, I shall be arriving on a 30 day Visa On Arrival and will not start working in Thailand until May (when i 'll get my Non-imm B + WP).

I have no job now in Dubai and have little choice but to leave at the end of this month as living and not earning is easier to do in LOS than Dubai.

The contents of the 40kgs are made up of clothes, CDs, golf clubs... nothing new and not furniture. I have been trying to find out if I will be charged import duty when I go to pick the package up at Suvernabhumi or even that maybe if I won't be permitted to collect the bags as I'll have just a 30day VOA.

No one in the THAI Dubai office seems to know. I have contacted 'Asian Tigers' (as recommended on here) but unfortunately they remain silent.

Carrying my life's belonging's onto the flight and paying 25,000THB excess would solve these two problems but I would like to know if the cargo option is possible.

Many thanks,

James

Edited February 15, 2009 by Jim's_a_Thai_Fox

[FRM-BKK]

Hi all,

I shall be leaving Dubai, where I have been living and working, and coming to Thailand at the end of February.

I shall be coming with 'everything I own', which in my case, isn't very much...about 70kgs packed in three bags. Given the 20kgs airline bag limit and the high rate of excess baggage per kilo charged, I am trying to explore the option of sending two bags (totaling over 40kgs) ahead of me on THAI cargo.

Upon arrival at Bkk, I shall be arriving on a 30 day Visa On Arrival and will not start working in Thailand until May (when i 'll get my Non-imm B + WP).

I have no job now in Dubai and have little choice but to leave at the end of this month as living and not earning is easier to do in LOS than Dubai.

The contents of the 40kgs are made up of clothes, CDs, golf clubs... nothing new and not furniture. I have been trying to find out if I will be charged import duty when I go to pick the package up at Suvernabhumi or even that maybe if I won't be permitted to collect the bags as I'll have just a 30day VOA.

No one in the THAI Dubai office seems to know. I have contacted 'Asian Tigers' (as recommended on here) but unfortunately they remain silent.

Carrying my life's belonging's onto the flight and paying 25,000THB excess would solve these two problems but I would like to know if the cargo option is possible.

Many thanks,

James

Hi James,

You should first ask THAI in Dubai if they will allow you extra KG's at check in. Sometimes when you fly on a one way ticket they allow extra check-in baggage free of charge.

If that fails, you should enquire about 'unaccompanied Baggage'. The rates for unaccompanied baggage are cheaper then the 'per-kilo' rate for excess baggage.

If you go for 'unaccompanied baggage', get it to the airport some days before you fly and one of two things can happen:

1. Your unaccompanied baggage is on the same flight as you, or

2. It might already be in Bangkok by the time you arrive, making collecting it easier.

Unaccompanied baggage has to be collected in person from a different area of the airport and this is likely to be the Cargo terminal. A release fee is payable and you may have to pay duty on the goods you bring in. It would therefore be advisable to only send clothes etc. by unaccompanied baggage and have things like cd's and other goods - that are likely to attract duty - in your own 'check-in' baggage.

I have just looked on THAI's Cargo web-site and the following link states that a 50% discount on cargo prices is available for passengers wishing to use the unaccompanied baggage service. This same web-page also talks about animal transport, so don't get confused!

Link: http://www.thaicargo.com/promotion.asp

Good luck and let us know the outcome.

Frm-Bkk

[londonthai]

looks like this 50% discount on cargo is only on domestic flights

[nitnoymoy]

I dress in a mc taxi driver type waistcoat at check in, ie plenty of pockets and usualy manage to get an extra 10 kgs onboard, maybe of some help !

[IMA_FARANG]

looks like this 50% discount on cargo is only on domestic flights

I don't know about the 50% discount, but I once used the "unaccompanied baggage" method when going from BKK to the U.S. It is cheaper than the "excess baggage" rate.

In BKK you have to deliver the baggage you want to be "unaccompanied baggage" to the local airline agent or the BKK office in advance.

They make no gaurentee that it will be on the same plane as you take, so it is a good idea to have the "unaccompanied baggage" at the airline office or the agent ready to go on an earlier flight. Then you will have a chance of picking it up when you arrive at your final destination.

Alternatively, if you have someone that can pick it up for you at your destination, you can have another person pick it up for you. That has to be cleared in advance with the airline.

Because "excess baggage" is charged at the rate of 1% of the full fare 1st class rate, it is less expensive to ship "unaccompanied baggage".

Check with the airline you intend to fly with in Dubai, to find out where and how to get it to them.

You can pick it up in BKK after you arrive

[jackr]

Wear three layers of clothes and fill the pockets in each layer. On check-in have a couple of carry-on bags, one of which is full of heavy stuff and kept out of sight. When checking in your luggage prop your knee against each bag when on the scale and lift up slightly.