Change In Checked Baggage Policy

[moe666]

I fly EVA from Lax to BKK great service witha couple hours lay over in Taipai, then on to BKK. Coming back is a problem for me because of the arrival time in LAX, I generally miss my last Southwest flight to Albuquerque and have to spend the night. There is an upside 2 check-in bags free and 2 carrier on bags free as long as they will fit in overhead or under seat. my flight the next day is non-stop.

My flights on EVA are 2 free bags checked in and 2 carry on as well. I refuse to fly any US based carrier other than Southwest in the US unless I absolutely have no other choice.

I am also a very loyal passenger to EVA because of the great service and the way I have been treated over the years has been fantastic. On one trip I changed my departure 3 times in one day and had to be escorted back thru immigration and to baggage claim on the last change. We where boarding the flight when I had to make my last change. The didn't charge me anything for the changes.

[californiabeachboy]

Hmmm...Seems the Vegas leg is the problem. Great prices to LAX, horrible ones to LAS...and you can't use the flexible date search with the LAS option. We travel back with 2 checked bags each, one carry on and one large backpack each. Makes it hard to break up the return trip with all those bags!!!!!!!

Hopefully, we are just about done bringing all our stuff back over here.

When going to Vegas, I booked a return ticket from BKK to LAX (the first time) or to SDFO respectively (the second time) in Thailand, and a domestic ticket from there to LAS on the internet. You can get domestic tickets in the US for US$ 99 if you book well in advance.

Thanks...I have done that before. It's kind of a pain. If you get delayed, you're screwed as your connecting flight was purchased separately and they aren't really responsible for putting you on the next flight for free. I've experienced this several times before and one reason I try to book via one carrier all the way.

True - I almost got burned that way because I booked my own ticket up to San Francisco, with another ticket on Cathay Pacific over to Asia, and my flight to San Francisco was delayed so I almost missed my connection, and CP (sorry Cathay Pacific) would not have given me much sympathy. I am not sure what it would have cost, but it would have been a lot.

[craigt3365]

I just came back to Thailand on the 18th of July from the U.S. on United Airlines. They were announcing to all passemgers their new baggage rules in the check-in area. They are especially strict on long-haul flights (i.e. most flights into Thailand).

The rules are: {...}

These horrible rules apply in the US. Fortunately, travels to/from/within Europe and Asia are not affected.

In the US, they have these "self-service check-in counters". It means that everybody has to struggle with the computer terminals, while there are only two airline staff answering questions and being totally overworked. I stood in line at a real check-in counter (there were about ten of them, but - as I said - only two staff) and wanted to check in. Even being the first in line, I had to wait a long time. Once I was attended to, I told the friendly but overworked ("exploited" I think is the right term) staff that I would like to check in, and she said that Head Office now wants everybody to use the terminals. I said, well then I will have to fly on another airline next time. She understood and checked me in, but I'm not sure Head Office knows about this.

Of course, this disastrous customer service (even though the day was saved by the overworked staff) could only have happened in the CONUS. No such problems anywhere else. In other countries, you are treated as a customer, not as someone who is asking a favour to please please transport me to my destination. Unfortunately, the US does not depend on tourism for their GDP. I love Thailand.

Not exactly true. I started this topic due to the changed baggage policy for flights from/to Asia to the US. Don't know about other destinations. But that's the recent change for UA/CO.

As for Europe...have you flown Ryan Air? Thomas Cook? Easy Jet? IMHO, these are tough airlines to fly. Cheap for sure, but they charge you for everything. Forget to check in online and it's something like 40 Euro to do it at the counter with Ryan Air. Forget your boarding pass and it's 40 Euro to print it at the counter. Why? They are removing check in counters October 1st. Also, they weigh your carry on luggage and measure it. If you are over, it's a big fee. I was 2 years ago. Luckily, had 2 hours before our flight...so broke out our prized wine bottle from France, got a loaf of bread and brie from the deli, sat on the floor with the rest of the passengers and drank our wine! Boarding was mass chaos.

http://gospain.about.com/od/ryanair/f/boarding_card.htm

And they are now going to charge you 2 pounds that goes towards supporting late/cancelled flights:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/8497343/Ryanair-to-earn-1.25bn-from-extra-charges.html

Here's an article on Ryan Air's baggage policy. I couldn't even get to the Ryan Air website...seems same problems like I have with Air Asia?

Travellers can now check-in bags weighing up to 20kg into the hold for a fee of £50 per return flight. Items of luggage weighing up to 15kg will still cost £30 per return flight.

The fees only apply to passengers checking in luggage online. Travellers who check in luggage at the airport must pay £70 per bag, per return flight (up to 15kg), or £90 return for bags weighing up to 20kg. A £20 per kilo excess baggage fee remains in place.

The airline still plans to increase its charges for checked baggage by up to a third during the peak travel months of July and August.

“Ryanair continues to encourage passengers to travel light by leaving checked-in bags at home and taking advantage of our free 10kg carry-on allowance,” said a spokesperson for the no-frills airline.

Of course we can be happy we don't fly with the Indian airlines. Try dealing with their customer service sometime!

[tombkk]

Thanks...I have done that before. It's kind of a pain. If you get delayed, you're screwed as your connecting flight was purchased separately and they aren't really responsible for putting you on the next flight for free. I've experienced this several times before and one reason I try to book via one carrier all the way.

True - I almost got burned that way because I booked my own ticket up to San Francisco, with another ticket on Cathay Pacific over to Asia, and my flight to San Francisco was delayed so I almost missed my connection, and CP (sorry Cathay Pacific) would not have given me much sympathy. I am not sure what it would have cost, but it would have been a lot.

Cathay Pacific is CX. <snip>

Yes, it is correct that you need to allow a longer transit time between flights if you are airlines that do not belong tothe same network. If they are on the same network (for example I fly TG to Europe and connect by LH on another ticket / I flew from LAS to LAX on UA and connected to TG on another ticket), you can check your bag through to final destination. Luckily, I have not experienced what happens when the incoming flight is delayed but I don't think they will wait.

Edited July 23, 2011 by craigt3365
Snide remark removed

[sbk]

I've tried checking in on the kiosks and always get pointed in the direction of an agent anyway because I do not have a return ticket to Thailand they need to see my visa.

As for carry on restrictions, well I've always felt a tad annoyed by those people who insist on carrying on the kitchen sink and then those of us who do follow the rules get screwed but to charge people for checking their carry on because they weren't fortunate enough to board earlier than people with too much luggage seems very unfair.

[craigt3365]

My friends just flew back to the US with all their bags loaded. Here's an email I got from them today:

We were over weight on all our luggage and I knew we would be. We got to the airport early and checked in without a line and that helped alot. We paid $32.00 in overage. The young lady checking us in gave us a big break. I told her we were moving home. She saw our carry on luggage and she said we would have to weight it since the limit was 17 kilos and it was 31 kilos and she said we would have to try to put some of it in our regular luggage and so I got on the scale area and move things from the carry on to the main luggage and I got the job done. Our regular luggage was really heavy by then and she didn't rewiegh it and she let us go on and she was so nice I told her superviser how helpful she was and what a great airline Chnie Airways was. Later when we went to check in at the gate the same lady took our tickets and upgraded us to Business class and it was unbelievable service.

I've never had my carry-on weighed...and looks like they were quite lenient with the checked also.

Guess it pays to be nice???? Biz class would be good!!!!!

[marinediscoking]

I am glad i saw this topic started. I booked my ticket online with united.com on july 14th. and would never had known the change of policy until it was too late. I am upset with united about this because I had called the customer service number and spoke with a representative about checking 2 bags and was told i could and then I booked the ticket. I sent an email to them about this 7 days ago but no response yet.

I don't think the other asian airlines will change their 2 bag policy because their customers would be very upset. When they changed from 35 kilos to 23 a few years ago they got a lot of complaints. All asian's visiting relatives in the usa take loads of gifts both ways, as is their culture.

[sbk]

Well, dont hold your breath waiting for a response, as it will be slow coming, I JUST got an email response today

Your correspondence dated July 14 has just arrived at my desk; I

apologize for the delay in our response.

In order to keep our ticket prices low (and competitive), an increase to

our second checked bag fees for international went into effect on July

15. The new fees apply to tickets purchased on or after July 15 for

travel on or after August 15.

Our goal is to give you flexibility and choice in your travel

experience, while always offering you lowest possible fares. Your

feedback is very important to us and will be shared with our baggage

policy manager. Your comments will help us evaluate future decisions

that impact your experience.

Thank you for your past support of United Airlines. We would consider

it an honor to welcome you onboard another United flight.

[marinediscoking]

While checking in yesterday at Suvarnabhum the united ticket agent confirmed the new bag policy goes into effect Aug. 15

[craigt3365]

Second checked bag is $70!! For me, that adds $140 to the total cost.

Again, based on principles alone, I would have bought my ticket with Delta if I had known this...or any other airline that still allows 2 checked bags for free. Voting with my wallet.

Wow! Just got an email from CO apologizing for replying late to my email on this, and then followed up with another email giving us both $200 vouchers for future travel....That's $400!!!!!

I guess it PAYS to complain?????

:D :D

[sbk]

give me the email, I never got anything....