Getting Weight Luggage Back - Best Choices

[JackFrost]

I am heading back to OZ in few weeks and have about 20kg extra baggage.

I was told 2nd hand that one should send on the same flight but as cargo rather than excess baggage - has anyone done this and what does it cost per Kg?

Here is what I used to know (few years old now)

excess baggage is 280 baht ($10 aud) per kilogram

Curent postage by air is 7400 baht, by sea - 1 month 3300, 2 months 1800 baht

help appreciated

Jack

[fisherd3]

I am heading back to OZ in few weeks and have about 20kg extra baggage.

I was told 2nd hand that one should send on the same flight but as cargo rather than excess baggage - has anyone done this and what does it cost per Kg?

Here is what I used to know (few years old now)

excess baggage is 280 baht ($10 aud) per kilogram

Curent postage by air is 7400 baht, by sea - 1 month 3300, 2 months 1800 baht

help appreciated

Jack

If you join Gulf Air's frequent flyer club on the internet for free you get 10kg extra baggage free.

When I checked in at Londons Heathrow they made me take some luggage out of my suitcase and put it in my hand luggage that was already taking the p**s. They didn't even weigh the hand luggage

before or after. This was to get my suitcase under the baggage handling rules weight.

I would imagine Bangkok check would be slacker than Heathrow.

So I would pack a 30kgs suitcase, take 10kgs of hand luggage to check in and somehow have another 10kgs that I would pick up after check in and take on the plane, they do not screen carry on baggage til you get through passport control.

That is if your baggage is fairly compact as well as heavy and if Gulf Air go to where you are going.

[Pink Mist]

I am heading back to OZ in few weeks and have about 20kg extra baggage.

I was told 2nd hand that one should send on the same flight but as cargo rather than excess baggage - has anyone done this and what does it cost per Kg?

Here is what I used to know (few years old now)

excess baggage is 280 baht ($10 aud) per kilogram

Curent postage by air is 7400 baht, by sea - 1 month 3300, 2 months 1800 baht

help appreciated

Jack

unnacompianied baggage is the term, i would just try and load it on and look innocent, depends on the carrier of course, qantas , probably no hope but the rest you may get awy with it.

just remember if you have to do a domestic flight to BKK then you will be 30kg to much.

[Jockstar]

Normal allowances for Qantas were 32kg the last time i flew with them

[Pink Mist]

so that means he has 52 kg's jock

[grazer]

so that means he has 52 kg's jock

I have the same question about the best way to get excess baggage back. I paid about $A350 to Thai Airways a couple of years ago because I didn't plan ahead. My advice is not to just put it on the scale and look innocent, they seem to be red hot these days, even if it isn't Qantas.

I saw that you can redeem 15,000 frequent flyer points with Thai Air and get an extra 10kgs, but if there is a way to do it without touching the points I'd like to hear it.

[guardian]

How many baggages do you have, Jack? And what is the total weight of all your baggages? And if you do have a hand carry bag, what's the weight excluding this bag?

Assuming you have 40kgs, (most of the tickets say the weight allowance is 20kgs, but the airlines allow upto 30 kgs) So, if it is 40kgs and you are able to fit 10 kgs into your baggages you will be checking in, no problem. But, if you cannot, don't despair. If you have someone accompanying you to the airport to send you off, just hand over the baggage you would be hand carrying to them and proceed to check-in the other baggages. Ask them to wait somewhere else where the staffs at the check-in counter cannot see them. Like the others mentined earlier, act innocently as if you don't know the weight and just put your baggages over the weighing scale and immediately look at the staff and smile. DON'T ever look at the display showing the weight. Hand over your ticket/passport and give them your best smile. If they are a little over 30kgs, and depend on the staff's mood, they may let you go without paying excess. If they mention that you have excess weight, tell them that you don't have any hand-carry baggages and that they should take that into consideration. Most of the time it works. But, even if this does not convince them, tell them that there is nothing in your luggage worth paying the excess amount and tell them that you would like to remove and carry something on board and ask for a plastic bag, which most of the time they have and will give you. Then, simply take a few small-sized heavy-weight items out (about 1-2 kgs) and put it back on the scale. Most of the time it works.

Guardian

[Gary A]

When I made the permanent move the last time I weighed my bags on a bathroom scale. When I was checking in I was told I was six pounds overweight with my checked luggage. That was before the security changed and you could still open your bags at the check in desk. I had to take enough out of my check in bags to make the weight and put the extra in my carry on bag. I told the lady that that I thought it was really stupid because my carry on was going on the flight too. She said, "SORRY, that's the rules".

[The Skipper]

........................., don't despair. If you have someone accompanying you to the airport to send you off, just hand over the baggage you would be hand carrying to them and proceed to check-in the other baggages. Ask them to wait somewhere else where the staffs at the check-in counter cannot see them. Like the others mentined earlier, act innocently as if you don't know the weight and just put your baggages over the weighing scale and immediately look at the staff and smile. DON'T ever look at the display showing the weight. Hand over your ticket/passport and give them your best smile. If they are a little over 30kgs, and depend on the staff's mood, they may let you go without paying excess. If they mention that you have excess weight, tell them that you don't have any hand-carry baggages and that they should take that into consideration. Most of the time it works. But, even if this does not convince them, tell them that there is nothing in your luggage worth paying the excess amount and tell them that you would like to remove and carry something on board and ask for a plastic bag, which most of the time they have and will give you. Then, simply take a few small-sized heavy-weight items out (about 1-2 kgs) and put it back on the scale. Most of the time it works.

Guardian

Oh, I hope I never get behind you at check in time.

[thohts]

check out http://www.qantas.com.au/freight/dyn/produ...ompaniedBaggage

Excess baggage will be charged at about AUD $24 per kg

There's also an excess baggage service operating out of Australia at http://www.worldbaggage.com.au

[wilko]

I am heading back to OZ in few weeks and have about 20kg extra baggage.

I was told 2nd hand that one should send on the same flight but as cargo rather than excess baggage - has anyone done this and what does it cost per Kg?

Here is what I used to know (few years old now)

excess baggage is 280 baht ($10 aud) per kilogram

Curent postage by air is 7400 baht, by sea - 1 month 3300, 2 months 1800 baht

help appreciated

Jack

I used to send mine to Brisbane as "unaccompanied luggage" - they then choose which flight to send it on and it follows on about 3 or 4 days after....you pick it up from the airport.

I can't remember how much but it was considerably less thwan excess baggage. I had to reorganise all my stuff at Heathrow at the check-in...I'd tried to get it all on my flight.

So I'd suggest you pack everything in cases that can be sent diferent ways before check-in, and then pull out the ones that put you over weight and send them unaccompanied....if you still can.....

[Soju]

I usually travel very light, just a carry-on as usually my trips are very brief. Sometimes I get asked by others to check in together so they can group their overwieght luggage together with my non-existent luggage and end up being within the limits. They usually offer to pay me something, buy me dinner, or whatever in exchange for avoiding the excess baggage charge. I once had a guy with almost 100kgs of luggage piggyback with me at check in and he ended up not paying a single baht because both of us were elite frequent flyers which came with excess baggage allowances. Get there early and seek out people with only a carry-on. Often it's business travellers, and probably some of them won't want to be bothered with the hassle, but chances are you can probably find someone willing if you're persistent. Although it's more difficult to do if you're flying out of BKK on Thai where people to all sorts of destinations are checking in at the same time. If you're pretending to check-in together, likely you'll be given boarding passes sitting next to each other on the plane so keep in mind discusss in advance what seats you're going to ask if you don't already have pre-assigned seats and be sure you won't inconvenience the passenger you're piggybacking on.

Another trick I've heard, but don't know if it really works or not, is to put your lighter bags on the conveyor first, and leave your heaviest bag for last and let it drape slightly over the front/side frame if there is any and the theory goes that some of the weight is transferred onto the frame and isn't weighed. If you're going to try that trick might first want to check if it does indeed work and if it works well at the check-in counters at BKK or not.

[eddy-ham]

The airlines are tightening up all around due to highter oil prices.The competition is so high that they don't want to add cost to the basic ticket price so they get the extras on excess baggage.

Check to see if you are allowed a free golf bag (11kg) then use that for your excess.

These guys who carry on 30kg kill me, I am on the design side of aircraft and we are hammered if we design over weight yet at the check in you see all the scams of people trying to around the system, friends holding bags ect.The overhead lockers are overloaded with weight ,its a aeroplane for ch***t sake not a wardrobe.

The best thing I see is that you can have no excess hand luggage, sharp knives ect but you walk through duty free and can buy 3kg of high quality achohol in a nice sharpe glass made bottle and sit on the plane no problem.

So all I can say pay for it ,the lighter you travel the cheaper it is for all of us.

[eddy-ham]

I usually travel very light, just a carry-on as usually my trips are very brief. Sometimes I get asked by others to check in together so they can group their overwieght luggage together with my non-existent luggage and end up being within the limits. They usually offer to pay me something, buy me dinner, or whatever in exchange for avoiding the excess baggage charge. I once had a guy with almost 100kgs of luggage piggyback with me at check in and he ended up not paying a single baht because both of us were elite frequent flyers which came with excess baggage allowances. Get there early and seek out people with only a carry-on. Often it's business travellers, and probably some of them won't want to be bothered with the hassle, but chances are you can probably find someone willing if you're persistent. Although it's more difficult to do if you're flying out of BKK on Thai where people to all sorts of destinations are checking in at the same time. If you're pretending to check-in together, likely you'll be given boarding passes sitting next to each other on the plane so keep in mind discusss in advance what seats you're going to ask if you don't already have pre-assigned seats and be sure you won't inconvenience the passenger you're piggybacking on.

I don't belive you do this with all the problems from9/11 you deserve and will get thrown inside if you are caught..

[Soju]

I don't belive you do this with all the problems from9/11 you deserve and will get thrown inside if you are caught..

I'm guessing you're thinking of being asked by someone to carry their excess baggage. I haven't been asked to do that and would refuse if asked. What I'm talking about is checking in together and the person with all the baggage gets all the tags and they are all in his name. None of the baggage is checked in under my name. If for some reason he doesn't board the plane, the computer has it as his baggage and I assume they'll offload it. For carry-on, I carry mine and he carries his. Security wise, nothing different than if he checked all the luggage in himself and paid the excess baggage charge.

[ZZZ]

I have used unaccompanied luggage before and as earlier posters said it's a lot cheaper. The problem is you normally need to get the luggage to the airport a day before the flight and may not be able to pick it up until a day after the flight.

Another way of doing it is to stuff a golfbag with about 15kg of your stuff. Sports goods like golfbags will usually travel free on top of the 20kg allowance.