7kg Carry-On Restriction? Ryanair, Easy jet, Wiz Air allow 10!

[fnk]

We went around eastern Europe 3 years ago and flew several times on budget Airlines. I felt pretty proud of myself for adopting the "one bag" philosophy and allowing us to run in and out of airplanes whitout having to wait for the suitcases to "show up" since all our belongings stayed with us, thanks to an extremely effective packing strategy.

We got RedOx sky train bags, rubbers clotheslines, inflatable hangers, synthetic clothes, learnt bundle packing, all that good stuff. It worked well.

I was thinking of repeating the experience in Thailand/Asia but the standard carry-on allowance let me wonder if that's even possible... 7kg not 10kg like in Europe, and I remember surfing the weight limit then. That's 6.6 pounds less. That's a lot.

Some airlines such as air Asia do allow for a purse / laptop to be counted as a separate free allowance. I don't remember this to be possible on Europe budget Airlines. That would be for me the key to make things work.

-What is your experience with carry on luggage? Is the 7kg limit enforced? Nok Air is not mentioning anything about laptop/purses. Do they allow them in addition to a carry on (which could be a way to shed a few kgs...)

What about the other Airlines?

Your input would be greatly appreciated!

Me

[jpinx]

Read the airline website very very carefully and expect a grumpy airline staff to check you for everything.

Wear all the clothes you can, you can take your top layers off once on board. Not sure why you need "inflatable hangars"? You need an ultra-simple and ultra-lightweight rucksack, and a couple of heavy-duty supermarket-style plastic bags for the "laptop" item. The routine I had was to pack the rucksack and put what I reckoned to get away with as a laptop into one plastic bag, then put everything I reckoned I could wear while checking in into another plastic bag. Head for the airport, pause to dress just out of sight of check-in, checkin and expect the diligent staff to weigh your hand-luggage! Go through at the last possible minute because you'll be sweating a bit now, security, passport control, and onto the aircraft and strip off! I invested in a little hand-held weighing device, but you still have to allow for the fact that the checkin scales are often wrong. double check your hand luggage at an unmanned checkin desk where the scales are still switched on.

After a few trips, you'll get to know what you're doing. I didn't need the scales after a few trips.

Oh - - and beware the staff at the boarding gate - - stay fully dressed till you're at your seat.... Good luck... I hope I'm not sitting beside you!! haha!!

Edited February 7, 2016 by jpinx

[tolsti]

Now I know why backpackers smell.... They don't include soap as it weighs so much.

[fnk]

haha if you saw us, you wouldn't think were backpackers! I don't consider my self a backpackers either... And BTW, we use woolite soap ;-)

Thanks for the information.

If I understand correctly.

1- Yes, they will check weight and size

2- Try to find a way to make your carry-on lighter, even if it does involve a little sweating.

I still don't know if Nok Air allow for a purse / laptop bag in addition to the carry-on... any thoughts on this?

Thanks!

[kkerry]

The switch from 10kg down to 7kg is a nuisance. Plenty of small carry-on cases weigh 2.5-3kg when empty, which doesn't leave much room for anything else. Jetstar used to be 10kg so it was sometimes a deciding factor for me when choosing between Jetstar and Air Asia if the fares and timings were fairly close, plus you can pay at 7/11 for AA, saving on Jetstar's excessive credit card fees (I know there are some ways to avoid them). For a short trip 10kg is okay meaning you don't have to pay for a 20kg baggage allowance you don't need.

[jpinx]

haha if you saw us, you wouldn't think were backpackers! I don't consider my self a backpackers either... And BTW, we use woolite soap ;-)

Thanks for the information.

If I understand correctly.

1- Yes, they will check weight and size

2- Try to find a way to make your carry-on lighter, even if it does involve a little sweating.

I still don't know if Nok Air allow for a purse / laptop bag in addition to the carry-on... any thoughts on this?

Thanks!

You're right, it's not only backpackers who travel with only hand luggage ! Lots of people who have 2 or more places to live will travel very light, such as oil-workers on home-rotations or businessmen working across the globe. The reason for not having checked bags was, for me, not the cost, but the convenience of not having to check anything in and not having to wait for it at the other end - also less for the customs etc to rummage through if they decide you're "it" for that shift.

Check NokAir website most carefully - sometimes the limits are hidden deep in the Terms and Conditions.

One other thing - when travelling longhaul with only a rucksack you can expect to be "pulled over" by any of the immigration/customs/security people who spot what you're doing. There's an "orange flag" on you - if you get my drift.

Edited February 7, 2016 by jpinx

[Ricardo]

Thai Lion Air allow one bag, weighing 7kgs, plus handbag or " a bag of personal items for use during the trip (personal items) "

http://www.lionairthai.com/en/pre-flight-info

Thai Smile (in addition to 20 kgs free hold-luggage) allow one carry-on bag of 7kgs, plus handbag or laptop-computer.

https://www.thaismileair.com/en/BaggagePolicy

Bangkok Airways (in addition to 20 kgs free hold-luggage) allow one carry-on bag of 5 kgs, but in my own experience (connecting through BKK with long-haul) are happy with one carry-on plus handbag/computer-bag. I've sometimes carried a good 20 kgs of hand-luggage on PG.

http://www.bangkokair.com/pages/view/baggage

Nok-Air (in addition to 15 kgs free hold luggage) allow one carry-on of 7 kgs.

http://nokair.com/content/en/journey-planning/baggage-information.aspx

Thai Air Asia allow one carry-on of 7 kgs plus a handbag/computer-bag, but on my last trip with them I did online-checkin & carried 12 kgs, plus computer-bag, no problem.

http://www.airasia.com/th/en/baggage-info/cabin-baggage.page

Edited February 8, 2016 by Ricardo

[amyreyna]

I just know that in Europe, we can have cabin baggage up to 10kg. I have travel to Europe several times and I just thought that the cabin baggage rule is the same as here in Asia, that mostly 7kg plus a handbag or laptop bag.

I like traveling by just bringing cabin baggage size only, so I don't need to wait for a long long time for my checked baggage. Especially when I was traveling alone.

[fnk]

I just know that in Europe, we can have cabin baggage up to 10kg. I have travel to Europe several times and I just thought that the cabin baggage rule is the same as here in Asia, that mostly 7kg plus a handbag or laptop bag.

I like traveling by just bringing cabin baggage size only, so I don't need to wait for a long long time for my checked baggage. Especially when I was traveling alone.

Same here. Thanks for your message!

[Ricardo]

If you check-in online, and print your own boarding-pass, then you proceed through security straight to the gate.

This is probably better than checking-in, even with no hold-luggage, at a check-in desk before going to security.

Because they only get the one opportunity to see/weigh your carry-ons, and it's at the point where they're hustling to get the plane loaded and away, just my personal opinion !

[dundas]

I saw a couple of Thai guys do this trick with Air Asia in Osaka (KIX-KUL-CNX): one guy checks in while the other waits in line. Once the first guy is checked in he takes his mate's hand luggage and his mate checks in. The extra bags are kept out of sight of the check-in area, in other words. They each had four or five bags when they boarded. Air Asia didn't seem to have any checks once past check in (this was last year, might have changed).

I personally would never try taking extra hand luggage on a Jetstar flight. In some Australian ports they now employ people at the gate to check weight limits just before boarding.

Last time I looked, Scoot allowed for an extra 3kg laptop on top of the standard 7 kg. They will also sell you the right to an extra 7 kg cabin bag, for about the same prices as a 20 kg bag in the hold.