Understanding Baggage Allowances and Charges
Baggage rules vary between airlines and between fare types on the same airline, and the charges for getting it wrong are deliberately punitive.
Cabin baggage
The critical distinction on many airlines is between a small personal item that fits under the seat and a larger cabin bag for the overhead locker.
Basic fares on many carriers now include only the personal item, with the larger bag charged separately. Passengers who assume a wheeled cabin case is included are charged at the gate.
Dimensions are enforced with sizing frames at the gate, and the measurement includes wheels and handles.
Weight limits for cabin baggage exist on some carriers and not others, and are enforced inconsistently, which makes them easy to be caught by.
Checked baggage
Charged by weight, by piece, or a combination depending on the airline and the route.
Excess weight charges are calculated per kilogram and rise steeply. Buying additional allowance in advance is dramatically cheaper than paying excess at the desk.
Airport charges consistently exceed online charges, and gate charges exceed both. Every decision made earlier costs less.
Connecting flights and different airlines
Where a journey involves two airlines booked separately, baggage rules do not carry over. You may need to collect and re-check bags, and the second airline applies its own allowance and charges.
On a single booking with connecting flights, the allowance for the whole journey is usually determined by the operating carrier of the first sector or by the most significant carrier, and this varies.
Interline agreements determine whether bags are through-checked. Where there is none, you collect and re-check, which affects the connection time you need.
Special items
Sports equipment, musical instruments, pushchairs and mobility equipment have specific rules, and several must be declared in advance.
Pushchairs and mobility aids are frequently carried free, and mobility equipment carriage is protected by regulation in several jurisdictions.
Sports equipment usually attracts a separate fee and requires booking in advance, since capacity in the hold is limited.
If a bag goes astray
Report it before leaving the airport and obtain a property irregularity report reference. Claims made later are considerably harder.
International conventions set liability limits for delayed, damaged or lost baggage, and they are lower than most passengers expect.
Keep receipts for essential purchases during a delay, which are frequently reimbursable, and check your travel insurance, which may provide more than the airline.
Photograph the contents of checked bags before travelling, which makes any claim considerably easier to substantiate.
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