Airline Baggage Allowances for travel to/from Great Britain

[scuba_suzy 0]

Just to add an update on BA that affects divers. As far as I have figured out - many of their Caribbean destinations have been down graded to just a single hold item as standard. North and South America (and Bermuda, I think) remain at 2 bags. But Bahamas and quite a few Caribbean destinations are just one.

 

However, I should add that I have not researched this thoroughly.

 

Alex

 

So how many bags will you take to Cayman Alex?

[greeceplan 0]

Good discussion is going here very good guys keep it up.

[GoinDown 0]

I've just returned from a week in Marsa Shagra (Gatwick-Marsa Alam) via Thomson. Hold baggage with PADI card is 25Kg plus 5Kg hand luggage. Thomson very cleverly exclude diving equipment from their sports baggage allowance meaning I have to put everything in the hold allowance. I normally require 38-45Kg's. They gave me the option of purchasing an extra 5Kg for £25 which is a total rip-off therefore I used 2 strategies for the outbound journey:

 

1. Booked my golf bag (I gave up golf 10 years ago but still have the bag and a golf travel bag) for a return trip as sports equipment, total return cost £15, with a max weight allowance of 20Kg's. This bag weighed 17Kg on top of my 25Kg hold allowance. I packed this bag with 4 golf clubs (just in case it was checked - see below *) plus strobe batteries, other batteries, cables, chargers, filters etc, clothes, toiletries, shoes.

 

2. Used the option of checking in hold allowance the night before thereby avoiding having my hand luggage weighed (weight 8Kg containing housing, camera body and 3 lenses) at check-in.

 

All went smoothly and it meant I could take all my dive gear, underwater camera gear and still had weight to spare for just an extra £15. The return journey is no problem as the Egyptians are never as bothered about hand baggage, or bottles of liquid for that matter!

 

* At the evening check-in, the jobs-worth on the desk asked to see if my golf clubs had been packed properly, so I quickly unzipped the top of the bag and showed him how well padded the clubs were with my clothing, I almost laughed out loud when he said 'OK' (Lucky for me I had decided to take a few clubs along to justify the bag).

 

Given that a normal set of dive equipment weighs between 10-15Kg, I think that Thomson are just trying to make money out of divers to Egypt (or anywhere) by excluding it from sports equipment, when you can still go with a set of golf clubs, a bicycle or surfboard etc with a weight allowance of 20Kg extra. So play them at their own game.

Edited June 4, 2010 by GoinDown

[fede_more 0]

very interesting!

[tdpriest 115]

Thomson very cleverly exclude diving equipment from their sports baggage allowance meaning I have to put everything in the hold allowance. I normally require 38-45Kg's. They gave me the option of purchasing an extra 5Kg for £25 which is a total rip-off therefore I used 2 strategies for the outbound journey...

 

...so play them at their own game.

 

Could it possibly be that this kind of underhand behaviour is why all divers are being penalised?

 

And why so much stuff? I can get a DSLR, stobes and twin regs into 32kg travelling to warm places...

 

... though I admit, I'm not American!

 

Tim

 

[Steve Williams 0]

 

 

Hard to believe you can get all this in your 32kg bag. Maybe it's a new Euro measurement thing.

 

Cheers,

Steve

[TheRealDrew 0]

Maybe it's a new Euro measurement thing.

 

 

Nah, you just wear it onto the plane.

[ChrigelKarrer 52]

Hard to believe you can get all this in your 32kg bag. Maybe it's a new Euro measurement thing.

 

Cheers,

Steve

 

I travel with:

50 lbs 1 big soft Delsey trunk containing a Pelicase 1600 and topped-up to 23 kilos/50 lbs with clothes to protect from impacts.

50 lbs 1 big hard trunk containing dive gear and personal things (if i go somewhere else than Italy as i have a complete set of dive gear there)

or big hard trunk containing personal things and Pelicase 1440 case containing Patima G11 housing with 2 ports, Inon D-2000 strobe and UWL-100 lens, SS tray and flexarm,

1 photographers west filled with hard disks, my G11, tickets, documents

1 photo backpack with the D90, 3 lenses, battery handle, SB800 strobe, various chargers and cables, Lenovo T61 notebook

 

The big Pelicase contains: 1 Ikelite D90 housing with tray and handles, 3 Ikelite ports, 1 Ikelite DS-125 strobe and charger, ULCS arms, small spare parts

 

I try to fly with Airlines where i have to pay only a minor sum for additional dive luggage declared as sport goods. Sometimes it's ways cheaper to fly with a "fancy" airline having higher baggage than with a "cheap" airline paying 10 Euros/12 $ per Kilo/2lbs.

I travel often with Ryanair oe Easyjet, am fine with them and enjoy their cheap flights, but this is only valid for travelling with cabin luggage. Travelling with them carrying heavy luggage will make the flight expensive.

 

When i flew the first time from Europe to Costa Rica airlines allowed for intercontinental flights 2 x 32 Kilos/70lbs. free and sport goods costed 50$ per piece. Now it's down to 1 baggage 23 kilos/50 lbs and all further baggage is at least 50$...

 

ARGHHHHH!

 

Slowly i start to hate trvelling by plane...

 

Chris

[GoinDown 0]

Could it possibly be that this kind of underhand behaviour is why all divers are being penalised?

 

And why so much stuff? I can get a DSLR, stobes and twin regs into 32kg travelling to warm places...

 

... though I admit, I'm not American!

 

Tim

 

 

 

And how would divers be penalised if they were subject to strict weight limits when they did have the sports allowance ? They would just pay excess baggage at check in time!! I suspect Thomson just decided to do it, because they know it would make them more money. And why would they be penalised for taking golf clubs in a golf bag that was well packed with holiday gear, when a golf bag with golf clubs is a legitimate paid for piece of sports equipment and I could have taken 20Kg?

 

So my total at 42Kg included 7Kg's for the golf bag empty, 2 kilos for the four clubs and 8 Kilos of gear (in addition to my 25Kg standard allowance), so my actual weight excluding the empty golf bag and clubs would have been 33Kg's (not far off your 32Kg's)!

 

Because of the bag configuration and weight limits, how would you have arranged to take 32Kg on this particular flight, because the extra baggage charge would have been £49 (£25 for 5Kg extra plus 2Kg x £12 excess baggage charge) vs my £15 !? Would you have just paid £49 or done your research and looked at your options if you had a spare golf bag lying around??

[rhinopias63 0]

has anyone travelled through stansted with airasia? do they generally weigh your hand luggage?

 

also is there anything stopping me (any sort of law or rule) that says i cant wear 3 pairs of trousers 6 t-shirts and 3 jumpers (for example)?? im struggling to stay within the weigh allowances..

 

i have all of my scuba gear 5mm wetsuit, aqualung i3 bcd, regs. its not exactly travel equip

 

also, video rig, weighs 20kg.

 

i have 30kg luggage allowance 15kg sports eqiup and 7kg hand luggage.

 

bag weighs 4kg vidcam 20kg so 6kg for clothes... im thinking wear lots of layers and pack it into my hand luggage after check in???

[susanayliya18 0]

Currently, luggage weight is harshly monitored, and some airlines even weigh carry-on baggage at the ticket counter or the gate. That’s accurately what occurred to me a few months ago with a KLM flight departing from the Amsterdam Schiphol airport. The rapid life lesson learned: every ounce matters when it comes to hovering.

 

[ChrisRoss 150]

Garuda give you a 20kg extra bag of dive gear, the check in guy saw our bags and said Oh! dive gear! and promptly checked it in.

[makar0n 73]

Not sure if this is the best place, as the topic says "Great Britain", but the only one I can see pinned and sort of a related.

 

If you fly with Turkish Airlines do not pay for excess baggage (insane prices, like 150 for 6kg one way), buy sports baggage. Works way better - max 90 Euro one way for a bag of up to 32kg (supposedly, as that is one thing I am not sure of) in addition to your normal allowance.

https://www.turkishairlines.com/en-int/any-questions/sports-equipment/special-charges/

 

Also if flying to/from Manilla/Cebu, you can get the above for free if the sports baggage is the diving one:

https://www.turkishairlines.com/en-int/any-questions/sports-equipment/diving/

Quote

On all flights arriving to Manila and Cebu and on all return flights from these destinations, one set of your diving equipment will be carried free of charge until December 31, 2023 (inclusive). Special fees will be applicable for the second or more sets of diving equipment.

Book flights as normal (do not add sports baggage) then call the airline, quote the above and they will add it for you.|
Note this seems to apply for the whole journey, and not just from Istambul  (Turkish Airlines hub) - I am going on the route Germland - Istambul - Manila and getting the sport thing for free all the way. Guess as the Istanbul - Manila route is the longest hence the "most significant route" rule applies.

Definitely helps when carrying the whole circus around

Edited March 28 by makar0n

[SwiftFF5 136]

Thanks @makar0n - I am traveling via Turkish Airlines from Dulles to Manila soon, so this is good information.  Thank you.

 

[makar0n 73]

14 hours ago, SwiftFF5 said:

Thanks @makar0n - I am traveling via Turkish Airlines from Dulles to Manila soon, so this is good information.  Thank you.

 

Extra 30kg does make a difference

 

Also, it seems they also have similar rules for other destinations, including Egypt, though it might depend on the country you are flying from. More details below:
https://www.turkishairlines.com/en-int/any-questions/sports-equipment/diving/

 

Quote

On all flights departing from Italy and arriving to Miami (MIA), Havana (HAV), Maldives (MLE), Cape Town (CPT), Bangkok (BKK), and Zanzibar (ZNZ) and on all return flights from these destinations, one set of your diving equipment will be carried free of charge until December 31, 2023 (inclusive).

Quote

On all flights departing from UK and Ireland and arriving to Antananarivo (TNR), Aqaba (AQJ), Bangkok (BKK), Cape Town (CPT), Cebu (MCIA), Colombo (CMB), Dar es Salaam (DAR), Denpasar-Bali (DPS), Durban (DUR), Hanoi (HAN), Havana (HAV), Ho Chi Minh City (SGN), Hurgada (HRG), Jakarta (JKT), Johannesburg (JNB), Kuala Lumpur (KUL), Male (MLE), Manila (MNL), Maputo (MPM), Mauritus (MRU), Muscat (MCT), Phuket (HKT), Sharm El Seikh (SSH), Seychelles (SEZ), Tel Aviv (TLV), Zanzibar (ZNZ) and on all return flights from these destinations, one set of your diving equipment will be carried free of charge until December 31, 2023 if the ticket is issued until December 31, 2022.

Quote

On all flights arriving to Hurghada (HRG) and Sharm El Sheikh (SSH) and on all return flights from these destinations, one set of your diving equipment will be carried free of charge until December 31, 2023 (inclusive). Special fees will be applicable for the second or more sets of diving equipment.

Quote

On all flights departing from Oslo and arriving to Sharm el-Sheikh, Hurghada, Maldives, Cape Town, Mauritius, Manila, Johannesburg, Durban, Dar es Salaam, Maputo, Muscat, Jakarta, Bangkok, Phuket, Seychelles, Zanzibar, Tel Aviv, Kuala Lumpur, Havana, Denpasar, Colombo, Antananarivo, Aqaba, Cebu, Mexico City ,Cancun, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh and on all return flights from these destinations, one set of your diving equipment will be carried free of charge until December 31, 2023. (inclusive).

Quote

 

On all flights departing from France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Türkiye and arriving to Aqabe and on all return flights from these destinations, one set of your diving equipment will be carried free of charge until December 31, 2023 (inclusive).

Quote

On all flights departing from Austria and arriving to Colombo, Denpasar, Hanoi, Hurghada, Kuala Lumpur, Maldives, Mauritius, Aqaba and on all return flights from these destinations, one set of your diving equipment will be carried free of charge until December 31, 2023 (inclusive). Special fees will be applicable for the second or more sets of diving equipment.

 

[makar0n 73]

As an update re Turkish Airlines allowance - make sure to get something in writing (like an email) when you call them to arrange that extra luggage and confirm it has been added both ways! Also do keep tickets and baggage tags from your first leg.

We have originally called, and were assured all is well, 2x 30kg (in addition to the standard check in allowance) was added , but we will not receive any confirmation and it wont show on the ticket. On the way out, from Germany, it was all fine - just mentioned diving luggage and was allowed to check in 4 bags, almost 110 kg in total for 2 people.
However on the way back, in Manila, the fun started - first they refused any diving luggage, then upon literally opening Turkish Airlines website on a laptop and shoving it in their faces, they were adamant it is part of (and not in addition to) checked luggage and were very keen to levy excess baggage charges (not even sports baggage charges, 90 Euro for the whole bag up to 32kg, but instead excess counted at about 70 Euro per 3kg) claiming also diving thing does not apply in Manila because Manila is so special. Took 50+ minutes arguing first with check in person, then supervisor, then manager (got to be a Karen alright xD) , and then she finally called somebody up who seems to have resolved that as she did check in the luggage straight away and walked away with a sour face without uttering a single word. What I think helped to convince them was also the fact that we had our first leg tickets with all the baggage tags, hence were able to prove that the bags were accepted back in Germany without any issues.

Edited June 5 by makar0n

[Interceptor121 843]

On 6/5/2023 at 9:43 AM, makar0n said:

As an update re Turkish Airlines allowance - make sure to get something in writing (like an email) when you call them to arrange that extra luggage and confirm it has been added both ways! Also do keep tickets and baggage tags from your first leg.

We have originally called, and were assured all is well, 2x 30kg (in addition to the standard check in allowance) was added , but we will not receive any confirmation and it wont show on the ticket. On the way out, from Germany, it was all fine - just mentioned diving luggage and was allowed to check in 4 bags, almost 110 kg in total for 2 people.
However on the way back, in Manila, the fun started - first they refused any diving luggage, then upon literally opening Turkish Airlines website on a laptop and shoving it in their faces, they were adamant it is part of (and not in addition to) checked luggage and were very keen to levy excess baggage charges (not even sports baggage charges, 90 Euro for the whole bag up to 32kg, but instead excess counted at about 70 Euro per 3kg) claiming also diving thing does not apply in Manila because Manila is so special. Took 50+ minutes arguing first with check in person, then supervisor, then manager (got to be a Karen alright xD) , and then she finally called somebody up who seems to have resolved that as she did check in the luggage straight away and walked away with a sour face without uttering a single word. What I think helped to convince them was also the fact that we had our first leg tickets with all the baggage tags, hence were able to prove that the bags were accepted back in Germany without any issues.

I am not surprised. Ground staff funny enough do not seem to know their own airlines rules. And some airports are very keen on charges,

A typical example is equipment containing lithium batteries. You go on the airline website and it tells you it is fine to check it in as long as there is a protection mechanism to prevent activation but the spares need to go in the carry on

I made the mistake of telling turkish airlines about my dive light and ended up carrying 3kg more in handluggage which was more than allowed but they let me do it anyway.

I spent half hour on the phone to avianca to confirm i can pack diving equipment as standard cargo and exceed the linear limit for oversize but she told me not the clause on oversize takes precedence on the diving one. I said but then if I buy a sport equipment allowance I am actually getting another bag as your website says. It went nowhere in the end I bought the sport equipment as I prefer to check in stuff and not break my back in hand luggage so this did not matter.