problems with luggage weight restrictions

[seal498]

anybody ever have any trouble with luggage weight restricitons on european airlines, like Iberia. Or trouble with the amount of luggage. Thanks

[alinehu]

Last June we didnt have any problem, I dont know if anything have change since then. We each carry a large suitcase( one of them more than 60 pounds) and a carry on.

[wwinfl91]

Unfortunately all airlines even within the USA seem to be going to the 50 pound limit per bag. It is going to be interesting when we pack for our next TA cruise.

 

Have a great next cruise.

[SaylorGirl]

We have learned to pack light and take carry on only. We took 2 Ryan Air flights and 2 Easy jet flights and 1 Air One flight a few weeks ago. We were fine but they were weighing everyones luggage and the fines are huge. So if you are traveling by air in Europe I would try and keep your packing to a minimum.

[Desert Cruisers]

The airlines, especially the discount carriers in Europe, tend to be strict with luggage allowances especially if the plane is full. Business and first class passengers have higher allowances.:)

[sunvalley cruisers]

Saylor Girl--I'm curious...We have 2 flights booked with EasyJet.

What type of carryon luggage did you take? We each have one of the rolling pilot bags and one "purse/bag" style carryon thats not too large. Think we'll have any problems?

[SaylorGirl]

We each had a backback and I also had a day bag. Easy jet is more lenient on the carry on bags than Ryan Air.

[Globaliser]

anybody ever have any trouble with luggage weight restricitons on european airlines, like Iberia. Or trouble with the amount of luggage.

I've grown up and spent the last 42 years flying around the world on 20 kg (44 lb) luggage allowances; staying within this limit is not a problem.

[dbh62ark]

The airlines, especially the discount carriers in Europe, tend to be strict with luggage allowances especially if the plane is full.

We have found that the plane being full has been a determining factor in the past. We've flown dozens of flights inside Europe over the years and were only charged once (I think it was by Aer Lingus) when traveling from Rome to Dublin. Our charge was $154 U.S. but considering the cheap, cheap flights, we still felt like we came out ahead. However, I'm reading notes regarding stricter enforcement in the last year or two, and our friends in the U.K. and Italy who often use these flights have also advised us of the increased implementation of the fees. We have had success in the past with asking airlines to write a note on our reservation that we were traveling from the U.S. to okay overages, but we haven't tried that tactic lately. I can tell you that smiling very sweetly at the ticket counter has proven very successful for us in the past, but that has been on flights that were not full and obviously that method would not be 100% effective every time. :)

 

My advice is always to be very nice. Most of the European airports that we have been to the past few years have the tax-back counters outside the area where you check your luggage. So we stopped packing all our items that needed to be validated in our carry-on luggage because it was too much trouble. Then last year when we were at the airport in Brussels, the tax-back counter was on the other side of the security area, so we had to give up our checked bags to the airline and then go to the tax-back counter with only our carry-ons. When we arrived, a man was giving the clerk grief because she wanted to see his wife's coat (the clerks have the right to inspect the merchandise). We just stood there and waited patiently while he fussed at her and then gave our vouchers to her. We had part of the merchandise with us and the remainder was in our checked luggage. She asked me for my amber jewelry, and I showed that to her and then she looked at our other vouchers. She didn't even ask to see the other merchandise and stamped all of it. So we benefited from someone else acting like a jerk because after she finished with him and saw two nice passengers, she was relieved to see that we weren't going to give her any problems even if she hadn't validated our vouchers for merchandise that was not in our checked bags because that would have been fair too. My point is to give you a tip that almost everyone that you come into contact with has some discretion in the exercise of their duties, so we try to be on the receiving end of any decision to waive policies that are not to our benefit. :)

 

We found a flight from Barcelona to Seville for our post-cruise stay this year for $42 U.S. per person including taxes and fees on AirEuropa at http://www.flightline.es with the help of a very nice CC board member named Fern who lives in Spain (we found a rate of $67 through the resources that we have used in the past). With the weight limit of 20k per passenger for checked luggage, we may be charged for luggage overage although THANK GOODNESS we have no formal nights on Oceania this year (I really don't like formal nights on cruises in Europe) so that will help with the weight. I don't know of a route in the U.S. where we can travel approx 600 miles for $41, and the flight is much cheaper than the train (plus the train ride will add approx 6 hours to our journey even after adjusting for the check-in time at airport), so we'll take our chances and will probably still consider it a bargain if we are charged this year.

 

As noted, the charges can be stiff. I think Air Europa charges 5 Euros for each kilo over the limits for checked baggage and carry-ons. You can check each airline's web site for luggage restrictions, but I've been looking this year and have found that some of them are VERY confusing. I suppose a passenger could use that as a negotiating tool because I have witnessed a number of negotiations between passengers and airline personnel on luggage overage charges in Europe. I received a tip from our Italian friends that we can consider checking extra baggage as air cargo too, but I don't know how that works. This is all an issue for us because I like to do power shopping overseas and have had some issues in the past with shipping items that could not be replaced (especially Murano glass, but that's another thread :)), and we are very creative with our itineraries before and after cruises like SaylorGirl.

 

That's just my assessment of the value of the cheap flights vs. possible charges for luggage overage for our trip this year, so I hope that helps.

 

Have a great trip,

Donna