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How to Get The Most From Your Luggage Allowance and Avoid Sneaky Charges

Ever been left fuming when the smarmy check-in assistant at the airport slaps you with an excess baggage charge?  You’re not alone.  According to research, one in five travellers get caught out on vacation with their luggage.  However, all is not lost - not only can you easily avoid paying top dollar for your cases, you can play the system at its own game.   Here’s how.

1) Find out the luggage allowance rules
This will take a little bit of preparation on your part.  Each airline has its own unique and frequently-changing set of rules.  If you have any hope of avoiding a nasty surprise at the check-in desk, you’ll have to go to the airline’s website and find out what they are.

  • Check weight and size limits for check-in baggage and carry-on items.
  • Find out which items are prohibited and in what quantities (for example, 50ml of specific liquids).
  • Some airlines also permit you to check extra bags for a relatively low fixed fee.  Find out restrictions and costs for this

2) Break the luggage allowance rules!
Ok, you’re up to speed with the airline restrictions and all the cunning ways that they will try and squeeze you for money.  Have you considered any of the following hacks to get around the charges?

  • Pick some of your biggest and heaviest clothes, and put them all on.  If you’ve got a jacket with lots of pockets, fill them to bursting; you don’t even have to wear it!
  • Family outing?  Everyone has a baggage allowance, and if you check with the airline you’ll see that parents can normally combine luggage allowances with their kids.
  • Check in people are not always unbending - if you are a little over the weight limit, and know you are, a nice smile and an apology often gets you checked in charge free!
  • Some items of specialist sports equipment can enjoy free check-in (for example, golf clubs on a couple of airlines), so try stuffing other items into the equipment cases.  If there are no equipment exceptions with your airline, it’s probably best to pay up-front as showing up to the airport unannounced with your specialist kit could result in some much larger fees.
  • Most airlines allow you a “personal item”, which can include a briefcase, camera, handbag/purse, laptop (in carry bag) or a multitude of other items.  Instead of stuffing a bulky SLR camera into your case, why not just carry it on-board?

3) Avoid the luggage allowance rules
If the airline has been too cunning in planning out its rules, you’ll just have to avoid them. Preparation is key here, so take a little time to run through the following steps.

  • Weigh your bags to check if you are within limits.  Use electric scales as manual scales can be a little inaccurate.
  • Avoid the whole debacle by sending your luggage ahead by courier to your destination.
  • Don’t pack anything that you can buy at your destination - toothpaste does exist in other parts of the world...
  • Leave out non-essential items by checking the weather where you are headed - maybe you don’t need that ski-jacket after all.
  • Prepare for the return journey - you’ll inevitably want to bring some things back from your vacation, so make some space!  Pack your bags and then take out 5 items that, on brutal reflection, you really don’t need.  If you need help, get someone else to pack with you and ask if you really need each item that you’re trying to cram into your suitcase.

Have you ever been caught out by luggage charges?  Do you have any other advice or tips for air-travellers?

Author: Jon Clarke - Escaped to Peru / Escaped to Latin America