Baggage Charges

dmullins3

I'm flying home from San Diego to Heathrow and onto Dublin next week with British Airways. I am coming home with 1 hand luggage bag, 1 laptop bag and one checked bag - all of which are free. However, I am also bringing a suit in a suit bag.

I've told the I may be charged ($/£)60 for the suit. I rang up with the intention of paying for my extra baggage beforehand in the hop of charging a lower rate but was told I should do it at the airport when I check my other bag. Will it really cost this much just to transport a suit home or what are the staff like at check in. Anyone know of any ways of getting the suit on for cheaper/free? It on only a suit after all so it doesn't weigh much and won't take up much space.

And just to point out there is no way the suit will fit into my other bags no matter how hard I try. I've been here 8 months so its going to be a tight squeeze without the suit.

Any help/tips/advice much appreciated

thebiglad

Who are you flying with - Aer Lingus I presume?

Will you be checking through at San Diego and going through transfer or will you be collecting the checked in bag in Heathrow and checking in again?

If checked through, providing the flight is not too busy the gate staff probably won't mind - if the flight is busy the gate staff will take the hand luggage bag, tag it and put it in the hold for no cost.

Not sure how strict check in/gate staff in San Diego will be though and this may be where the issue arises.

dmullins3

thebiglad wrote: »

Who are you flying with - Aer Lingus I presume?

Will you be checking through at San Diego and going through transfer or will you be collecting the checked in bag in Heathrow and checking in again?


Flying with British Airways the entire trip. And I actually need to check about my luggage being transferred automatically in Heathrow. It was passed from 1 flight to the other on my trip out here so I'm going to assume fore now that the same will happen on my return journey.

ProudDUB

How big is the lap top bag? Does it lie flat, and it contains just the lap top, or do have other stuff in it bulking it out? If it lies slim, why not put the lap top bag into the same bag as the suit? That way you are only carrying the one personal item. Wrap the strap of the laptop bag over the hanger part of the suit bag, and off you go. Practice carrying it draped just so over your arm, so that it does not look obvious that you have something else in there with the suit. Then when you are safely on the plane, separate them out if you want to hang the suit bag up and use the lap top.

There is no way of saying what will happen at the gate if you show up with 3 pieces of cabin baggage. One gate agent may wave you on through, another may make you stash one of the items in the hold at no charge, another may make you pay the fee and won't budge until you do. A lot of it depends on how full the flight is. If it is packed full, they can be pretty strict on what they allow people to bring onto the plane.

dmullins3

ProudDUB wrote: »

How big is the lap top bag? Does it lie flat, and it contains just the lap top, or do have other stuff in it bulking it out? If it lies slim, why not put the lap top bag into the same bag as the suit? That way you are only carrying the one personal item. Wrap the strap of the laptop bag over the hanger part of the suit bag, and off you go. Practice carrying it draped just so over your arm, so that it does not look obvious that you have something else in there with the suit. Then when you are safely on the plane, separate them out if you want to hang the suit bag up and use the lap top.

There is no way of saying what will happen at the gate if you show up with 3 pieces of cabin baggage. One gate agent may wave you on through, another may make you stash one of the items in the hold at no charge, another may make you pay the fee and won't budge until you do. A lot of it depends on how full the flight is. If it is packed full, they can be pretty strict on what they allow people to bring onto the plane.

genius. that should work as it's just my laptop and the cables that go with it. they should fit in my suit bag no problem.thanks for that. don't know how I never thought of it myself

Stinicker

Wear the suit on the flight, laptop bag in hand, use some eloquent English, a little bit of flirting with the checkin clerk and cabin crew and before you know it you will find yourself upgraded to business class sipping champagne and feasting on canapés.

bigpaddy2004

Hi Guys,
I dont mean to hijack this thread, but my query does deal with Ryanair Baggage charges.
I am looking at booking flights online on Ryanair.com. But when I come to the baggage charge part, they are trying to charge me €60 for 15kg and €80 for 20kg.
Looking at their terms and conditions prices for peak season (now) are different.
If booking online (which I am doing) here are their prices.
15kg high season €25
20kg high season €35

Am I missing something stupid here?

ProudDUB

dmullins3 wrote: »

genius. that should work as it's just my laptop and the cables that go with it. they should fit in my suit bag no problem.thanks for that. don't know how I never thought of it myself

No probs. But remember, you are traveling with more items than you really should be. Be sharp and snappy about getting yourself and your bags and suitbag situated once you are on the plane. Don't hold others up, or take up too much space in the overhead bins. The last time I posed here about ways to...cough...cough..sneak over the limit bags/items on board planes, I got yelled at by another poster for being the reason why so many flights do not take off on time. Too many people are taking too much cabin baggage on board planes, and getting it all stowed away can delay departure of the flight. In fairness, they had a point.