Advice on Luggage going down under

eug5854

How do I go about bringing as much luggage as possible without paying huge fees? I’m planning on flying to Australia shortly and want to bring as much luggage as I can.

It looks like my first flight will be with Air Lingus and my second is of yet undecided. Any tips or advice, from seasoned travellers or people in the know, would be greatly appreciated.

　
eug.

pete4130

You are restricted to the airlines baggage weight limits. You might get an extra few KG's if you arrive early at check in.

Some airlines that have a bicycle allowance charge you a set fee for a bicycle/sports equipment and it can be as much as 32KG for the sporting equipment. My point being, you get a bike box from a bike shop, pay the bicycle baggage fee and put all your excess stuff into the box. Make sure you use box tape and tape it up extremely well. Damp conditions during transit will mean the box will come apart at the seams as the staples in bike boxes won't hold together.

The bike box will have to go through oversize baggage X-ray and once all your flights are connecting on the same ticket, you shouldn't have to check it again.

The downside to this is, you have a very heavy box thats difficult to carry/transport.


The other option is to box everything up at home and once you find somewhere to live get it shipped out by boat.


How much stuff can you possibly need to bring?

old_aussie

eug5854 wrote: »

How do I go about bringing as much luggage as possible without paying huge fees? I’m planning on flying to Australia shortly and want to bring as much luggage as I can.

　
eug.

Are you moving to Australia, or just for a holiday.

For a holiday, just pack the 32Kg, buy some in season gear in Oz

If you are moving to Australia, just do as pete4130 says,....

box everything up at home and once you find somewhere to live get it shipped out by boat

eug5854

Thanks pete4130. I'll keep that in mind. Yes I'm headed out on a PR visa old_aussie. Therefore would like to have as much kit as possible without having to dig into my savings to purchase new stuff.

Contacted IOM and they seem to suggest that I'm entitled to extra luggage allowance if I book my flight through them. Will give a heads up on what they quote me compared to a normal booking.

Diane Selwyn

Emirates and etc. have higher luggage limits than Aer Lingus but you have to book the whole journey right through to Australia as one fare - if you book your Aer Lingus flights separately you might have to pay for any kgs over the usual Aer Lingus limits on that part of the journey. You can generally still organise to stop over somewhere if you want - its easier to go through a travel agent for that rather than booking it yourself online - they do sometimes have cheaper fares anyway (I'm not a travel agent btw!).

eug5854

Thanks Diane Selwyn. Any agency I spoke with usually where a lot more than online. Can you recommend anyone?

Diane Selwyn

I have booked through Abbey Travel a few times. The last time I went they got me a pretty good fare with Malaysian Airlines - I know maybe not flavour of the month but I've flown with them a couple of times and (survived and) thought they were ok.

Peregrinus

If you're travelling on a permanent residence visa, and this is your first entry on that visa, then Singapore offer you an increased baggage allowance at no charge. So does Qantas. Some other airlines may as well; it's worth asking. Some airlines require you to be flying on a one-way ticket.

It's something you need to organise with the airline in advance - don't just turn up at the check-in desk with 50kg of luggage and expect to be waved through.