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Escape from checked bag fees: 3 tips

October 13, 2008

Airlines have started charging $15 for your first checked bag. Here are three clever ways to avoid this extra surcharge for your luggage.

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5 comments

  • http://www.travelsavvymom.com jamie

    I’m just picturing myself jangling through airport security in that vest (like a backpacker, with tin cups, flashlights, and sleeping pads dangling). My husband would ridicule me mercilessly. Might be worth it though.

  • Nigel Appleby

    It comes down to choose your airline carefully. We recently flew Zoom from Vancouver to London – 1 free checked bag max 20kg. Well not free – included in the fare. Then Zoom suspended operations and we flew back British Airways – 2 free checked bags 23kg each. Plus BA served wine wirh in flight meal.
    The reason we flew BA was that they had/have a special for stranded Zoom passengers. They charged half their normal return fare not their normal one way fare. Just had to give praise to BA.
    If one airline includes a checked bag but charges a $50.00 higher fare and the other charges $15.00 for a checked bag do you pay for a checked bag but pay less in the end?

  • Jay Drew

    Helping me avoid paying unwanted surcharges? Um, what’s a “wanted surcharge”? I don’t want any of them. Bundled all-up fares are what we all want; fares that can be understood and compared between airlines. :-)

    The rolling-up-the-clothes trick is a good one; I’ve been doing that for years. The only trouble is that you can get far more stuff into a large bag, increasing the risk of bumping into the weight limit. Be sure to weigh your bags at home so you know how close you are to the airline’s limit.

    If you’re taking a codeshare flight, be sure to know the weight limit for both the airline issuing the ticket and the airline operating the flight. If they differ, you can pretty much guarantee someone is going to try to ruin your day by applying the smaller of the two limits.

    As for the “carry it aboard” suggestion – be merciless in applying the airline’s rules against them. My laptop back is pretty large, and I stuff quite a bit in there besides my laptop. But I’m allowed that bag, in addition to my carry on, and you can bet I’m going to take it. If that means boarding times are slower and flights are later, well… airlines can fix that by letting me check a bag again.

  • Geoff

    Use a travel agent to arrange the airlines that don’t have fees. I helped a couple today make that decision.

  • http://www.backpackertravelinsurance.com/ Backpacker insurance

    Hi, well backpacker insurance is necessary nowadays, it is better to have one time investment on policy rather than bearing it many times whenever you plan for a trip. Having backpacker insurance you feel relieve from all the worries and tensions. You can take your insurance documents and important phone numbers along with you as a pdf in your phone or laptop or you can seal and scan important documents and carry them in your bag.

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