Q: Recently, I flew to Mexico on Air Canada and Mexicana Airlines for a business meeting and a vacation. When we checked in for our return flight, we were told that our luggage was about 44 pounds overweight. A ticket agent explained that the domestic weight allowance was less than on international flights.
We were never shown on the scale the actual weight of the luggage. We only bought three T-shirts in Acapulco. I find it difficult to believe that three T-shirts could make our luggage 44 pounds heavier. I also find it interesting that the weight of our luggage was acceptable on the trip from Cancun to Acapulco, but that it now suddenly wasn’t.
We were then forced to pay an extra $350 before we could board the plane. The cost of the excess weight of the luggage exceeded the cost of the airline ticket. Unfortunately, I felt as if I couldn’t dispute the surcharge while I was there. I was afraid I might be denied boarding. After our return to Canada, we contacted our travel agent who then contacted Mexicana Airlines. The airline phoned us for further information and told us that we would be contacted again in 24 hours. We never heard back.
In all my travels I have never been treated in such a manner. This, in my opinion, is the most dishonest form of ripping a customer off.
– George Ecker, Fredericton, Canada
A: If Mexicana changed its rules in order to enrich itself, then it did rip you off — and it owes you a refund.
Mexicana’s weight limits are spelled out on its Web site. For checked bags on international flights, you’re allowed two items that may not exceed 70 pounds each. For domestic flights, the limit drops to about 44 pounds.
I checked with Mexicana to find out what happened. Theresa Bravo, a company spokesperson, said you were flying on two types of tickets — an international and a domestic ticket — so you were subject to two separate luggage weight restrictions.
“Due to a misconception at our Cancun airport counter, Mr. Ecker was not charged the corresponding administrative fee for excess weight on his flight to Acapulco,” she said. “However, on the return flight on Feb. 24, the Acapulco Airport counter charged Mr. Ecker the administrative fee that all passengers carrying domestic tickets are assessed when their baggage weight exceeds the limits.”
What happened to you is a common problem for international travelers, not only in Mexico but also on flights to Europe. Travelers will pack two heavy suitcases that meet the looser international weight restrictions. Then, when they make a connection, they suddenly find themselves having to pay a surprise surcharge for bags that are too heavy for a domestic flight.
Next time, read the weight restrictions carefully, remembering that when it comes to luggage restrictions, airlines often draw a distinction between domestic and international flights.
Mexicana made its share of errors, too. It should have contacted you when it promised it would. The airline also took its time getting back to me, responding in about six weeks and only after numerous inquiries. Technically, it should have also billed you $350 in excess luggage fees for your earlier domestic flight.
Instead, to its credit, Mexicana reimbursed your $350 administrative fee collected at the Acapulco airport and forwarded your letter to the airport manager in Cancun to, in Bravo’s words, “prevent these events from happening in the future.”
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
US travelers going to Europe, used to travel with two pieces of 50 pounds in the overhead compartment, should be aware that ALL European carriers limit the carry on luggage to ONE PIECE OF ONLY 6 KILOS, which was the average weight of my ex-wives handbags!
Only British Midland is slightly more generous and allows one piece of… 7 kilos instead of 6 for British Airways, Air France, etc.
It would be a good idea to spread the news.
My Daughter flew out of SFO on Monday August 24, 2009. I weighed her bag on two different scales it weighed 49 pounds. When we get to the curbside check in all of a sudden it weighs 73 pounds and they want an additional $90.00!!! It is a total ripoff!!
I often fly AA, and often with bags that are just at the maximum limit. (I am a student and artist – I have equipment that is heavy and bulky – unfortuently) I always weight my bags before I leave my place, but I also always always always check the reading on the scale before I place anything on it. More often than not the scale will read at 3-5 pounds, without anything placed on it. I smile and ask that the scale be recalibrated, which they do if you point out that is reading incorrectly. If my bag is still overweight, I take out anything I can, or just go ahead and pay the fee, after all, I knew when I arrived it might be to big!