How Much Does Your Baggage Weigh?

How much does a full suitcase weigh? How heavy is 23 kg? Here are some tips to avoid any unpleasant surprises at the airport. Veganhop photo.
How much do your bags weigh? How heavy is 23 kg? Here are some tips to avoid any unpleasant surprises at the airport. Veganhop photo.

Here Are Six Tips for Avoiding Excess Baggage Fees at the Airport–50 lbs or 23 kg is the limit.

By Annie Thompson

How much does a full suitcase weigh? How heavy is 23 kg? These are the questions travelers ask!
How much does a full suitcase weigh? How heavy is 23 kg? These are the questions travelers ask!

Nothing says a ‘mood killer’ than having to pay for unexpected excess baggage fees at the airport, whether you’re simply on an adventurous quest abroad or packing to head off to university and have got a lot of unaccompanied baggage that you require to be shipped.

How much does a full suitcase weigh?

After all the airfare increases, the most ‘sensible’ advice the airlines seem to provide is to “pack light”.

That’s undoubtedly easier said than done, especially when it comes to traveling as a family with young children, or ex-pats that wish to move abroad with most of their personal belongings.

How to Save on Baggage Costs

Read on to pick up some tips on how you could travel stress-free and save those extra baggage costs!

1. Choose your airline carefully and read up on their airline baggage information.

The table below outlines most of the major airlines and the excess baggage charge associated with each of them, just so you can get a rough idea of how much you’re paying if you were to arrive at the airport with your bags.

It is essential that you learn about the airline baggage policies before you embark on your travels and how many free checked bags you are entitled to depending on your class of service, route/destination, and flight service courier.

For example, airlines such as Southwest, which allow two free checked bags per person, while others would only allow one. It may be worthwhile to purchase a ticket from airlines that enable you to check in more baggage free of charge than opting for the cheapest possible economy fare that would demand more excess baggage fees in total.

How Much Does a Full Suitcase Weigh? and How Much Will it Cost if it is overweight?

Airline Excess Baggage Charge for over 23 kg or 50 lbs
Aer Lingus €75 per bag
Air France €75-€250 per bag (dependent on route)
American Airlines +50 pounds $100, $200 if it’s over 70 pounds
British Airways €75 per bag
Delta $100 per bag
easyJet £12 per kg
Emirates From £26 per kg (dependent on route)
Etihad Airways $40 or $60 (dependent on route)
Flybe €20 per kg
Jet2 £15 per kg
KLM €20-€100 per bag
Lufthansa Fare Type    Within Europe      Intercontinental Economy:  EUR 75/ USD 100   EUR 150/ USD 200
Premium:    EUR 75/ USD 100    EUR 150/ USD 200
Business:     EUR 75/ USD 100    EUR 150/ USD 200
First Class:  EUR 75/ USD 100    EUR 150/ USD 200
Monarch £36 plus £50 fee
Norwegian £53-180 per kg
Qatar Airways Varies By office for oversized and overweight luggage
Ryanair £50 for oversized cabin luggage
£6-10 For non-priority bags
Turkish Airlines From €5-€32 per kg, USD 160 per extra piece to USD 360 per extra piece
United Airlines $100 to $200 extra per bag. 71 to 100 pounds or 33 to 46 kilograms: $400 extra per bag.
Virgin Atlantic £65-£100 if overweight or oversized
Vueling Airlines £10 per overweight kilo

Note: Oversized or overweight baggage may be classified as cargo and subject to further fees if exceeding airline max weight restrictions. Thus the fees would depend on route and/or destination.

2. Weigh your baggage in advance at home

Why not invest in your own electronic hanging scale that would give you a clear indication of how much your baggage weighs exactly. Just so you could avoid that embarrassing surprise at the check-in counter as well as the awkward conversations if the flight customer service agents happen to be not all that lenient about the extra weight.

This way you could decide whether you would like to rearrange the weight and in order to repack, you could shift some of the weight into your carry-on luggage, but also be careful of the cabin baggage weight limit. If you’re traveling as a family, it is always convenient to spread the weight of the heavy items around in all so that no bag alone exceeds the weight limit

How much does your baggage weigh?
How much does your bag weigh?

3. Pack smarter, not necessarily lighter.

A conventional piece of advice would be to remove the bulky and heavy clothing items and wear them instead whilst taking some weight off your luggage and making room for more belongings. Jackets and sweaters do not count as carry-ons as long as you’re wearing them.

Furthermore, decide which items you can leave without and purchase them once you’ve arrived at your destination. These things can be shampoo and conditioner bottles, as well as cutlery or plates.

4. Purchase a lightweight, properly-sized luggage case…

…in order to maximize your checked baggage allowance instead of heavy-duty suitcases that will only significantly increase the weight of your overall luggage.

Older suitcases have heavy frames that could be the culprit of why your suitcases always seem to weigh more than they should.

5. Special Luggage can fly under the radar.

Some airlines have just announced that they are transporting sporting equipment such as bikes for the same fee as a checked luggage fee. Many cyclists have evaded the hefty fee by simply dismantling the bicycle and packing in the frame in an unmarked box and the wheels in another. See Shipping a bicycle on GoNOMAD.

As long as it is inconspicuous that you’re transporting a bicycle, you’re more than likely to avoid the excess fee. This is the same for any other special equipment in the ordinarily packaged bag without being risking it being damaged, then there’s no reason not to.

6. Check-in early and pay the fees in advance.

If the worst comes to worst, and the excess baggage fees are unavoidable, attempt to arrive early at the check-in counter as the customer service agents are likely to be more lenient with slightly exceeding the weight limit compared to latecomers.

7. Pay online Ahead of Your Flight

These baggage fees are significantly cheaper if you make the payments online ahead of your scheduled flight compared to phoning customer service or – arriving at the airport on the day.

How Much Does it Cost for Extra Baggage?

 Annie Thompson

Annie Thompson is a freelance writer who lives in London and works for UniBaggage.com –a luggage shipping service for students, ex-pats, holidaymakers, and business users.

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