Baggage and Lounge questions - SYD-AUH-LHR

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markirl

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Feb 3, 2014
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Hey folks,

In a couple of weeks, myself and my wife are flying with VA to AUH and then EY to LHR and we're pretty tight on luggage currently. Our check-in allowance combined is 75kg (I'm SG and we're going economy due to severe financial restrictions) as well as the 14kg carry on between us.

Last year I flew from KUL to LON via AUH and I'm nearly sure my carry-on luggage was weighed at check in - are Virgin likely to weigh our carry-on? We're not trying to take the p*ss (both carry-on bags will be far under size limits) but worried about having to cough up $70/kg or throwing stuff away if we're overweight. I'll also have a satchel laptop bag with documents/laptop/ipad/books and she'll have her handbag with all of the usual stuff (no idea why it's always so heavy!) which I believe are counted as personal items and not weighed, is this correct?

Part of the checked luggage weight will be a bike in a bike box which I believe needs to be dealt with in oversize luggage after weighing at check-in, has anyone done this? If we get stung with carry-on, could we throw it in the bike box after it's been weighed at check-in? Again, not trying to take the p*ss but want to know what the limits are...

As far as lounge access goes, I believe that I get access to the Etihad First & Business Class Lounge in Sydney and the Al Dhabi lounge in Abu Dhabi - is that correct?

Thanks in advance!
 
Hey folks,

In a couple of weeks, myself and my wife are flying with VA to AUH and then EY to LHR and we're pretty tight on luggage currently. Our check-in allowance combined is 75kg (I'm SG and we're going economy due to severe financial restrictions) as well as the 14kg carry on between us.

Last year I flew from KUL to LON via AUH and I'm nearly sure my carry-on luggage was weighed at check in - are Virgin likely to weigh our carry-on? We're not trying to take the p*ss (both carry-on bags will be far under size limits) but worried about having to cough up $70/kg or throwing stuff away if we're overweight. I'll also have a satchel laptop bag with documents/laptop/ipad/books and she'll have her handbag with all of the usual stuff (no idea why it's always so heavy!) which I believe are counted as personal items and not weighed, is this correct?

Part of the checked luggage weight will be a bike in a bike box which I believe needs to be dealt with in oversize luggage after weighing at check-in, has anyone done this? If we get stung with carry-on, could we throw it in the bike box after it's been weighed at check-in? Again, not trying to take the p*ss but want to know what the limits are...

As far as lounge access goes, I believe that I get access to the Etihad First & Business Class Lounge in Sydney and the Al Dhabi lounge in Abu Dhabi - is that correct?

Thanks in advance!

I've flown Etihad to the UK and my sizeable hand-luggage wasn't weighed. All your oversize luggage should be weighed at checkin and counted as part of your overall allowance, then you will take it over to the oversizes luggage area.

In my view, the easiest option here is to make sure you weigh the bags before you leave, this way you will know there are ok. Otherwise you are mostly at the peril of how nice the checking staff are on the day.

As for lounges, as a VA Gold you will have access to the combined First and Business lounges in Sydney and London. In Abu Dhabi you will not have access to any lounges in Terminal 3, where you are in Transit, you will only have access to the Al Dhabi lounge in Terminal 1, which is not so easy to get to and probably not worth the effort as you will have to go through security a few times.
 
Did this trip last Saturday, also VA Gold, didn't have any over sized luggage, hand luggage was not weighed. I was travelling with my VA Red daughter, we were delighted to be upgraded to Premium Economy, called over loud speaker prior to boarding. Also used Etihad lounge in Sydney which was very quiet and had great service.
Al Dhabi lounge in Terminal 1 due to revamp of lounge in Terminal 3, was worth the effort to get to as we had a shower, but was very crowded and food selection not great. Security queues not too bad.
hope all goes well for you.
 
I've flown Etihad to the UK and my sizeable hand-luggage wasn't weighed. All your oversize luggage should be weighed at checkin and counted as part of your overall allowance, then you will take it over to the oversizes luggage area.

In my view, the easiest option here is to make sure you weigh the bags before you leave, this way you will know there are ok. Otherwise you are mostly at the peril of how nice the checking staff are on the day.
Hi there, thanks for the advice. I guess that they're unlikely to weigh it unless it looks too bulky etc which is good news.
We have already weighed nearly everything and that's why we know that we're touch and go - there are certain things that we absolutely want to bring on as carryon as we can't afford to lose them if bags get lost (business/sentimental items).

Did this trip last Saturday, also VA Gold, didn't have any over sized luggage, hand luggage was not weighed. I was travelling with my VA Red daughter, we were delighted to be upgraded to Premium Economy, called over loud speaker prior to boarding. Also used Etihad lounge in Sydney which was very quiet and had great service.
Al Dhabi lounge in Terminal 1 due to revamp of lounge in Terminal 3, was worth the effort to get to as we had a shower, but was very crowded and food selection not great. Security queues not too bad.
hope all goes well for you.
Thanks for the reply! How did you manage to swing an upgrade, did you ask at check-in?! We're flying back with reward seats so it's probably unlikely. We'll have 2 1/2 hours to burn in Abu Dhabi so I think we'll make the journey to the lounge to get showers and a bit of food/drink.
 
Hi again, the upgrade was a complete surprise my fare was a saver and my daughters was a reward, it must have been the Gold Status...? There were quite a few people upgraded from what I gather, perhaps it doesn't look good to have empty Premium Economy seats?!
 
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