British Airways checked baggage policy from Feb 13

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Dave Noble said:
When you phone, make sure that you get through to the premium desk rather than a regular reservations agent. When you ask for the exit, they will either put a request into the system or phone seating; if the former, then wait 48 hours and if you find that you do not have the exit , phone back and find out the status of the request. If there is no response from seating then the person will probably call them or there may be a response saying that no exits were available

Take the name of the agent when you get through and if the person claims that it cannot be done then phone back, speak to another agent and then speak to the supervisor about the 1st agent's lies. That's the approach I take

Dave

Dave,

Call to QF was answered originally by a regular staffer, so I asked for the premium desk which I was promptly put through to. There was little she could do for my lost seats, and said she was unable to see why I had lost my original allocation. However she was able to confirm that my original request for row 16 was still in the system, however these seats where already assigned, but she said she sent through another request which in her words was more assertive for row 16.

Regarding BA, the QF lady told me they were having big problems with seating selections for QF members becasue BA were restricting seating allocation "due to operational demans", she suggested as well that I phone BA direct. BA are closed today "for the Australian Christmas Holidays". They are open tommorrow, so I will see what happens.
 
Dave Noble said:
Being a WP, why don't you phone up and request a seat in row 16 ( upper deck exit ) on QF flight ; there is a decent chance of getting it. Dave

Dave,

Just checked and I now have row 16 allocated SIN-LHR and LAX-SYD. Thankyou for your advice on following up.
 
Reggie said:
Dave,

Just checked and I now have row 16 allocated SIN-LHR and LAX-SYD. Thankyou for your advice on following up.

No worries. Useful benefit isnt it. How are you doing with BA?

Dave
 
Dave Noble said:
No worries. Useful benefit isnt it. How are you doing with BA?

Dave

After sitting on hold for 20mins and being told repeatedly by the recording that seat allocations and other things could now be done on line (which most people can't since the changes) I finally spoke with a human. Anyway all was good he took my advanced passenger details which I had unsucessfully tried many times to put in through the manage my booking site. Then he said he was surpised that the one emerald status didn't give me access to change the seating as you said. One thing he thought was because one flight was booked as a code share QF, but this didn't answer the reason for the return. Anyway he changed the seating for me, but said that at present anything could change.

So basically all is good, but definitely would have been in for an unwelcolm surpirse on the SIN-LHR flights if I hadn't realised the seating changes.

After that I asked him if they were so busy because the barmy army were all trying to book earlier flights home due to the absolute casning they are copping, he didn't think it was as funny as I did. Go Warney!!:D
 
I presume I am correct in assuming that when I fly SYD-BKK-HEL-LED-LHR-HKG-MEL in J that all on all sectors except the BA one HEL-LED my suitcase can be up to 30kgs. If for instance it is 27kg, on the BA sector I have to pack the 4kg into another suitcase, bag or whatever ?
 
garyjohn951 said:
I presume I am correct in assuming that when I fly SYD-BKK-HEL-LED-LHR-HKG-MEL in J that all on all sectors except the BA one HEL-LED my suitcase can be up to 30kgs. If for instance it is 27kg, on the BA sector I have to pack the 4kg into another suitcase, bag or whatever ?

Im a bit confused here. BA do not fly HEL-LED; do you mean LED-LHR? I think that the BA allowance of 3PC ( max 23Kg) will apply to the BA flight; go to BAs Manage My booking and check your booking and it will state what your allowance is for the BA sector

Dave
 
British Airways - One bag good, two bags bad !

Not sure if this has been posted elsewhere ?.

BA appear to have changed their luggage policy for pax travelling in economy. The 23kg limit remains - however only one bag will be accepted as checked in luggage. If you turn up with 2 bags (still under the 23kg limit), one of those bags will be treated as excess baggage and charged accordingly. From BA's website:

In common with all airlines, British Airways has always charged for excess baggage.
The revision to our charging policy, which comes into partial effect next Tuesday, is being introduced to simplify existing policies.
Currently, more than 98 per cent of customers travel within their free luggage allowance. The majority of these customers check in no more than one item of luggage per person. For these customers, there is no change.
This includes all travellers to the USA, the Caribbean, Nigeria, Mexico and Brazil. Customers for these destinations will still be able to check in two pieces of luggage free of charge. The free 23kg allowance for economy-class customers to other destinations will be limited to a single item of luggage.
British Airways has absolutely no intention of discriminating against passengers who cannot comfortably carry a 23kg bag. Where it is clear that a passenger cannot manage one bag, we will let them check in an additional bag (or more) provided the total weight is within the 23 kg limit.
Our free luggage allowances, for both carry-on and checked-in luggage, remain among the most generous in the aviation industry. Many other airlines offer smaller free allowances and charge for additional items such as skis, golf bags or other sports equipment.
The change was announced in a press release last June. Details have been on the ba.com website since, and issued to travel agents and our frequent flyers.
For the two per cent of customers who wish to exceed their free allowances, we have decided to simplify the charges they pay to make them easier to understand.
At present charges vary according to weight, route and class of travel. We are replacing these with three simple rates for bags additional to the free allowance:
£30 per extra bag on domestic flights, £60 per extra bag on European flights and £120 per extra bag on longhaul flights. Customers will get a 30 per cent discount on these rates if they pre-pay online. The changes will not come into full effect until September 2007.
In the vast majority of instances, the new policy will be cheaper or comparable for customers who wish to fly with excess baggage on top of their free allowances.

Weird. What is BA's objective?.

Mostly I travel with one bag - a wheeled duffle bag, easily towed behind me with one hand - second hand is free to open doors, hold tickets/passport etc. I have also returned to the UK several times for family events (weddings and funerals). A suit is required - I have travelled with my much loved wheeled bag plus the suit and posh togs in a suit carrier (2 bags !!!!). It appears that this falls foul of BA's policy and will result in an excess charge of GBP120 ($300 Aus each direction). Crikey.

British Airways has absolutely no intention of discriminating against passengers who cannot comfortably carry a 23kg bag. Where it is clear that a passenger cannot manage one bag, we will let them check in an additional bag (or more) provided the total weight is within the 23 kg limit. ........ Hey, I love this bit. I've watched those awful reality cop shows from the US where drivers are required to walk a straight line and touch their nose in order to prove their sobriety. I assume BA are working on a similar test - passengers with more than one bag will be hauled from the check-in line and forced to undergo some sort of test to prove they need to distribute the weight over 2 bags ?. Weird (although those check in lines can be mighty boring - any distraction would be welcome).

Why do BA have a bee up their bum over this issue ?.

I'm assuming that 1 large bag takes up less space in the hold than 2 small bags, freeing up space for additional cargo?. It halves BA's chances of losing the luggage ?. BA save cost printing one bar-coded label per passenger rather than two ??. Hmmmm. Good arguments ...... except that BA acknowledge that 98% of passengers are already travelling with only with one bag. So on a 747, with 300 passengers in economy you have expectations that 2% (6 passengers) will present at check in more than one bag !!!!????.

My BIG issue with luggage and passengers is excess bags being carried onboard as hand baggage. I'm guessing this policy will only increase this problem - if you front up at check in with 2 bags and need to pony up $300 to get the 2nd bag checked in, I'm guessing that most passengers will argue that one of the bags is carry on ( I would !!).

Anyone any idea what BA expect to achieve by this ?. Heck, I really hope it doesn't catch on - mostly I comply and only travel with one bag, but I still don't want to be stuck in the queue while the passenger in front throws a tantrum and does major dramatics in order to get the second bag stowed in the hold.

Strange days indeed. Most peculiar Mama.
 
Re: British Airways - One bag good, two bags bad !

British Airways has absolutely no intention of discriminating against passengers who cannot comfortably carry a 23kg bag. Where it is clear that a passenger cannot manage one bag, we will let them check in an additional bag (or more) provided the total weight is within the 23 kg limit. ........

With that in mind i would just get a medical letter from a chiropractor or similar, maybe just a doctor stating due to back pain you need to distribute weight as evenly as possible or something like that. They could hardly argue regardless of what you look like or how you carry it.

As they say its not too often people travel with more than one bag checked, i try to avoid it !
 
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Re: British Airways - One bag good, two bags bad !

Evan said:
i try to avoid it !

I do too, but unfortunately sometimes it's just not feasible to risk ruining an expensive suit by stuffing it in your suitcase.

I spent a month working in Europe last year, wearing a suit every day. Definitely needed my suit bag for that trip.

Cheers,
- Febs.
 
Re: British Airways - One bag good, two bags bad !

I have managed my suit bag as carry on a few times in the past, got it through and nobody really paid much attention even with its size (but is flexible sort of)

I just dont see why BA has issue with the odd passanger who wants or needs 2 bags, weigth charging sure i understand.
 
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Re: British Airways - One bag good, two bags bad !

Evan said:
With that in mind i would just get a medical letter from a chiropractor or similar, maybe just a doctor stating due to back pain you need to distribute weight as evenly as possible or something like that. They could hardly argue regardless of what you look like or how you carry it.
My doctor has grave concerns for my health and safety if I carry more than 11.49kgs on either side. I have a doctor's certificate if anyone requires any proof.
 
Re: British Airways - One bag good, two bags bad !

Strange that I cant find info on J class baggage allowances.

I do think that Dave Noble has posted this previously and this could be merged into that.

S
 
Re: British Airways - One bag good, two bags bad !

simongr said:
Strange that I cant find info on J class baggage allowances.

I do think that Dave Noble has posted this previously and this could be merged into that.

S

The allowance for world traveller plus is 2 pieces and for business and 1st classes it is 3 Pieces

Merging performed

Dave
 
I was speaking to Qantas desk earlier this week, when booking a DONE4 (via South America). There is one BA leg, so I asked what is the situation with a mixed airline itinerary - do you get the same luggaage allowance throughout, or is it different for BA? I was told that for the BA leg, the luggage allowance would be different, and I would have to account for this (2 x 23 on BA vs 1 x 30 on most others).
 
adrian said:
I was speaking to Qantas desk earlier this week, when booking a DONE4 (via South America). There is one BA leg, so I asked what is the situation with a mixed airline itinerary - do you get the same luggaage allowance throughout, or is it different for BA? I was told that for the BA leg, the luggage allowance would be different, and I would have to account for this (2 x 23 on BA vs 1 x 30 on most others).

On a DONE4 you are entitled to 2 Pieces throughout since the piece based system applies to the whole itinerary. The weight limit per piece is dependant upoin carrier. At the moment, AAs limit is 23Kg per piece, BA is allowing 32 Kg per piece until September when it drops to 23Kg and the other carriers currently allow 32Kg per piece

It is possible that BA will allow their own more generous allowance of 3PC on their sectors

Dave
 
Re: British Airways - One bag good, two bags bad !

Febs said:
I do too, but unfortunately sometimes it's just not feasible to risk ruining an expensive suit by stuffing it in your suitcase.
I have a solution for that problem ... I only own cheap suits :p

The only time I check two bags is after attending a conference where they provide you a bag for carrying all the "merchandise", and the only way to get it home is to check it in. Luckily the BA flights on my ATW itineraries have always been before the conference. Then again, its been a long time since I flew BA in WT.

Sounds like a good incentive to travel in WT+ instead ;) . But that does not help for Intra-Europe flights of course.
 
Re: British Airways - One bag good, two bags bad !

NM said:
Sounds like a good incentive to travel in WT+ instead ;)

That's what I was thinking...at $300 each way for an additional bag, WT+ wouldn't work out that much more expensive on the Kangaroo run, would it?

JohnK said:
My doctor has grave concerns for my health and safety if I carry more than 11.49kgs on either side. I have a doctor's certificate if anyone requires any proof.

Great minds think alike. :D
 
I note on the BA website that even though their 23kg limit per bag policy for checked baggage commenced on 13 Feb 07, BA say(British Airways - New simpler baggage policy) :

"To allow our customers to become familiar with our new baggage policy and weight limitations, we will continue to accept bags at check-in weighing up to 32kgs for travel completed by 30 September 2007."

Sounds awfully sporting of them (particularly as I'll be flying BA in July-August) - has anyone out there actually had their >23kg bags accepted by BA since 13 Feb in line with this "deferral" of the 23kg maximum?
 
Update on this - I called BA's Australian enquiries number and they confirmed that the 32kg/per item limit will be allowed until 30 Sept 07.
 
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