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Airline Excess Baggage Charges

Did you know that over 90% of all rental cars arrange by Rhinocarhire.com are collected from the airport? That's right, a staggering 9 in 10 rental cars are picked up and returned from an airport. That's why we've gone to the effort to compare luggage allowances and excess baggage fees from the worlds leading airlines to see who is the most generous with luggage an which airlines look to squeeze every last penny out of their customers for taking their luggage.

airline luggage allowance excess baggage fees

Carry-On / Hand Luggage Compared

The rise in popularity of carry-on only luggage shows little sign of slowing as more and more of us look to pack our travel belongings, whether that's a holiday or business travel into a single case that we take into the cabin. The benefits are clear, no baggage fees for checked-in luggage, no queues at bag drop at departures and no waiting around at baggage reclaim at the other end, it's one of our top tips to avoid the car hire queue also.

However with the rise in popularity of this option, airlines have faced a challenge to fit all passengers hand-luggage onboard. With some 'carry-on' cases seemingly larger than the average family case, it's not surprise that overhead locker space comes at a premium. Some airlines such as easyJet offer to place your hand luggage in the hold for free where the overhead lockers are full, whilst others like Ryainair and Wizz Air have taken the opportunity to drastically reduce the size of free carry on luggage and force customers wanting to travel hand luggage only to pay extra for the priviledge. We compare the free hand luggage allowances from leading airlines here;
 
Airline
2018 Passengers (millions)
Weight
Dimensions (cm)
Volume (ltrs)
Personal Item
Lufthansa
142
8
56 x 45 x 25
63
Y
Ryanair
139
0
40 x 25 x 20
20
n
IAG*
113
23
56 x 45 x 25
63
y
Air France / KLM
101
12
55 x 35 x 35
48
y
easyJet
88
0
55 x 45 x 25
62
y
Turkish Airlines
75
8
55 x 40 x 23
62
n
Aeroflot
55
10
55 x 40 x 25
55
n
Norweigian
34
10
55 x 40 x 23
62
y
Wizz Air
34
10
40 x 30 x 20
24
n
SAS
30
8
55 x 40 x 23
51
y
*British Airways data used
 

Most airlines have a reasonable free hand luggage allowance with an average volume of near 60 litres, however Ryanair and Wizz Air are well below the average with just 20 and 24 litres respectively, by far the meanest airlines when it comes to free carry-on hand luggage.

Checked-In Luggage Compared

Of course, not everyone wants to travel hand luggage only, if you're heading on a family holiday for a week or more and staying in self catered accommodation, the chances are that you might need to take a suitcase as even the most generous of airlines hand luggage allowances are likely to be a struggle for the average holiday packer. Gone are the days when a flight booking included checked-in luggage, where once simply booking your seat on the plane included an in-flight meal and luggage allowance, the rise of the budget airlines, focussed on headline grabbing seat prices has meant that virtually every conceivable 'extra' has become chargeable and luggage was first in line. It's no uncommon now for it to cost more to effectively ship your luggage on the flight that for the human to travel in the seat. We look at leading airlines to compare their luggage policies and charges to see who is profiteering from checked-in luggage fees and who is the most generous.
 
Airline
2018 Passengers (millions)
Weight
Dimensions (cm)
Volume (ltrs)
Lufthansa
142
23
158 x 158 x 158
1,000
Ryanair
139
10
81 x 119 x 119
1,150
IAG*
113
23
90 x 75 x 43
290
Air France / KLM
101
23
158 x 158 x 158
4,000
easyJet
88
15
275 x 275 x 275
20,000
Turkish Airlines
75
20
158 x 158 x 158
4,000
Aeroflot
55
23
158 x 158 x 158
4,000
Norweigian
34
20
250 x 79 x 112
2,200
Wizz Air
34
10
149 x 119 x 171
3,000
SAS
30
23
158 x 158 x 158
4,000

*British Airways data usedExcess Baggage Fees Compared

We've all been there, arrive at bag drop and put your case on the conveyer only for the check-in assistant to break the news that your luggage is overweight. A general rule of thumb that up to 1kg over the limit is acceptable to most, some airlines will levy their excess charge for the most minor transgressions. If your baggage allowance is 20kg, you would usually be ok up to 20.99kg, tip the scales over 21kg however and you're in for a hefty excess baggage charge. Here we compare airline excess baggage charges to see who penalises you the most if you bring too much to the airport. Afterall, nobody wants to be the family with their suitcases open at the check-in desk and everyone getting dressed to wear as much of their packed luggage as possible to get the weight under the limit!
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Airline Excess Baggage

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Phil Partridge
Posted by Phil Partridge
About the Author -

Travel writer, car rental guru, Phil has rented cars all over the world and shares his knowledge and experience on the Rhinocarhire.com Blog. Favourite country to visit: France.

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