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.
. But that does not help for Intra-Europe flights of course.
