Whose scale will the airline go by?

[vjmatty]

I purchased the kind you lift and hold the bag from. Not 100% accurate I'm sure but we made sure we lifted each bag 3-4 times to get an average weight.

 

That is what this one is, and it has a pretty sturdy strap to lift with.... what I like about is that you can change the reading from lb to kg

 

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/Product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=14704795

[Keith1010]

Last time was Air Canada, but I have also seen it happen on Flybe, CO and AA if I recall.

 

Definitely not on American Airlines.

 

They will weigh each piece individually.

 

For their elite status members they have a much more liberal baggage weight policy but they still weigh each bag individually rather than taking the sum of all of them.

 

Keith

[vjmatty]

You're right, it probably does depend on the person at the counter since they don't actually mark the weight on your bag. They could choose to fudge the number if they wanted to. As long as they don't think the baggage handlers would notice the weight difference they can probalby pull it off with no one ever questioning them.

 

And maybe they don't want to do the math involved in charging $ per pound on less than a pound :)

[vjmatty]

Definitely not on American Airlines.

 

They will weigh each piece individually.

 

For their elite status members they have a much more liberal baggage weight policy but they still weigh each bag individually rather than taking the sum of all of them.

 

Keith

 

Oh sure they put each bag on the scale individually, but we didn't get charged when one bag was a pound over and the other was many pounds under.

[Globaliser]

We were not told that by either airline. We were told it was 50 per bag, period. Not a combined weight. We used Continental and US Air the last time. We'll be using Delta this time.

Hmm.....maybe it depends on who is sitting at the counter.

It also depends on airline, and on the airline's systems at the particular airport.

[Globaliser]

Oh sure they put each bag on the scale individually, but we didn't get charged when one bag was a pound over and the other was many pounds under.

Many airlines don't charge if a bag is marginally over, I think in part to avoid the "bad luck" factor leading to bad feeling, and in part to allow for some inaccuracy in the scales being used at the airport.

 

I think it would be a better test of an airline's procedures if one bag is 7-10 pounds over and the other is that much under.

 

My recent experience of another airline (Air New Zealand domestic) is that each bag has to be put on the belt separately. The bar code on the tag is scanned with a reader, and the computer automatically retrieves the bag's record to see whether the bag has been paid for as an extra bag (as we were travelling with one extra) and whether the heavy fee has been paid. If something hasn't been paid, the bag does not move. End of story.

 

BA at Heathrow has something similar. The check-in agent is required to override the "heavy" flag for every individual bag that's overweight before the bag tag will print - either by taking payment or by a comment explaining why the heavy bag charge was not taken. And as the override comment is linked to the agent's name, the agent knows that they are answerable to management for bad decisions.

[vjmatty]

 

I think it would be a better test of an airline's procedures if one bag is 7-10 pounds over and the other is that much under.

 

 

Maybe I will try that sometime..... with some random heavy object in an outside pocket that can be easily switched.

 

Just not at NZ or Heathrow since we already know the answer there ;)

[coo359a2]

We were flying Delta thru Oahu with 3 checked bags. Each were weighed separately and counted separately. Bags weighed 52, 47 and 35 pounds. We had to take out 4 pounds (to be safe) from the heaviest one and put the stuff in the lightest one.

[sherilyn70]

And maybe they don't want to do the math involved in charging $ per pound on less than a pound :)

 

The airlines in the US at least don't charge $ per pound... it's a set fee for a range of 51-70 pounds (they won't take higher than that usually). So it's not at matter of math.

[smeyer418]

the scale that counts isn't yours. In my experience it depends on the agent more than anything else on whether they will enforce and charge on the slightly overweight rules.

 

On a recent flight from the US to Israel one bag was 23.5 kilos(you are allowed 23) I asked if she wanted me to redistribute she said no don't worry about it.

 

When returning through Paris, I had weighed my luggage with a scale at the hotel and had redistributed them and had two bags(out of 4 for two people) on Air France that were 22.5 and 22.6 kilos. Boy I am glad I did because this agent asked me how we got two bags free per person(it showed on the electronic record how many bags we were allotted)...and told me that she hadn't seen that before and had to charge someone on the same itinerary for the second bag pp. It was clear to me from her discussion that she would have preferred to charge for the second bag(about $65 per bag!) and would have charged if the bags were over at all....

[wrp96]

It truly depends on the airline, the airport, and the agent whether or not they will let you get by if one bag is over and the other isn't. I have had to shift items between bags when one bag was 1 lb over the limit, while on the return trip the agent didn't care that one of the bags was several pounds over the limit.

 

Air Tran for example is particularly vigilant - so if your bag is overweight you will either be charged or will have to shift items between bags.

 

I've gotten leeway from agents at American if I'm only a few pounds over while seeing the people checking in next to me either have to shift items or pay (note I've had elite status on American for awhile so that may have something to with the leeway, although at least one time it was because I was a young single female).

 

Best recommendation if you think you will be flirting with the weight limit is to plan to pack underweight by at least a couple of pounds and have some items packed on top that you can pull out easily (to put in carry on or shift to another checked bag).

[STARFISH*4]

have a scale that ALWAYS goes with us, so we dont have to worry about the weight coming home....we find sometimes it can differ as much as 2 pounds so we always allow for that, since we have had the scale--no weight probs ...we can be right on with the airlines or differ close to 2 pounds--but always allow for that!

our scale weighs hardly anything and fits into our carry-on or personal carry-on.--wouldnt leave home without it!!

[ducklite]

Actually, you don't ned to worry about what goes in which bag.... when you bring your bags to the counter they look at total weight. So for example, if there are two of you with two bags each, you have a total allotment of 200 pounds.

 

This is not true. In fact I saw a couple get hit for almost $100 in overweight fees Friday, even though one of their bangs weighed under 10 pounds and another under 15. The two larger bags were both over 50, so they got charged overweight fees.

[vjmatty]

This is not true. In fact I saw a couple get hit for almost $100 in overweight fees Friday, even though one of their bangs weighed under 10 pounds and another under 15. The two larger bags were both over 50, so they got charged overweight fees.

 

As we discussed above, it apparently depends on who you have at the counter, and what airport.

 

Looks like the couple ahead of you chose to pay rather than take a minute to redistribute.... which is why I pack for easy switching in the event that I get a difficult check-in agent and their scales are different than mine.

[Keith1010]

As we discussed above, it apparently depends on who you have at the counter, and what airport.

 

Looks like the couple ahead of you chose to pay rather than take a minute to redistribute.... which is why I pack for easy switching in the event that I get a difficult check-in agent and their scales are different than mine.

 

Logic tells me that if some of them will charge for the items to be overweight then why not pack correctly from the get go. It just seems silly to me to have to deal with it at the counter if you could get it right at home, or at the hotel, or at the ship.

 

Keith

[ducklite]

As we discussed above, it apparently depends on who you have at the counter, and what airport.

 

Looks like the couple ahead of you chose to pay rather than take a minute to redistribute.... which is why I pack for easy switching in the event that I get a difficult check-in agent and their scales are different than mine.

 

Sometimes "redistributing" isn't an option. I've been flying regularly for 30 years now, and have never seen an aggregate weight used on checked bags.

[ducklite]

Logic tells me that if some of them will charge for the items to be overweight then why not pack correctly from the get go. It just seems silly to me to have to deal with it at the counter if you could get it right at home, or at the hotel, or at the ship.

 

Keith

 

It doesn't always work that way. Last week I checked a case that weighed 62 pounds and a carry bag that held a table display. The latter weighs six pounds, but there isn't room in the bag it packs into for anything else. The case was full of promotional materials and giveaways. There was no way to "redistribute" that weight.

[vjmatty]

Logic tells me that if some of them will charge for the items to be overweight then why not pack correctly from the get go. It just seems silly to me to have to deal with it at the counter if you could get it right at home, or at the hotel, or at the ship.

 

Keith

 

Well Keith I think we all do the best we can, but sometimes scales are wrong or a spouse adds a bottle of something in the bag not knowing the other had more room, or someone forgets something in a drawer that gets stuck in a bag at the last minute, or you were in port until 8pm the night before disembarking day and were a bit rushed.... In any event, sometimes the convenience is worth a few more bucks and other times it isn't.

 

My bags are all usually close to the limit on the trip home, so I keep a plan in mind just in case a) I am not allowed to consolidate weight and b) their scales don't weigh the same readings.

 

Chance favors the prepared mind ;)