[capetonianm]

But what I do find annoying is when you’re only a couple of kilos overweight on your check-in bag and they make you remove stuff and take it as hand-carry baggage.

That I agree, it is infuriating, time-wasting for everybody, and counterproductive. I also find it rather undignified having to start unpacking a suitcase on the ground with people standing behind getting, understandably, impatient.

[afoxe]

Before replying and pontificating, please read all posts

[SimonS1]

[postquote quote=997112][/postquote]

In days gone by you would have people who could exercise a bit of common sense and judgement. These days most aspects of the airline operation have been dumbed down with minimum wage staff who have no discretion and in places like QR don’t take risks for fear of their jobs.

I suppose on the other hand where do your draw the line? If (say) 30kg is the published allowance, what is an acceptable free allowance? 30kg? 32kg? 35kg?

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Inquisitive

[esselle]

[postquote quote=997114][/postquote]

Quite so, and if 30kgs is the allowance, but you get used to being allowed to carry 31, or 32, or 33 over a period of time, and then you get bounced because you’ve got a bag at 32kgs, and you play the “but I’ve always been allowed this bag/DYKWIA/etc/etc then who is right and who is wrong?

If they publish a limit, why not plan on that basis?

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Inquisitive, GivingupBA, MartynSinclair

[Able]

Hope you are alive and safe in this global pandemic situation.

Apart from the untold pain of discontinuing your stay and returning to Naples, I see you have been sad about your journey. Well, let me tell you, people are stuck at home or travelling and in much worse situations. Look at your countrymen for example, so many have died mercilessly like have so many others globally. Moresoever, it’s a plight to see the poor who cannot maintain social distancing with the comfort that you’ve been able to buy for yourself ( a business class ticket, which assures enough of social distancing to start with, other technicalities apart).

Well I empathise with you, because you are sad and you are not bringing happiness to your country that have just seen a massacre through the virus situation. Do uou understand? People everywhere are suffering, then why do you choose to spread such negativity in your post.

Getting back to the point, I would like to thank Qatar Airways for not discriminating against people and taking them home safely, which would even mean risking the organisation and the lives of their staff who dealt with you and took care of you during this journey (for that matter every person who helped you reach home safely). And you complain of being charged for your excess baggage, if that was a pinch, you might as well have done some charity at the place where you started your travel.

Well if lives do not matter to you, and you believe your life is valued much lesser than 6k, then I end my comment. Please be in peace.

And I hope the wonderful work which Qatar Airways is doing, amidst most global airlines having shut operations in this global pandemic, should continue to foster lives and save lives. Kudos to Qatar Airways and all such brave warriors in the frontline services.

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Inquisitive

[Travelfoot]

There appear to be justifications from all sides on the issue of excess baggage charges, some valid yet ignoring the word discretion that can be applied occasionally specially during these difficult times. Unfortunately, it is all about profiteering by whichever means these days. After 55 years of considerable amount of air travel I have enough experiences to write a book that might be entertaining and disappointing but would like list just a couple of experiences. Just over 2 years ago while checking in at DXB with Emirates I was asked to pay excess baggage charges on four bags that exceeded 250 gm each amounting to a grand total of 1 kg in excess of the allowed allowance over all 4 bags. As a seasoned traveller being precocious, I nearly always carry my portable scale and had secured the weight of each bag to the prescribed limit. I was lost for words and almost demanded to see the calibration certificate for the airline scales but refrained in case my own scale was inaccurate. I disappointingly lost the offending weight in to my pockets in order to avoid payment. If that is not a scam or being inconsiderate then try this, before the days of liquid restrictions I once had to remove a 1.5 litre water bottle from my cabin bag because that exceeded the allowed weight. To the proponents of baggage rules who may find such incidents a mere application of the rules and suggest that their processing machines are so precise that a “Go Pass” is not possible with human intervention! Think again. Then it really also comes down to the traveller’s circumstances, if you find yourself in a situation then a good chance you will be squeezed.

[capetonianm]

In previous, happier, times when airlines employed people who had both the ability and the empowerment to think and make decisions based on that, discretion was used and valued by all concerned.

These days, the level of most front line employees has been reduced to that of ‘scraping the bottom of the barrel’ and they are not empowered to make any decision to override the little screen in front of them. It is now generally just a case of ‘computer says no’.

In my own airline experience, it would have been exceptional for me or those whom I supervised to have passed 12kg. of XBAG without charge.

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GivingupBA, Travelfoot

[nevereconomy]

I think that, had I been writing this post, I would have reached “seen this is the only option we had to go home” and abandoned the post, thanking my lucky stars I could afford the fare and excess baggage to get home in the middle of a worldwide crisis.

[LuganoPirate]

[quote quote=996949]Obviously having accepted to be squeezed of almost 6K for a one-way ticket i could afford the 360 USD for excess. It is not the 360 that bother me, of course, but the way they take advantage of such a difficult moment.[/quote]

Sorry, but it did bother you, otherwise you wouldn’t have been complaining.
Some years ago I bought a new Aston Martin Vanquish, I’ll let you look up the price, and had to pay CHF 350 extra for the ashtray instead of the “vide poche” they put there.
I could afford the Aston, did I moan about the cost of the ashtray? Yes!
Did it bother me I had to pay for it? Yes!
Did I pay for the ashtray? Yes!
Did i buy another Aston? Yes?
Does it still bother me now? No!!

Soemtimes best to accept things and move on and not worry about it too much.

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Inquisitive, capetonianm, esselle

[ontherunhome]

Interesting point about the accuracy of the scales. I was at an airport I forget where. I weighed my bag at check in, it was under weight. Then the IT failed, so I moved to the next desk and it was re weighed, this time it had put on a couple of kilos. I do wonder, a sthey are charging based on weight, they should certiicates of calibration, I am sure the Weights and Measures act or whatever would apply here, and in many other places.
Another example, in San Francisco, I challenged the weight of some freight, which was charged by the pound.The guy started getting aggitated and mouthy. I then asked for calibration certificates. Suddenly he was all charm, even gave me a 40% discount, especially when I mentioned weights and measures.
Clearly there should be some +- varience of say 5-10%, like speed cameras.

1 user thanked author for this post.

Travelfoot

[esselle]

[postquote quote=997269][/postquote]

Yes!!

Recently ordered a DB11 with what they call a “smokers pack”. Ludicrously expensive, but only a tiny fraction of the cost of the car.

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LuganoPirate

[LuganoPirate]

[quote quote=997272]Interesting point about the accuracy of the scales.[/quote]

I have a portable scale with a strap that wraps round the handle. I always check my baggage weight with this.
When checking in and the weight is over by about 1 – 2 kgs it’s very rare for them to ask for an excess baggage fee. On several occasions when they do ask, I ask when the scales were last calibrated, especially if there is a variance between the check in weight at say Zurich and their scales. I’ve nevr ahd to pay a penny as they accept the fact and check the bag in. I did have to pay once, but I was 8 kgs over and expected to have to pay.

[capetonianm]

I ask for my bag to be weighed on another set in case of a dispute, but I can’t remember doing that for at least 10 years. We too have one of those little electronic hand held weighers which goes round the handle, and it nearly always reads within 1 kg of the airport. I checked in a suitcase at CPT once which I’d weighed with that before leaving home, at 33 kg. The airport scales showed 39kgs. As I knew my own clothed weight at the time I stepped onto the scales and it over-read by … guess what … 7 kgs. The check in agent refused to budge, when I asked him to call the supervisor to bring a calibration certificate he took the case off, weighed it on another machine, and said “32 kgs.” As I was waiting for someone, I stood around and watched for a while and saw him arguing with other people about the weight of their bags.

A little scam, I suppose, which I reported to ACSA (the airport operator) and the airline (BA Comair) but I just got a letter back from ACSA saying that the accuracy of the scales was checked frequently and at random and BA never had the decency to reply.

When I worked as an airport duty manager we had an old suitcase filled with books which had been accurately measured at 20kgs and we checked each machine before every shift.

[woodyhoo]

I have always thought that because of Weights and measure laws all scales must be calibrated and that to tamper with scales is a criminal offence?

I have read many post where travellers particularly on Ryan Air, found their bags to weigh more when checking in for the return flight when they state the contents are the same as the outward flight.

[RoyJones]

[quote quote=997340]I have read many post where travellers particularly on Ryan Air, found their bags to weigh more when checking in for the return flight when they state the contents are the same as the outward flight.[/quote]

I have always returned from holiday expecting my bag to be lighter as she who must be obeyed ordered certain worn but favourite garments to be discarded. Its when I get home I discover 3 or 4 pairs of female shoes have walked [by themselves] into my case. It happens all the time I never learn

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LuganoPirate

[Author]

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