Baggage fees are a recent cost that has been imposed on airline passengers.
A few years ago, these fees were mostly non-existent. But at present it is raking in the airline industry a lot of money. Just last year, the US airline industry earned $1.7 billion from baggage fees alone. You can just imagine how much money people shell out for this fee. What makes it worse is that the fee scheme is quite complex, which can befuddle the average airline passenger.
But if you want to avoid paying baggage fees then you should read on and follow these tips:
Choose the right airlines
Different airlines have different baggage policies, this also applies to domestic carriers. Study which airlines have a more lenient policy for handling baggage and pick the ones that are more passenger-friendly. The best way to find out which ones should be worthy of your patronage is by going to travel review sites and reading the observations of passengers. You’ll get a good picture of which airlines are imposing high fees and which ones have more relaxed policies.
Read the Airline’s Baggage Policy
Even if you’ve already chosen an airline that imposes low baggage handling fees you should still read the carrier’s baggage policy carefully. One of the biggest mistakes of passengers is not paying attention to the airline baggage policy. Each airline has different rules and regulations so don’t assume that since you’ve read one policy, you’ve read them all. Do take note of the regulations imposed on the luggage size, weight and the number of bags that you can check in. Failure to read the policy and following the airline regulations will only result in you paying so much more than you should.
Work on being an Elite flyer
This is a tip that may be a bit lofty to achieve especially if you’re not frequent traveler (you usually need to log in 25,000 miles yearly to become eligible for elite status). But one of the many benefits of being an Elite member is being able to waive baggage handling fees. Of course, having priority boarding privileges and access to preferred seating doesn’t hurt at all.
Pack lightly
This is a tip that some people may find hard to follow especially if the traveler is going on a long trip. But packing light can help eliminate or at least lessen baggage fees. If you can do one-bag traveling and use a carry-on luggage for your trip then you can totally eliminate this fee altogether. There are ways for you to be able to pack more in a carry-on bag. Use compression bags to squeeze in your clothes to its thinnest, wear ingenious travel vests that contain up to 24 pockets where you can stash a lot of travel essentials, and using travel items that are collapsible or foldable like inflatable pillows and collapsible bottles.
Know how much your luggage weighs
Before leaving your home make sure that your luggage is within the allowable weight for checked-in baggage. Overweight baggage fees are very costly and are more expensive than the base baggage handling fee. Invest in a luggage scale so you’ll know exactly how much your bags weigh.
Clarendon also has a policy for luggage when you check into any of our London serviced apartments. Check-in time at our apartments is at 3:00PM, prior to this time guest are not allowed to drop-off their luggage unless it has been previously arranged with our reservation team and paid for. Do contact our reservation team if you need to drop off your luggage before your check-in time.