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Posted by Katie Greenbrown on 07/12/2011 [Industry]
The stringent cabin baggage restrictions imposed by no-frills airlines such as Ryanair and EasyJet are well-known, but how do the big national airlines measure up? What exactly can we check-in for free?
British Airways
BA still offers a decent free baggage allowance to passengers. Worldwide Economy travellers are entitled to check-in to two bags of up to 23kg each, while domestic eEonomy flyers can take one suitcase weighing up to 23kg.
BA cabin baggage restrictions are even more lenient for Business Class travellers, who can check-in two bags of up to 32kg each if they’re bound for Europe - and three bags of up to 32kg each if they’re heading further afield. Full details of BA’s luggage allowances can be found on the checked baggage page of their website.
Air France
It’s a similar story with Air France. Their Voyageur class - Economy to me and you - allows one free hold bag of up to 23kg per person on domestic and European flights. And if you’re flying Air France to destinations in the Africa or South America, you’ll be allowed a second free bag of up to 23kg on certain routes.
These routes include, Abidjan, Abuja, Accra, Addis Ababa, Bamako, Bangui, Banjul, Bissau, Brazzaville, Bujumbura, Cap-Vert, Conakry, Cotonou, Dakar, Dar es Salaam, Djibouti, Douala, Entebbe, Freetown, Guayaquil, Lagos, Libreville, Lilongwe Lomé, Luanda, Lusaka, Kano, Khartoum, Kigali, Kilimanjaro, Kinshasa, Mombasa, Monrovia, Nairobi, Niamey, Ouagadougou, Pointe Noire, Port Harcourt, Quito, Sao Tome and Principe or Yaoundé.
Details of Air France’s cabin baggage restrictions for La Premiere, Affaires, and Premium Voyageur class can be found via the baggage allowance page of their website.
Lufthansa
Since 1st June 2011, Lufthansa have operated a simplified system for calculating cabin baggage restrictions. Instead of defining the allowance by destination and travel class, they now operate one set of rules regardless of destination.
Economy travellers are allowed one free hold bag of up to 23kg, Business Class users - two free bags of up to 32kg, and First Class passengers - three free hold bags of up to 32kg. Within each class of traveller, there are additional allowances for Frequent Travellers and Star Alliance Gold Members.
All details can be checked via the free cabin baggage section of their website.
Virgin Atlantic
Like BA and Air France, Virgin Atlantic differentiates their cabin baggage restrictions by flight class and destination.
Economy passengers are entitled to check-in one free hold bag weighing up to 23kg on all routes, except routes between the UK and Nairobi, Lagos, Accra and any Indian destination accessed via the UK or US. On these routes, the allowance is two bags per passenger.
Premium Economy passengers on the other hand, can carry two bags weighing up to 23kg each on all flights except those between the UK and Accra, Kingston and India where the allowance is three bags per person. On flights between the US and India, the allowance is also three bags per person.
In Upper Class, the cabin baggage restrictions are a little more generous, with travellers permitted to check-in three bags of up to 32kg each on all routes.
Full details, including the infant luggage allowance, can be found on the check-in baggage page of the Virgin Atlantic website.
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