Overweight luggage: scamming the airline weight restrictions

[Guest jmatsu]

one of the easiest and overlooked methods of beating the luggage overcharges is going with a friend who is not travelling with you. usually 2 check in luggage is allowed, and two carryons. i usually take a big roller minicase and pack it to it's maximum capacity and i do not worry about it's weight. when you check in, leave that extra shit with your friend, but make sure that none of the staff know you're together. once you check in your other shit/checkin just have your friend hand your extra shit to you at the x-ray security section before going in. as long as it can go thru the machine, you've got no probs. you might get some shit at the gate, but just blame it on the check in counter assholes. i've never got charged (been doing this forever). they just give you a ticket/number for the extra baggage and physically put it in cargo for you if they haven't got room in the cabin's storage bins. you can pick it up with the rest of your shit!

note: i've done this for jal and ana.

[Tisswat]

I fly with kitesurfing gear often, which I think practically comes down to the same thing as the snowboarding routine. Using kitesurfing bags is probably more practical than snowboarding bags, because they come in smaller sizes. They used to camouflage them as golf bags, because those used to be allowed free of charge. Airlines are currently more strict on bringing surf/snow/golf gear and almost all international airlines now have pricing schemes for each category. It still beats paying for overpriced luggage often.

For example KLM requires a 20 to 80 euro/usd/cad fee, depending on the length of your flight. This allows you one extra kitesurfing bag with a maximum length of 180 cm (6 ft) and 20 kilo. So 20 + 20 + 12 carry-on = 52kg for a small fee. I think it should do the trick in most cases.

Back in the day, there was a way to get around the luggage limit on Philippine Airlines. All you had to do was leave a $10 bill folded in your passport. The workers at the luggage counters knew the deal and you could pass through with no problems. My parents used to routinely bring luggage that was WAY over the limit, haha. Ah, the good ol' days....

This still works. No need for bribes either - a smile/flirt will do the trick.

there's nothing forcing you to actually bring a snowboard, they won't check inside the bag to make sure it is.

True. I don't think they're allowed to open your bags unless they're security personnel.

[deltakid]

I smile a lot, if they still screw me I try the "I'm a student with all stuff to live for one year" story. If that doesn't work I tell them that I'm broke and some of the heavier items have a sentimental value for me. If that doesn't work they are b!tches and I go get some money from the atm.

[fashiontard]

airlines usually dont care abt ur hand carry luggage.. so i put all my heavy crap there.. the best kind is the type that doesnt look too big and has wheels so you can wheel it around the terminal without anyone suspecting that its really loaded.. as long as it can fit in the overhead compartment ur fine.. my "record" was ~20kg when i had to bring all my books(textbooks, dictionaries art books etc) home one yr.. the extendable handle shaft broke in the middle after that flight but it was totally worth it

[jcotteri]

risk a bit and ship the rest.. or know someone who works for the airline to swindle for you.