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“Beware of 'by weight' checked baggage policy”

Written on: 20/09/2011 by IMP1990 (1 review written)

I was attending Cape Town Univ as an exchange student & found a cheap one-way fare CPT to Paris ($570) to meet my parents for a few leisure days before returning home with them to the USA on a separate ticket. Unfortunately I became a victim of Emirates strict checked baggage allowance. I am used to checking bags & paying by piece with a flat overweight fee, but since my USA destination was not on my Emirates ticket, I was subjected to the by weight policy. Emirates policy is 30 kg maximum for all checked bags & their excess baggage rate is ZAR 600/kg. I had 1 bag at 30 kg and a second bag at 28 kg, so the fee was close to $2,400! I was horrified since my fare was only a fourth of the cost. To Emirates credit, they took pity on me & made an exception & only charged $800, which is still excessive in my opinion. I hope someone can learn from my experience. When choosing an airline, read all of the fine print & determine upfront all of the fees that may be added to see what you are ultimately paying for, because sometimes that cheap fare does not end up so cheap after all.