Tips When You Have Excess Baggage as You Check-in
The last thing that you want to happen as you check-in and get your boarding pass is to see that you exceeded the allowable weight for your luggage. As you check the excess baggage fees, you might realize that the total cost could be more expensive than your entire airfare. Of course, you dont want to pay for it. These are some of the things you can do to proceed with your trip without having excess baggage.
Negotiate with the staff
Although most airlines are strict in not allowing excess baggage, some of them might give leniency. It is true when you only exceed a few pounds. You can ask the airline staff to just let go of it and allow your bag to enter without additional fees.
Take some clothes out and wear them
Be ready to wear layers of clothing if you could not fit everything within the maximum baggage limit. There is no rule against wearing layers of clothes during a trip, although you might have to remove your jackets or sweater as you pass through the security check.
Bring an extra backpack
When you feel like you will go beyond the allowed luggage limit, it is important to have an extra empty backpack. You can take everything out that goes beyond the limit and put it in your backpack. You can take the bag with you as carry-on luggage. Although you also have limits with what you can hand carry, most security officers could be a bit lenient. Choose a backpack over a suitcase because people will generally assume that the items you put in a backpack are lighter than the ones on a suitcase.
Put things in your pockets
You can also stuff your pockets with some heavy items. Wear a coat or jacket with lots of pockets. Again, there is no rule that stops you from filling your pockets with items that could have otherwise been in your check-in luggage.
Find someone you can trust
This comes with a bit of a risk, but if you really have no choice, you can find someone on the line to get the boarding pass with you. If you are allowed 50 pounds of luggage but you exceeded by around 10 pounds, you can find someone who still has 10 pounds left in the luggage limit. Airlines allow you to combine your total luggage allowance. Again, this is risky since if the person has issues with the luggage, you might also be questioned.
Buy a small weighing scale
You can now buy a digital weighing scale that is light and portable. When you have one, you will know how much your luggage weighs before heading to the airport. You will feel confident that you have enough before you walk into the counter to get your boarding pass.
No one wants to have issues with luggage upon check-in. However, if you encounter these problems, you know what to do instead of leaving valuable items behind.
Photo Attribution:
Featured and 1st image from http://www.traveller.com.au/tips-on-how-to-avoid-paying-for-hand-luggage-and-excess-baggage-fees-glwljp
2nd image from https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/airline-secrets-tips-and-tricks
