NYCtraveler

Hello All:

I am a frequent AA One World traveler and a few days ago had occasion to try Emirates. I needed a one way after a long vacation from Venice to Asia....One world routed me through Heathrow and in Business wanted about $3600....Emirates had a fare in First Class which was far less money.

Unfortunately I had a less then positive experience with baggage and fees. I have been traveling for 1+ months and had accumulated lots of "stuff"....once it was in the luggage I weighed in at 80 kilos. The woman nicely informed me at check in that they allow 50 for First and the extra would be 1500 EUROS! I couldn't believe it. I had checked prior and heard 15 EUROS per kilo over...not 50? I must be getting old..... I spoke to everyone and they told me there was nothing that could be done....the rules were the rules.....no negotiating. They were sorry, not their problem.

I fly often with 60-100 kilos of luggage on Cathay and when in F my overage has been nothing OR $200 at MAX. Same on American Airlines.....Iberia, even BA... This 1500 EUROS for one bag was over the top. Thankfully my Parents were departing a day later on Iberia....I checked the bag and left the ticket for them with Emirates and they picked up the bag the next day. They were in business and Iberia charged them for their overage.... 0 ....as they were only over total by 10 kilos overall....They told them not to worry about it.

Onboard, Emirates service was nice.....I was the only one in F on the Venice to Dubai flight...it was posh....4 hour layover in Dubai....even in the F lounge was a drag. Duty free prices were not so great....Next flight was in the Suites on the A380...Service very nice....found the toiletry bag to be just plain ugly....Bulgari amenities minimal. Much Prefer CX or SQ for this. I Loved the big screen and the feeling of privacy however when the bed was reclined, I found it lumpy and not comfortable...I like CX in F or SQ much better for this. I also didn't like having to open or close the doors on the suite...I think they should be manual. Great TV screen and choice of movies.

Overall I did not love flying through Dubai. When you get on the flight in Europe to Asia you know that you will have 91/2-12 hours flying time. You have dinner, some drinks and then you go to sleep..arrive refreshed. With this 4.5 + 5.5 hour flights I found I didn't want to eat or drink or sleep on the first flight because I was going to be stuck in Dubai apt. for 4 hours and on the second one, I just wanted to sleep.

In the future, because of the baggage and the scheduling through Dubai, I probably would pay to fly nonstop or as direct as possible....I am glad I tried Emirates product however it didn't wow me like I thought it would. And the baggage fees are excessive. For now, I will avoid them.

Safe travels to all.

Dave Noble

*shrug* you turned up with 30Kg over the allowance and was charged excess fees. EUR50 per Kg doesnt sound that abnormal. That you travel on other airlines with large amounts of luggage is irrelevent

BA and AA use the piece based system for luggage allowance and permit 3x32Kg for 1st class ; EK permits 50Kg total; different airlines, different rules

If over the limit, what really is there to negotiate; the rates are set ; you had a choice of paying, discarding or arranging the excess amount to be shipped in another manner

I am currently travelling for 2 months and have just under 21Kg

You could have paid for the excess luggage at a discounted rate (20% discount) online in manage your booking and got it down to EUR1200

edy4eva

I wanted to comment on your choice of fare. You could have even paid less by booking a return ticket with outbound in F and return in discounted economy. It would have been about a couple of hundreds less than the one way fare.

sadiqhassan

50 EUR / kg (which seems ridiculous to me) is the correct rate. I don't know where in Asia you went but I used BKK and the airport rate for excess is EUR 50 a kg

http://www.emirates.com/english/plan...35f034bb8a95ee

FWIW, my family usually travels with excess luggage and it has (at times) been cheaper to buy J instead of Y because of all the excess baggage fees.

KLflyerRalph

Then do you also hold OW Status which grants you extra baggage allowance?

mecabq

50 EUR per kg seems insane. If the Y allowance were 30kg, could you just buy a second seat in Y, if it were significantly less than EUR 1,500, and use that allowance?

LovetoTravel83

That's the reason I'm starting to fly exclusively BA. The 3x32Kg for Business or 1st seems to me as the best choice when always travelling hevy.

flying expat

as gold in first you get 66 kg.i always travel with very heavy bags. make sure that 1 bag not exceed 32 kg, ore you have to repack it at check-in.in ams they also put the weight in kg on your carry on tag, mines came in on 9kg (max is 12kg)and the laptop bag was not counted as weight. ni first, i mostly get away with about 5 kg over the max limit, sometimes more.some when the carry on is under the limit, take that in account too.

midkemia

Apologies, if my post is going a little off topic, but was wondering if anyone has traveled on EK with a bike in tow? Bike would be stored in proper bike hard shelled case which apparently meets "airline regulations"

My routing would either be AKL-CDG or AKL-NCE in Y

I seem to come up with such varying information on excess baggage fees (this includes many other airlines I have been researching)

Thanks

zat_dude

a mate of mine flew hi bike from Dublin to SYD on EK in a softshell bike bag without any problems. that is provided he stayed within his designated weight allowance of 30kg for Y + skywards extra allowance.
hope this helps

Face81

I'm surprised you stayed with EK for the second leg given how much you apparently suffered. Lol.

tezzer

Happens to me all the time. I genrally travel with 85-90 Kilos. Only VERY occaisionally do I get charged, always in Pakistan (seems only cash is acceptable), sometimes get a receipt, sometimes not, but they generally give me the J allowance, 40 kilos, my extra 16kilos for gold then a nominal few kilos rather than the full whack. If they waive it I thank them for their understanding, and head for the lounge. Quick !