Originally Posted by cheesedawg

I flew Emirates for the first time this past week, JNB-DXB, ~40 hrs in DXB, DXB-LHR

It seemed that excess baggage could only be booked <5 days in advance. I had ~13kg over so had to pay ~$330 in overage fees. Woman at JNB checkin counter told me baggage from DXB-LHR would be about 2000 Rand (=~$135).

Upon landing in DXB, I went onto the Emirates site to book the excess, but it was grayed out. I checked a few times, but it didn't work until a few hours before the flight, and the fees were quoted as something like $600+!!

I wasn't sure what to do, found that there was a post office at the airport, so decided to just go and figured I'd send by post if needed. Upon arrival, they said post office was only in the transit area, and initially quoted ~$500 in fees. I threw out some things like old shoes and sunscreen and managed to get the excess down to ~$300.

Is this worth complaining about? Are the baggage fees always variable on Emirates?