Originally Posted by
Dover2Golf
As a Star Alliance Gold Member you do not have a benefit of free overweight cabin baggage. The 8kg limit is the norm on *A carriers departing LHR in economy.
I would expect the fee to be payable and I repeatedly see ground staff all of who are contracted in T2 rather than employed pretty zealous in their application of the rules. They comb the lines of economy passengers bringing them up to the scales and size racks when they have rollers. The card payment machines are to hand!
If this is such an issue why not use BA for LHR-ZAG, they allow a 23kg cabin bag plus a personal item and don't charge for gate checking when the plane is full. That said boarding takes ages and the battle of the overheads is a feature of every flight as BA barely police the bags at all.
I am actually flying BA back to LHR.
But, really, I would be shocked and appalled if a Star Alliance airline that gave Golds a free checked bag made them pay to check that bag at the gate because it was "over-weight." I say no way. Of course, I say that as an American, and I know things can be different in other countries.