BA's whole Baggage Allowances are being reviewed at the moment with a view to making changes in July 2006. BA will do the whole roll out proplerly, writing to IATA first with a "Notice of Intent".

I don't believe we will follow Ryanair - it's EasyJet our managers seem to watch closely, because they have made no secret of the fact they are targetting the business market - but I do believe the allowances will be reduced across the board as a trade-off for lower fare availability.

The "2 pieces" allowance for Transatlantic, Caribbean, Lagos and some South American destinations is likely to change from 2 pieces at 32kg max to 2 pieces at 23kg (or possibly 20kg) - already the US carriers have implemented this!

For those who know what weight they're carrying in advance, there will be an on-line pre-payment system for excess charges. In return, a "substantial" discount (rumour has it 50%, but it's not yet definite) will be available to encourage and reward honesty.

Above all, the one thing our management want to strive for is consistency! It's just not fair that one person can "get away" with being 60 kgs over weight when someone else is charged for being 5 kgs over!!!