NFH

I'll soon be flying IBZ-LCY in Club. Lots of Spanish supermarkets sell good German beer in 50cl cans, so with three of us travelling with only one suitcase each, I want to use our additional unused 3x32kg baggage allowance to bring a decent amount of beer back. A 24x50cl crate of beer weighs 12.7kg, so I could easily bring back 6 crates if I package them up as 3 items of 2 crates each. However, packaging up two crates into one item is not so easy, so I'm wondering whether BA would accept 6 shrink-wrapped crates as individual items with no additional packaging? Although this would stay within the weight allowance, it would not stay within the number of items limit (a problem if BA is charged per item by local baggage handlers). And would BA have a problem with only the standard shrink-wrapping around each crate and no additional packaging?

I know beer itself isn’t a problem as I've brought plenty of beer back from Germany to London as hold baggage on BA in the past using spare space within hard suitcases.

papabear

If any of the cans should break and cause damage to others property, you will be held responsible for the damage.

MrHalliday

I just firmly tape together two cases of cans
one on top of the other, wrap in towels or laundry,
wrap again with big garbage bag,
duct tape the whole mess together,
and put it in a duffel.

Worked fine, at least for me !

stifle

On BA, your baggage allowance is measured in pieces, not weight. The only weight restriction if you're in CE is a maximum of 32kg. You cannot bring more lighter pieces; each piece beyond six (for three CE pax) will be charged at €39.

corporate-wage-slave

Have you cleared this idea with your Significant Other yet?

HIDDY

Just how cheap is this good German beer?

All seems a bit of a faff to me.

sunrisegirl

But surely what you save in cost of the beer you'll lose when you pay excess baggage for each of the 6 cases? Each piece over your allowance (2 up to 32kg in CE) will be charged at a rate of £35 (or £28 if you pre-pay online). If you have any hold baggage to check in then excess will be applied.

If the items are not packed properly then BA will refuse to carry them. From the sounds of your description I think there could be a query over whether the packing is suitable. Shrink wrapping will not provide enough protection.

In all honesty I truly don't believe it's worth the effort but only you can decide that.

NFH

Yes, but this amount is smaller than usual anyway

Normally in Belgium I pay €0.62 per 50cl can. You can't buy it easily in the UK, and if you do, it costs around 3 times the usual price mainly because of British beer tax. British beer tax adds 56p to the price of a 50cl can of 5% beer - £18.57 x 0.005 x 5 x 1.20 (and yes, they even charge VAT on the beer tax). Therefore the UK tax (not including the VAT on the beer itself) is more than the full retail cost in Belgium (and France, Spain and Germany).

Thanks to all for the useful replies. It seems that I'll need to package them up into 3 packages of 2 crates each.

OPebble

I imagine the baggage handlers at IBZ will be toasting your health that evening after your crates mysteriously fail to make the flight!

ColdWalker

Looks to me like you would loose more than you will save in excess luggage alone, let alone all the hassle. And that's if they don't get nicked on the way.

BTW you can buy good German beer here. But why would anyone want to do that when there is very good English beer available. When in Rome and all that.

NFH

Why would there be excess baggage charges? If I package them up into 3 items containing 2 crates each, it would fall into the baggage allowance.

Why buy German beer in the UK when the tax alone is more than the usual full retail price? And why would I want to drink English beer when it's got lots of artificial additives?

srt8

If you want German Beer in the UK for a reasonable price I have two words for you:

LIDL - LIDL Perlenbacher Premium Pilsner, Brewed in Germany, 6 x 500ml £5.25

ALDI - ALDI Steinhauser German Lager £3.89 for 6 cans

PUCCI GALORE

Grief - what state will it be in being chucked around by the baggage handlers or sitting outside in the heat.

Still each to their own.

NFH

I've tried buying this kind of stuff before from the same budget supermarkets. The price is usually around €0.40 for a 50cl can, and this is reflected in the quality, as they often lack flavour. It's budget beer and the breweries are often contracted by the budget supermarkets to produce only for them. Outside Germany, I buy large quantities only of the large German national beers.

oscietra

NO! NO! NO!

I do not want your disgusting beverages smashing/exploding in the hold and leaking all over my Tumi.

Not to mention the wastefulness and environmental impact of air-freighting beer.

And spare a thought for the check in agents and baggage handlers who have to lug your bags around.

Get a better job, and buy some beer when you get home.

You really can't be that Poor.