At least you are getting emails informing of changes. As a non BAEC customer I have had exactly nothing from BA lately. I guess I am supposed to inform myself by regularly perusing their website searching high and low for their changes made since I made the booking but applied retrospectively?

Whether you like the new policy or not (I don't), there is one absolutely critical piece of advice - which is don't fly BA anywhere in the first two weeks (at least) after this is introduced. Check in is an absolute zoo at the best of times, but when this policy is introduced at least 30% of passengers will have more bags than allowed, and so BA will have to collect a payment (how long is that going to take each time, how will it occur?), and another 30% will have a bag weighing more than 23 kg.

So, there will be rows, people having to repack, people having to pay, etc. Imagine the chaos, especially when there are flights to South Asia going out!

Not worth - fly with someone else for that period at least.

This intersecting with the collection of the extra APD from the 1st Feb is going to make LHR a living hell for quite a while.

Not to mention two possible strikes (flight crew & cabin crew).

And pax upset when they have to sit all over the aircraft because they don't have a computer to check in online and they can't assign a seat when they've booked months in advance. :mad:

Anyone know what luggage rules will apply on a rtw trip that starts in January, with the first long haul sector being BA LHR SFO and the last sector being SYD LHR in April?

I presume I can start with two checked bags of 32Kg to SFO, which I can then have on all flights until I have a BA codeshare flight from Oz to NZ, when I will have to have a third bag to carry the weight. (I can buy a second cabin bag in the US of course)

The third checked bag will then need to be thrown away for the QF flights that follow. I will then have to get another bag to fly back to UK with three bags of 23Kgs. :confused:

Perhaps the codeshare flight doesn't matter, but will I still need three bags on the SYD LHR flight?

Dave

Your circumstances are very unique and there will only be a handful of people on every flight who would be looking to carry 3 x 23kg. Sheena and I normally manage very well with one 32kg bag and a carry-on. Two 23kg bags and a carry on will be a pain in the arse.

Who's on First, What's on Second and I don't know is on Third :confused:

AFAIK AA only allows free per piece 23kg. You can have up to 32kg in it, but will be charged excess if over 23kg.

Oz-NZ is operated by QF therefore QF rules apply. Ie 2 pieces up to 32kg.

BA SYD-LHR will indeed be 3 @ 23kgs.

Perhaps this is no coincidence either.:(

The style and tone of the e-mail is a very important point and I wonder whether this e-mail was cleared by BA's legal department.

A passenger who has paid £400 for a WT flight to JFK could find themselves paying almost a third of the original ticket price in excess baggage charges as a result of the new policy. This is, by anyone's standards, a very onerous condition of BA's policy.

Whilst the e-mail refers to excess charges and provides a link to the new policy, it does not make it clear just how much the additional cost could be to the passenger. I don't think a reasonable passenger would expect to have to pay an additional £120 for exceeding the 23kg limit by a few kgs. A reasonable passenger may read the e-mail and simply think "OK fine. I may or may not go over the 23kg limit. If I do, then I could live with a small charge."

Given how, for the majority of passengers, the new policy could result in a substantial increase in the cost of their flights, there is the question of whether the e-mail should, to use the phrase adopted by the courts, have "a big red flag" to make it explicit to passengers what the consequences of the new policy are. Indeed, the e-mail actually tries to play down the impact of excess baggage charges to passengers.

I will write tomorrow to BA on this.

As said before when we had the earlier thread, when travelling with a family the higher single bag limit is essential as I just don't have enough hands to wheel 2 bags and hold a small child's hand. It's a fact and therefore BA physically won't be an option.

This is almost certainly the final straw for longhaul on BA with me when combined with the other asinine changes imposed in the last few weeks.

I will have 4 VS UC longhaul flights under my belt by end Feb 07 so will have Gold with them and cannot see any way I would any longer choose BA on longhaul wherever I have a choice. VS has always been a real pleasure each time I have flown with them - they appear genuinely pleased to provide a service to me and from anecdotal evidence from my colleagues appear to be able to flex some rules for their Gold Card holders.

I used to be so proud to be a BA Gold Card holder. Now I just think they are taking the p***.

Need we say any more? I'll have a drink in the VS clubhouse thinking about all these changes when I fly out to DEL on VS on the 27th. :p

Yes, I think most people would agree with that and infact many people would prefer 1 at 32 than 2 at 23.

When will BA (and other companies) learn that CONSUMERS WANT CHOICE!?!?!? :mad:

And when is half-term again? :rolleyes: