Saltire74

Hi All

Hoping to make this thread a one stop shop for all Emirates Baggage questions with information gratefuly supplied by the Emirates website and our resident experts.

All of the information in this post is from the EK site: https://www.emirates.com/english/pla...tion/baggages/ , but as I'm sure most will agree, there are some questions that we can't seem to find the answer to due to some peculiarities with bookings, routings, interlining etc.

Hopefully you will find this thread helpful and will get all of your questions answered.

The Basics

Emirates has one of the most generous baggage policies in the world.

Emirates offer different baggage allowances based on either the weight concept or the piece concept – depending on your specific route. This is in line with international regulations.

Weight concept

The weight concept applies to all routes, excluding travel to or from destinations in Canada, North America and South America. For travellers in Emirates Economy Class, your baggage allowance depends on the type of fare you’ve purchased.

Piece concept (for Canada, North America and South America)

If your journey includes any destinations in Canada, North America or South America, different baggage rules apply.The total dimensions (length + width + height) of each piece must not exceed 150cm (59 inches). You’ll be charged an additional fee for any individual items exceeding dimensions of 150cm (59 inches), up to a maximum of 300cm (118 inches). If an individual item has total dimensions greater than 300cm (118 inches), it can’t be checked in as baggage and will need to be sent as cargo or freight.If you check in two pieces of luggage (in any of our three classes), the total combined dimensions of both pieces should not exceed 300cm (118 inches).

Travel from Australia, New Zealand or Asia

If your journey from Australia, New Zealand or Asia to North or South America includes a stopover in Dubai greater than 24 hours, or a sector in Europe or Africa, the weight concept will apply for the entire ticketed journey.

Travel including any destination in Africa

If your journey commences in Africa, different rules apply depending on when your ticket was issued.

What is the baggage policy for Africa?

For tickets issued on or after 15 April 2016
For itineraries commencing in any destination in Africa, the piece concept applies. Customers beginning their journey in Africa are allowed two bags of up to 23kg each in Economy Class, and two bags of up to 32kg each in First Class or Business Class. This will apply regardless of the country in which the ticket was purchased. If the free baggage allowance is exceeded, normal excess charges apply.

For tickets issued before 15 April 2016
The baggage allowance for passengers with tickets issued before this date on journeys originating in Africa will continue to be based on the weight concept. This applies regardless of the date of travel. If the free baggage allowance is exceeded, normal excess charges apply

Interline baggage policy

If your travel starts in the United States and the first airline on your booking is not Emirates, different rules may apply. Interline flights are flights that are on the same ticket as your Emirates flights, but they are operated by another airline and do not have an 'Emirates' flight number (Emirates flight numbers start with EK). These airlines may have a different baggage allowance to Emirates. You can read the interline partner baggage allowances for information on allowances and charges for carry-on baggage and checked bag.

Saltire74

The majority of this information is from the Emirates Website.

Weight Concept:

The weight concept applies to all routes, excluding travel to or from destinations in Canada, North America and South America. For travellers in Emirates Economy Class, your baggage allowance depends on the type of fare you’ve purchased.When you fly with Emirates to and from destinations outside the Americas, you can enjoy the following checked baggage allowances:

Economy Fare Band:
Before 20 June 16 Special: 30kg, Saver: 30kg, Flex: 30kg, Flex Plus: 30kg
From 20 June 16 Special: 25kg, Saver: 30kg, Flex: 30kg, Flex Plus: 35kg

Business Class: All Fare Types
Before 20 June 16 - 40kg
From 20 June 16 - 40kg

First Class: All Fare Types
Before 20 June 16 - 50kg
From 20 June 16 - 50kg

You can check in as many pieces of baggage as you need, as long as the total weight is less than the maximum baggage allowance of your class. However, each individual item must weigh less than 32kg in total. If an individual item has total dimensions (length + width + height) greater than 300cm (118 inches), it can’t be checked in as baggage and will need to be sent as cargo or freight. There are no exceptions to this rule.

Skywards Members Additional Baggage Allowance (On Weight Concept Only):
Blue: Nil
Silver: 12kg
Gold: 16kg
Platinum: 20kg

Priority Baggage Delivery

Passengers in First Class, Business Class and Skywards I/O, Platinum, Gold & Silver members are given priority baggage delivery at destination (in theory). Unfortunately this does not always happen but on the whole, Emirates seem to be one of the better airlines to deliver what they promise.

Piece concept (for Canada, North America and South America)

If your journey includes any destinations in Canada, North America or South America, different baggage rules apply.The total dimensions (length + width + height) of each piece must not exceed 150cm (59 inches). You’ll be charged an additional fee for any individual items exceeding dimensions of 150cm (59 inches), up to a maximum of 300cm (118 inches).

If an individual item has total dimensions greater than 300cm (118 inches), it can’t be checked in as baggage and will need to be sent as cargo or freight.If you check in two pieces of luggage (in any of our three classes), the total combined dimensions of both pieces should not exceed 300cm (118 inches).

Canada and North America

For travel to and from Canada and North America, you can check in two bags of up to 23kg each in Economy Class, and two bags of up to 32kg each in First Class or Business Class.

South America

For travel to and from South America, you can check in two bags of up to 32kg each in every class.

Travel from Australia, New Zealand or Asia

If your journey from Australia, New Zealand or Asia to North or South America includes a stopover in Dubai greater than 24 hours, or a sector in Europe or Africa, the weight concept will apply for the entire ticketed journey.

Travel including any destination in Africa

If your journey commences in Africa, different rules apply depending on when your ticket was issued. Please read our FAQ for details.

What is the baggage policy for Africa?

For tickets issued on or after 15 April 2016
For itineraries commencing in any destination in Africa, the piece concept applies. Customers beginning their journey in Africa are allowed two bags of up to 23kg each in Economy Class, and two bags of up to 32kg each in First Class or Business Class. This will apply regardless of the country in which the ticket was purchased. If the free baggage allowance is exceeded, normal excess charges apply.

For tickets issued before 15 April 2016
The baggage allowance for passengers with tickets issued before this date on journeys originating in Africa will continue to be based on the weight concept. This applies regardless of the date of travel. If the free baggage allowance is exceeded, normal excess charges apply.

**Please Note That Skywards Members, Silver & Above, Do Not Get Additional Allowance If Travelling On The Piece Concept**

Travelling On Mixed Class Itineraries

If you are travelling on a mixed class itinerary, then you need to be aware that the most restrictive baggage allowance should apply. So if you are travelling on one leg in Y and another in J, then you would get the Y allowance for the journey. See this thread http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/emira...allowance.html.
If you are travelling outbound in J and return in Y, then the baggage allowance for class of travel will apply to each leg

As an example:
PEK-DXB-GLA: PEK-DXB in J and DXB-GLA in Y: Basic Baggage Allowance of 30kg is applied to the whole journey.
LHR-DXB-BKK: Outbound in J and return in Y: Basic baggage allowance for the LHR-DXB-BKK legs are 40kg. For the return BKK-DXB-LHR legs this would be 30kg.

Baggage Allowance Calculator And Excess Baggage Rates

For the most accurate information use this link to find out what your baggage allowance is: https://www.emirates.com/english/pla...alculator.aspx

Excess baggage can be purchased two ways. The first is online through Manage My Booking (MMB) and attracts a 10% discount compared to purchasing excess baggage the second way, which is at the airport check in desk.

What's Not Allowed In Checked Baggage

Personal motorised vehicles are not allowed on board
For safety reasons, we can’t accept personal motorised vehicles such as hoverboards, mini-Segways and smart or self-balancing wheels on our flights. We can’t carry them either as checked-in baggage or as hand luggage as they contain large lithium batteries. This regulation still applies even if you’re connecting to our flights from an airline that has accepted them.

Items containing explosives are not allowed on board

All fireworks and any other items containing explosives, for example Christmas crackers, firecrackers, bottle rockets, poppers and sparklers are forbidden to be carried either as carry-on baggage or as checked baggage on our flights.

Dangerous Goods & Banned Substances

Emirates currently has a total ban on Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Phones
See these recent threads for some earlier enquiries:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/emira...-peroxide.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/emira...ge-ok-not.html
And from the Emirates website:
https://www.emirates.com/english/pla...ds-policy.aspx

Travellers to Dubai should be aware that some substances/medications that can be purchased over the counter in many countries may be banned in the UAE and should check the the link to ensure you stay within the law. https://www.emirates.com/english/pla...n_the_uae.aspx

Saltire74

Interline Baggage Policy (Some of the links will take you to the Emirates webpages).

The majority of this information is from the Emirates Website.

If your travel starts in the United States and the first airline on your booking is not Emirates, different rules may apply. Interline flights are flights that are on the same ticket as your Emirates flights, but they are operated by another airline and do not have an 'Emirates' flight number (Emirates flight numbers start with EK). These airlines may have a different baggage allowance to Emirates. You can read the interline policy by clicking on the link for information on allowances and charges for carry-on baggage and checked bag.
https://www.emirates.com/english/pla...-partners.aspx

Be aware that if you are travelling on seperate tickets that although EK may be prepared to interline your baggage, you may still get charged if the second airline has a lower baggage allowance. It may not also be practical if you are travelling to a destination where you must clear customs formalities at your point of entry such as India or USA.

If my journey includes flights on other airlines, what will my baggage allowance be?

For travel not including destinations in the United States: If your itinerary includes flights operated by airlines other than Emirates, on the same ticket as your Emirates flights, different baggage rules may apply for these sectors.For existing bookings, your ticket will have full details of your checked baggage allowances for each flight in your itinerary. To check baggage allowances before booking, please contact us for information on Emirates codeshare flights operated by other airlines, or contact the airline in question for non-codeshare flights.

For travel starting in the United States:

different baggage rules may apply:

• If your first flight is with Emirates, the Emirates baggage allowance policy will apply for the whole itinerary, including flights on other airlines.
• If your first flight is not with Emirates, the baggage policy of the first carrier may apply to the whole itinerary. This is due to US Department of Transportation regulations, which require airlines to apply the baggage policy of the first carrier of the journey to the whole itinerary.

The baggage policy that applies to your specific itinerary will be displayed during the booking process on emirates.com, and on your eticket receipt.If another airline’s baggage policy applies to your booking, any additional baggage allowance can be purchased from that airline only – discounts may apply for paying in advance or via the carrier’s website.If you have specific questions about another airline’s baggage policy that are not covered during the booking process or on the eticket receipt, please contact the carrier directly for more information.

For travel to the United States:

If your itinerary includes flights operated by airlines other than Emirates, on the same ticket as your Emirates flights, different baggage rules may apply for these sectors.The baggage policy that applies to your specific itinerary will be displayed during the booking process on emirates.com, and on your eticket receipt.

Some recent threads on interlining:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/emira...s-through.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/emira...cked-bags.html

Cabin Baggage Allowances

Generally, the amount of cabin baggage you may bring depends on which service class you are flying.

First Class and Business Class customers are permitted two pieces of carry-on baggage: one briefcase plus either one handbag or one garment bag. The briefcase may not exceed 18 x 14 x 8 inches (45 x 35 x 20cm); the handbag may not exceed 22 x 15 x 8 inches (55 x 38 x 20cm); the garment bag can be no more than 8 inches (20cm) thick when folded. The weight of each piece must not exceed 7kg (15lb).

Economy Class customers are permitted one (1) piece of carry-on baggage that should not exceed 22 x 15 x 8 inches (55 x 38 x 20cm) and must weigh no more than 7kg (15lb).

Note: For customers boarding in India, the size of carry-on baggage may not exceed 45.3 total inches or 115cm (length + width + height).

Duty free purchases such as liquor, cigarettes and perfume are also permitted in reasonable quantities for all service classes. However, liquid restrictions in effect in many airports may prevent these items from getting past security screening points. More about liquid restrictions.

Customers travelling with infants

Customers in any class of service who are travelling with an infant are permitted one extra piece of checked-in baggage that may not exceed 22 x 15 x 8 inches (55 x 38 x 20cm) in size or 22lb (10kg) where the weight concept applies and 50lb (23kg) where the piece concept applies.In addition, customers travelling with infants are permitted to bring one carry-cot or one fully collapsible stroller into the cabin if there is room. If there is no space for these items in the cabin, they will have to be checked. However, if checked, they will not count against your baggage allowance.

Be aware that whatever station you are departing from may show some leniancy with cabin baggage whereas others follow the allowance guidelines very strictly. DXB & MAN have been reported as weighing Y pax cabin luggage and refusing to allow anything over the published size/weight whereas my own pwersonal experience in GLA & PEK they have been lenient with size & weight. YMMV

Saltire74

Unusual Baggage & Special Allowances

The majority of this information is directly from the Emirates Website

Follow this link: https://www.emirates.com/english/pla...llowances.aspx for all information on Emirates policy for passengers travelling with disabilities, travelling with infants, travelling with pets, travelling with musical instruments and sporting equipment.

Although we have many contributors on the forum who may have experience with the above, you would be best to contact the airline and discuss your needs for clarification and if need be, notes can be inserted into your PNR.

What to do if your baggage is delayed
https://www.emirates.com/english/pla...d-baggage.aspx

At some point or other, there will be a fair few forumites that have experienced delayed or lost baggage. It can be quite an inconvenience to arrive at destinations without your belongings and sometimes the process of reconciliation can be very frustrating. I cannot comment personally on how EK deal with this situation but like all other airlines, Emirates has the following guidelines if you find your checked baggage has not arrived with you at your destination.

Here are some previous threads relating to this:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/emira...tory-form.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/emira...g-receipt.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/emirates-skywards/1206000-delayed-luggage-compensation.html


If you can’t find your baggage at the airport terminal, the first step is to go to the baggage services desk. You can normally find the desk in the Arrivals hall near to the baggage claim area.When you’re there, you will need to fill out a report. This report will have a unique reference number, which helps us to trace your baggage as quickly and efficiently as possible. The more information you can give us about your baggage – the colour, make, identifying marks and more – the better. Enter your reference number into our online baggage tracker. We’ll give you a number you can call to track your baggage, which you can also use to change your details or delivery address if necessary.Once you’ve completed the report, you don’t need to do anything else at the moment. We’re working hard to reunite you with your bags and will be in touch when we find them.If you left the airport without filling in a report, please call us at your local Emirates office as soon as possible.

If your bag hasn’t been returned to you in three days

We do everything we can to reunite you with your baggage. But if you haven’t received your baggage within three days, you will need to fill in a Baggage Inventory form. We’ll give you this form when you report your delayed bags, or if you've already left the airport, please contact us and we’ll email the form to you.Send the completed inventory to the email address on the form, along with these documents:

• your completed Baggage Inventory form
• a copy of your passport or other photo ID
• copies of receipts for any clothes you’ve bought as a result of your baggage being delayed, if you have them. Or the receipts for any items in the bag (such as a receipt for a wedding dress)
• your excess baggage receipt, if you carried extra baggage outside of our standard allowance

At this stage we recommend you register a claim on your travel insurance to cover the loss of your bags.Once we’ve found your bags and they’ve been approved by customs, we’ll be in touch immediately to arrange a delivery time.

What to do if your baggage arrives damaged

If your baggage arrives damaged, we’ll help you at the airport’s baggage services office. They will ask you to fill in a report.If you leave the airport without making a claim and find your baggage is damaged when you arrive at your destination, report it to us at your nearest Emirates office. If you’re in Dubai, you can call +971 4 214 4433.

If items are missing from your baggage

Follow the same process above if you find items missing from your bags.If you’re on a flight out of the USA, the Transport Security Administration (TSA) may have removed items from your bag deemed to be contraband or dangerous. You can register a claim with the TSA(Opens an external website in a new tab) to check whether this has happened.

Lost items or items left on board our flights

If you’ve lost a piece of your property on board one of our aircraft, please contact the lost property office at the airport where your flight landed. You can also check our complete list of airports serving Emirates flights to find out the contact details of the airport where you landed. The customer service agents there will be able to help you.

Checked baggage tips

Many bags look alike, so it’s important to avoid anyone picking up your bags by mistake. Make your baggage stand out by personalising it with tags, stickers or ribbons.Always tie an identification tag to each checked item with your name, address and contact details. We can give you a tag at the check-in counter if you don’t already have one.We recommend you don’t leave valuables in your checked-in bags. That could include jewellery, computers and electronic devices, keys, important documents (including passports) and medication or medical equipment that can’t be replaced quickly.

Please also make sure your baggage is sufficiently robust, well packed and secured. It will need to withstand the normal rigours of air travel without getting damaged.

I am sure there are things I have forgotten to include but please ask your questions here and hopefully someone can help or point you in the right direction.

Safe & Happy Travels

Saltire74
Ambassador Emirates Skywards Forum

m3red

I'm seeing a 2 piece restriction on all my booked flights to the uk and asia

sydtogla

I should mention that for those in F and J, priority baggage tagging has been trumped by a 'heavy' tag many times in my experience. Any case over 23kg will get one and it may mean you have to wait longer at the carousel.

Saltire74

Why's that then? Have you called and asked?

S

m3red

No idea and no. The only time I check in 2 bags is when I go skiing which is once a year.

It's mentioned on all my future bookings (all in F)

Saltire74

Just looking up an example on the baggage calculator it doesn't mention anything about piece concept. Still shows F Plat allowance as 70kg.

S

skywardhunter

Maybe a bug or they're moving worldwide to the piece concept...

m3red

Saltire74

Isn't the iPad app not known for throwing up some anomolies?

S

skywardhunter

If it isn't not known then isn't it just known?

Saltire74

It's Saturday morning, still jet lagged, brain to engage fully

S

skywardhunter

^ not jet lagged but hungover from Indian rum (Old Monk) so I completely understand!