anFelipe

I will be travelling via Dubai with a 15h layover and would like to do some shopping while there. I don't mean Duty Free in the airport but leaving the airport and going to a supermarket. I will already have 2 bags checked and my carry on will already be at 7 kilos. If I leave the airport and do shopping what is the procedure when I return to the airport with a carry on well over the 7 kilo limit? EK staff are often waiting right before the immigration to weigh the carry-ons. Sometimes they weigh and sometimes they don't, but assuming they will want me to pay to check the bag, how does that work?

Is is a straight fee (like $50 or $200) up to 23 kilos? Or is it per kilo? If so how much per kilo?

Will they be able to check it to my final destination if that destination is on another airline? I will have my other 2 bags checked to my final destination via the EK inter-line agreement with SAA and it would be nice to have the overweight carry on checked in in the same way.

Does anyone have experience with this that can help me understand what to expect?

skywardhunter

Assuming you're on a piece concept allowance of 2 bags:

1. Ask first airport staff to check bags only to DXB, then collect them and take them with shopping or store at airport for a fee. Add shopping and re-check.

Interline is irrelevant as you need to collect bags and clear customs in SA regardless of onward travel.

2. Fixed fee per bag if on a piece concept, I think 50usd but not sure.

modularmayhem

Ive been in the same position as you, went outside airport to shop on a stopover and intended to carry items as hand luggage, but when arriving back at airport i was offered to check the items in as luggage for free despite being at my max checked allowance.

simons1

Interline is perfectly relevant if connecting internationally. I do it regularly connecting in Johannesburg to SAA up to Botswana.

Only if it is a domestic connection is customs clearance needed.

skywardhunter

True, I assumed domestic

ioto1902

50 USD a piece ?!? That's a real steal !! I always thought it was something like 30 USD per kilogram.

skywardhunter

My only data point is being with friends who had extra weight in a piece concept and were told if they could organise another bag they'd pay 50usd or so for that bag. On a weight concept it seems significantly more punitive to be overweight

anFelipe

Thanks for the feedback.

I guess I should have been more specific. I am starting at DSS and my onward connection in JNB is international. It is with SA Airlink so if I had to recheck I would only get one 20 kilo bag per person, rather than the two 23k bags with the interline agreement.

Skywardhunter, your option one is a possibility, although I don't want to lug my bags around Dubai for a 15h layover if I don't have to. I am travelling with my wife so we will have 4 bags total. Even if I was willing to pay extra for storing them at the left luggage area in the airport they would be a pain, especially if the option existed to let the airline handle them for free by checking them all the way through.

Is it possible for the two of us to try and combine our stuff into 3 bags between us, check them all the way through when I check in at DSS, and then add another bag in Dubai? Will EK see that I still have an unused checked bag "credit" and allow me to apply it halfway through the trip?

Dave Noble

Where are you flying from and to? If you go to https://www.emirates.com/au/english/...alculator.aspx , you will be able to determine the allowance and also the excess baggage rates.

If on a piece based route , then there will be a fixed cost for an extra piece ( from South Africa to Europe for example it is USD200 ) - if on a weight based route , it will be priced per kilogramme over the allowance

anFelipe

Sorry for the lack of clarification. I thought I had responded yesterday with a follow-up post with more details. When I hit the "reply" button I got a message that it would post after someone else approved it, but it hasn't posted yet, so I will try to reproduce it here.

I am leaving from DSS and going to JNB, and then connecting with SA Airlink on an international flight to Mozambique. I appreciate the ability to connect with SAA's interline agreement and have my two 23 kilo bags checked from DSS all the way through to my final Moz destination, rather than having to deal with them in JNB (and only get Airlink's 20 kilo limit.)

I assume my bags will be full from DSS, so thus my original post.

If, however, I can reduce my bags so I only have one bag when I check in at DSS, and check it all the way through, when I get to DXB can I add another bag half-way through my trip? Do I still have a one 23 kilo bag "credit" in DXB that I can use?

skywardhunter

Yes

Dave Noble

Do you have a through ticket from DSS to Mozambique or are there 2 separate bookimgs ? For DSS-JNB, the calculator shows that the cost of an extra piece is USD160 if purchased in advance or $200 if purchased at the airport

If the latter, do not assume that you will be able to check the bags through and also be able to avoid the excess baggage fees of the separate booking

weld3z

Check your skyward status if you are silver you well got 12KG extra a total of 44kg

skywardhunter

No, skywards allowances are not applicable to tickets with the piece concept

Xlr

If your ticket gets you 2 bags, but you only check one bag at the origin, you can add a second bag in Dubai without additional charge.

I assume you are planning to buy the second piece luggage itself in Dubai.