Transporting Excess Luggage on NW-ticketed international flight
 

I am moving from Europe to the US and am traveling with a NWA-ticket. The first flight is operated by KLM, and the second is likely to be a Delta-branded plane (it was last month - but with pilots still thanking us for flying NWA).

My question is about excess luggage. Whose rules must I follow when bringing excess bags?

KLM offers 30% off if one pays for excess luggage online before the flight, at Eur150 per piece. NWA does not - but their charge is $150, which is significantly less than the equivalent in Euro. Both charge by the piece concept for flights to North America. I somehow doubt I would be charged the dollar price when checking into a KLM flight in Norway though.

Finally, anyone have any recommendations on the best way to transport extra luggage from Norway to the US? Is excess luggage best or will I be messed about in immigration (having so much luggage?). I will be bringing mostly clothes, shoes, and a few books.

Thanks.

There are a few exceptions I am sure, but the rule basically is you follow the baggage allowances and charges of the first airline you are traveling with.

Re: immigration (not usually a problem - that deals with you) and customs (that is where your "stuff" comes in), you will need to check with people in Norway and ask them their experience. When I moved to Austria in the 1980's I had 8 extra pieces of luggage and for me, it was cheaper than air freight or boat. I took boxes and was surprised at how easy customs was.

After having lived there for some time, I realized that Austrian customs officials were pretty paranoid about any luggage that was a box. Put some highly valuable piece of equipment in a suitcase and you were rarely questioned. Put a sleeping bag in a box and you were stopped at customs!

Generally, when bringing your own personal, used goods into Europe you are OK. The problem comes when you import new things, even if they are for your own use. But that is a very general statement.

John

Northwest baggage charges have gone up...Its now 200 for the 1st, 350 for the 2nd...However.....If KLM is checking you in, then its the KL policy and fees....They will collect in Euro....Pre-pay is probably the best option for tvl originating in Europe

The stock answer around here is usually to ship stuff to your destination. Just for kicks I got a quote from the FedEx web site for shipping 50# of personal effects from Jar (suburb of Oslo where we used to live :) ) to Minneapolis: NOK 2989 = US$ 498 for delivery by Sept. 10.

Actually makes the airline's excess baggage fees look like a good deal if you really need something near term.

UPS was higher.

Actually my stock answer is "shop around."

I guess if excess baggage or Fed Ex/UPS are the only options, excess baggage looks attractive (as I said, I did it years ago). Of course they aren't. There are some options with boat transportation that I am sure are cheaper. But it takes 6-12 weeks. If you don't need the stuff right away though....

Some answers
 

Thanks for your responses. I have done quite a lot of phoning around, and received many mixed answers. Here is what i was told, in order:

1) Northwest informed me that there are no longer two bags included in the ticketed fare from Europe to the US. The first bag is included in the purchase price of the ticket, the second is $50 USD, the third is $200 USD and the fourth bag is $350 USD.

Note: I took similar flights 4 years ago and each bag above the two included in the ticket price was $99 USD, so these prices have gone up substantially.
Question: Why are these prices up so dramatically? Is this a fuel issue? Or just a way to earn more money in tight times? Or related to the DELTA merger? I feel things are getting much less customer-friendly since the DELTA merger was announced, but that is another topic.

2) KLM. As they are the first airline I will encounter, they gave me a response which was a mix of what is stated on the KLM website and what NWA quoted me. The first bag is included in the ticket price, the second is 50 Euro, the third is 150 Euro, and the fourth is 150 Euro. A Maximum of 4 bags is allowed. If any bag exceeds the dimensions and weight allowed (50 lbs/23 kg) another fee is assessed.

3) Freight Forwarder. On advice from a friend who moved away from Norway I called a freight forwarder. If one is shipping MORE than 100 kilos, the charge is 32 NOK per kilo. Less than 100 kilos rings in charges at 67 NOK per kilo. From my understanding this is regardless of how many bags - just done on weight. The total cost of approx 100 kilos is a little over 3,000 NOK, a substantial savings over the airlines.

4) Postal service. The Norwegian postal service, posten.no, will ship boxes UP to 20 kg only, and this costs just under $300 per box.

So there you have it - no perfect solutions, but the freight forwarder looks to be the best option if the prices quoted end up being accurate. It means I can bring some of my heavier items, i.e. books, too.

I hope this is helpful for someone else. Moving can be pretty stressful, and answers make all the difference.

Money grab.

It is very possible that KLM has different charges than NW. The carrier you first check in with is the carrier's rules you go by.

Yes, I think "freight forwarder" is the term I was looking for when I was thinking about how some companies consolidate the goods of various people, either by air or by sea, and transport them across the Atlantic together. So that is very possibly the best option. And various freight forwarding companies have different rates so shop around.

John