transparent

Well, if it's 2x or 3x, that means if you can get away with it 1x or 2x then you have come out ahead

Mama

I recall they did weight my carry-on when I checked in for my boarding pass at MFM last year. They put a sticker tag on your carry-on bags if they passed. At the boarding area, the agent also randomly checked carry-on bags.

tmac100

Are you sure? Throw the dice - it is YOUR money. Just like playing Russian Roulette. Like being a gambler are you telling us? If do, do you also run red lights at controlled intersections?

Or (perhaps) you are just thinking/speculating out loud?

mikesaidyes

Or a better answer: I'm a 34 year old man. Yes, I like to save money, but if I can't afford the 15$ for one bag, I shouldn't be on the trip. And yes, sure, it's 15$ that I'm paying and could be saving elsewhere for my trip, BUT then I'm also not paying 50$ because I wanted to risk it.

And then on the other hand.....it is only 15$ Yes, I know every country/person's idea of money is different, but to me, an American working in South Korea, 15$ is not that much overall.

And even think of it this way....I'm going to Japan next month. I am not checking a bag because ti's a weekend trip (and one bag is 30$, too high for such a short trip) and I don't have that much stuff...but sadly, no liquids can come back with us via Japan duty free. Sometimes you might want to, say , carry liquids.

transparent

Well, for me at least, it's not about the money, but I'm on Flyertalk to try and learn ways to get the most out of my miles/money when traveling. If I can avoid a $15-20 fee, why not? Especially since I think it's ridiculous to force people to check bags that will fit in the overhead (and when overhead bins are almost always 80% empty anyway on AirAsia flights). I'd almost rather pay a $5-10 carry-on fee instead of being forced to check, but that's another topic.

Thank you, this is a useful data point. I have pre-purchased 20kg check-in allowance (that's the lowest on this sector, normally 15kg would suffice as my bag generally comes in at 12-13kg but that wasn't an option).

I think this is a little dramatic-- it's far from Russian roulette. Maybe it's a little bit of a gamble, but it's nowhere near analogous to breaking traffic laws with safety consequences. It's more of an expected value play. If they only check occasionally, then you might get caught and forced to weigh your bag 1/5 flights. If they only charge you 2x as a penalty, then it's totally worth it to try and carry-on instead of pre-purchasing check-in allowance.

A better analogy is parking-- do you circle for 20-30 minutes looking for street parking and pay $5 for parking, or pay $15-20 in a parking lot, or chance parking illegally to run into a store for something? Well, if your chance is very low of getting a ticket (and such ticket is $60), it might be worth it to just run in vs. spending time/money parking legally.

tmac100

As always, transparent, it is your call. You asked for advice and I gave mine. Good luck with rolling your dice.

Let us know what happened + or -, please. Other inquiring minds may want to know what happened when "you rolled your dice".

pushmyredbutton

I travel with a full-size rollerboard with a backpack on top with a combined weight of roughly 15kg.

Out of 20 AirAsia segments over the last 2 years, I've only been caught once, in CGK. Some airports are easier than others, and there are tricks to get around the weighing in most cases.

blandy62

from my own exprince, in KUL and DMK, they don't care, as long it respect the sixe. In HKG, they would weight your hand luggage at checkin but no check when boarding.

transparent

Will definitely report back, even though in this case I am not rolling any dice. One other data point for AirAsia flyers, I found that the prices went up when I searched for the flights I wanted, but didn't buy, and went back to search again like 15 minutes later. Kind of sneaky. An incognito window fixed that.

While I was asking specifically about MFM experiences, your perspective may be useful to others trying to determine whether to "roll the dice"

XmaX

Any experience with this flying out of HAN? I fly around Europe in various LCCs and never had my cabin luggage weighted. Is AirAsia generally more strict than European carriers?

Deafchick

I have an Osprey Porter 30 that can fit in the overhead compartment. I imagine they won't be strict with this when I make my connection at KUL correct?

transparent

In my experience (though limited compared to others here), if you can it on your back, they tend not to blink an eye. But if it looks ridiculously large, who knows, since it goes by weight. I have found that with backpacks like the Osprey (I have used others) you can probably get the weight to just about 7kg anyway which would mean they shouldn't make you check it.

divrdrew

I have flown both Air Asia and Air Asia X a total of six or seven times over the past few years. In / through KUL/SIN/REP/DPS/CGK. Checked bags weight have been strictly enforced everywhere. We were off by a few pounds once and got whacked with very high fees...always book a little more than you need in advance. If not, at the airport you can get stuck for over $100. Carry-on have only been weighed once and that time was within the limits. I have been in other airports traveling other airlines (BKI and TWU) where it appeared as though Air Asia weighed all carry-on bags.

onuhistorian0116

I’ve flown Air Asia about half a dozen times and have never seen them weigh a carry-on, and have seen passengers carry on small roller boards, that are very likely well over the 7 KG limit.

That said, others have seen it happen, and it is a roll of the dice if you go to the airport heavy. The gate check fee is quite hefty.

I usually travel with a backpack with my clothes, iPad, and back up battery. I’ve discoverd the iPad and backup battery tend to push my weight over the top. So I ordered a ScottEVest travel hoodie for the trip I am currently on, that includes a Trans Atlantic flight on Wow. With the hoodie, I can wear my iPad, battery, and even an extra shirt or two so my backpack meets both the size and weight requirements with room to spare. I’m looking to pick up their featherweight travel vest for warm weather travel.

Also, the ScottEVest is just nice for the airport, a place for my passport, my phone, my plane ticket (which is awkward, too big for my pocket, but can disappear into my backpack), plus a couple of pen holders for filling out useless international arrival documents. I recieved mine in December, and since then have taken 5 flights and a long haul train trip, it is great!

transparent

As an update to MFM-- I prepaid for check-in luggage, but tried to carry-on anyway. Because my roller looked on the larger side, the check-in counter insisted on weighing. I had to check-in at the counter due to document check or something? I think if you didn't have to do that (e.g. mobile boarding pass or print-at-home), you could get away with it as I didn't see any weighing at the gate.