Baggage Allowance Negotiation
 

Hi all,

I have a baggage allowance question for the more experienced travellers here.

I am moving to North America for 2 years from Australia and am subsequently about to book BNE-LAX for 2 people.

Air Pacific and VAustralia both have comparable fares for my dates, but Air Pacific allow 2 x 23kg (46kg total) checked baggage and VAustralia allow 2 Bags to a max on 32kg in total.

I need to get the 2 x 23kg (46kg) as the mrs will pack the kitchen sink, and my connecting flights in North America allow 2 x 23kg each.

I would prefer to fly VAustralia because I am a velocity rewards member, and also because it is a direct flight (air pacific connects in Nadi).

SO my question is, do you think VAustralia would match Air Pacific's baggage allowance, if it meant selling 2 x seats on a long haul flight? ...Particularly in this econcomy.

Has anyone done this before or have any advice as to how to approach this?

Or are the rules set in stone and I should just go on Air Pacific?

Thank you

I have never heard of that happening. I would be very surprised if they agreed to match they baggage allowance, but I suppose there is no harm in asking.

I also would highly doubt that they would match baggage allowance. You can ask, but I wouldn't get angry or anything if your request is denied.

Exceeding baggage on international flights (# of bags or weight of bag) can and will be extremely expensive. Their baggage policy is clear, I wouldn't expect an exception.

Many airlines will give you larger baggage allowances if you are willing to buy more expensive tickets (such as biz and/or first). You're probably going to get stuck paying for the bags anyway, you might as well aim for a better seat ;-).

VAustralia has run some excellent special fares in Premium Economy in recent times...

I haven't checked any details BUT on NZ at least a Y+ ticket DOES now include Business Class baggage allowance...

IF VA offers the same then it may be worth a look????

In fact I think it is SO interesting I'm going to check it out myself! :D

UPDATE: Yep... Y+ on VA has a baggage allowance of 2x32kg !

They have special fares available Feb-Mar of $2179 and under $2000 in April on some dates (on Expedia but NOT on the VA website.. ??) .... but that's return of course which is probably of no use to you (no doubt a max 12 months validity.. possibly less as a special fare)... I assume you are buying a one way ticket?

I can see the attraction of FJ I must say... at least on price... Looks like you can get it under $700 on some dates....

Y+ on DJ also has 2 pieces at 32kg a piece allowance.

Thanks for your replies so far, I'll give it a shot and if not I'll fly a different airline. That's what competition is for right?

Yes I am buying a one way tickets. $677 BNE-LAX (via Fiji) on Air Pacific or $690 BNE-LAX direct on VAustralia. I would buy a return ticket, but the return date is too far away and too undecided, those one way deals are about half a return fare anyway, so no harm in 2 x one way....

I would have thought 2 x bums on seats would be worth 'baggage allowance matching', but I bet the front line staff probably have there hands tied by the t+c's.

No harm in trying soon though, might try and smooth over a person I know that works for Virgin Blue first... :)

Cheers

The rules are not spelled out that clearly but as I read it:

For AUD $ 135 you could have 2 x 32kg bags (1 @ the "allowed" 32kg weight and 1 which is over the remaining 0kg weight)

If they charge you per kg it will cost an arm and a leg but per kg charges seem to only apply for non USA flights.

Cheers,

People travel in pairs all the time so it is nothing special - you are a very small fraction of their business, and with loads up I doubt they really care that much about two travelers on a highly discounted ticket. If they were to match the baggage allowance for you, it would set a precedent to do it for everyone.

Have you looked at sending your "excess" (i.e. items that are excess to your en-route travel requirements) via freight/FEDEX/DHL.

Also, before you lock into your one way ticket make sure that you are able to but a reasonably prices one way return ticket from LAX to BNE.

You got it: http://www.VAustralia.com.au/help-me...ract/index.htm

Thanks for those replies.

I asked a friend who is a travel agent at a well known company about it, and she said that she can match Air Pacific's fare and knock $20 per ticket off (new price $657), which is then cheaper then the price on Air Pacific's website.. which I think it a pretty good deal!, or she can pricematch the VAustralia fare and is going to talk to her contacts at VAustralia about the baggage allowance increase....

Will be interesting to see how it pans out, I am more then happy to book on Air Pacific, but am also curious as to the flexibility of VAustralia in this regard... will update soon

Response

Hi Brad,

Thank you for your email.

We understand that when you migrate to another country, whether it be
permanent or temporarily, you do need that extra luggage allowance. However,
unfortunately V Australia are unable to match the baggage allowance of Air
Pacific as baggage allowance is not something that we are able to negotiate.

We would like to thank you for your interest in V Australia and we sincerely
apologise that we are unable to assist with your request. Should you have any other inquiries please do not hesitate to contact us.

Kind Regards

The V Australia Team

For completeness, QF allows 96kg free baggage allowance for US flights for those with any QFF status (silver or higher). This can sometimes come in handy (as well as worth a few hundred dollars per flight). Also QF codeshares on US domestic flights (AS, AA, etc) have the QF allowance to the endpoint, which may also be a big saving. I don't know if V.Australia has any arrangements with DL or Virgin America, as part of their "partnership". Also, while not an official entitlement, most AA check-in will allow the QF allowance for free when connecting to a QF flight, as well as waiving the AA checked baggage fees for Oneworld Ruby or higher status. Does Virgin status apply to UA (Star) or DL?

Thanks for the info mate.

I'm really not sure of the answer to your question, I'm not as educated on these topics as most FTers.

So in order to get myself and the mrs relocated to Winnipeg (via vegas for a holiday) I ended up booking us tickets on Air Pacific BNE-LAX via Nadi for $657each all inclusive, as I got 2 x 23 kg per person included in economy.

Then LAX to LAS for $70 on South West. Which allows 2 x 23kg with no baggage fees.

Then LAS to YWG on Westjet for $101 each on a 24 hour seat sale, which also allows 2 x 23kg with no baggage fees.

So all up I managed to book myself,the mrs and our 92kg of baggage to Winnipeg via Vegas for $823 each, which i thought was pretty good... (for May '10)

Would have preferred V Australia for the direct flight and velocity points, but the excess baggage fees were about $130 per bag and they wouldn't negotiate, plus would have had to repack in USA... nah.

Thanks