[Caven]

I've just got off the phone to a Travelbag.co.uk rep who told me the following -

I need the PR visa to claim 40kg baggage allowance, OK, fine, I knew this anyway.

Then he said that if I want a stop-over in Singapore then I won't be deemed a migrant (!?) and my allowance would be reduced to the normal 20kg. Is this right???

He went on to say that on our internal leg from Auckland to Palmerston North we would only be allowed the 20kg. Is that right also??? Get a bus, was the suggested solution.

Anyone know the train times from Auckland during the week???

[Diny]

Hey I know you were probably asking the question 'tongue in cheek' but, if you have the time, take the train from Auckland to P.N. It takes just over 8 hours and is probably one of the most scenic journeys you'll ever make. A really good way to relax too, the seats are very comfy, the food is 'OK' (much better than British Rail) and the driver even throws in a running commentory.

The boys and I did this journey last April, at the end of the trip, if somebody told me I had to get back on and go back up to Auckland right away I wouldn't have been at all bothered. It was great !!!

Diny

[veronica]

The odd thing is with air NZ that if you fly via LA the baggage allowance is 64kg, so that doesn't square with the 20kg rule. I know that when I flew out of Auckland last with singapore airlines I had to catch the internal flight Air NZ flight from Chch and they charged me $5 a kilo excess. This is the first time its happened. Might be worth contacting them and asking for a bend in the rules. Unless you fancy the train of course.

[Caven]

Cheers guys,

Actually the train idea relly is starting to appeal now :laugh

Did a quick google for NZ Rail though and got a load of tour operators, not sure what the score is, any ideas?

[lindajax]

HI,
I managed to wangle 30 kg each from sing airlines. IT IS LOADS believe me . also bear in mind the hand luggage allowance is about9 kg each piece ( A BIG BAG!!!)
saying all that all our handluggage was huge and over by 3 kg each adn our other luggage was divided in to 5 bags (3 of us) and total wieght was about 115 kg - 25kg over and nobody said a dickiebird!
if you split them into bags under 30kg I suppose they don't really notice.
also if you don't stop over and have a connect about 11-14 hours later your bags go directly to the next flight - no need to collect them and your automatically checked in - just the hand luggage to cart about!

Hope this is of some help
Love Linda x

[veronica]

Oops careful there Linda, hand baggage is 7kg for a medium sized daypack or holdall and they are quite strict about it. plus you can have a laptop or handbag/briefcase. the dimension for the cabin bags are on the web site somewhere.

[Moorf]

Caven,

Transcenic run the main routes...

http://www.tranzscenic.co.nz/

Moorf

[lindajax]

Veronica,

I took 2 very large holdalls each weighing approx 11 kg and it was fine, plus my handbag and a backpack for Lucy. They do state specific dimensions but I certainly didn't see anyone out with a tape measure it was all very relaxed when I flew with them.
I also took X2 very large cases each weighing 26 and 29 kg.
x2 large suitcases 23 & 22 kg
x1 small 13 kg
So I was actually about 30kg over my limit and it was fine!

Linda x

[Diny]

So ..... will my laptop count as my hand luggage or will I be able to take my laptop PLUS a hand luggage bag for myself.

Both PB and me have laptops, so between the 4 of us we'll have 4 x cabin bags and 2 x laptops, will we get pulled up on this or do you think we'll be OK.

Diny

[Moorf]

We took our laptops and they counted these towards our allowance - our laptops weigh in at approx 3.5kg each.

[Diny]

Ah bummer. :no

Thanks for the info.

Diny

[Danpoll]

there is of course the old tricks you can play.

While you check your baggage in your relatives or whoevert are waving you off hold the majority of your hand luggage. laptop etc. You can also take dvantage of the shops at the airport for there is no limit of shopping bags you can carry on.

I noticed last week that baggage handlers wont handle over 32kg full stop, now wether this is just BA policy I don't know.

Dan

[veronica]

they usually allow a laptop and a small holdall, best thing is to check with them by email and keep a copy.
Linda, its not that they check all the weight or dimensions of the cabin luggage its just that they set those rules for the safety and comfort of all passengers. The airline ground staff are used to seeing the bags and can usually tell at a glance whats too big. weight is a different thing, they just have to trust people, although I have seen them make people put the cabin bags on the weighing platform. Trudie, our eldest daughter used to be a checkin agent and the abuse and battles she has had with people who want to believe the rules are only made for other people. I have in the past seen the overhead lockers flip open during turbulance and this has made me a bit more sensitive about the weight issue. Just imagine 7kg falling on your head, let alone 10 or 11.

[Moorf]

We carefully packed out stuff to ensure we stayed within the limits, if everyone tried to get on with as many bags as possible it would be a total nightmare!! :?

The check-in staff are much more likely to overlook a small amount of excess weight in the main luggage items. :nice1

[Moorf]

Another forum I visit had a similar thread - this was a post from someone who claimed to be in the know somewhat re the luggage handlers :? The forum is more to do with holiday passengers, not people emigrating lock, stock and kitchen sink across the world. ;) BUT, if they're not handing out huge extra allocations for immigrants then I guess we're in the same boat... sorry, plane. :P

I might not be too popular in saying this, but why do people take so much luggage? i'm talking in general here.
I'm sure most of us probably take the standard 20kg, or thereabouts, which in my opinion is more than enough, unless your missus is Imelda Marcos. But at the airport i often see massive cases which people can hardly move, and i suppose in their pea sized brains they think that Arnie must work in baggage, and enjoys lifting all these cases into containers onto the plane.
As someone pointed out they now place "HEAVY" tags on overweight cases now, and yes this is to warn baggage handlers that the case is heavy, but lets all think a bit more simply, this also tells the baggage handler that some stupid a$$hole has decided to empty their whole wardrobe, medical cabinet, a mini library of books, their cd collection, and anything else they could squash in there, and this probably annoys them, because its too HEAVY to pick up, so lets all take a guess at how they treat your expertly packed suitcase

I do not work in baggage handling, or directly know someone who does, but i've been told what they do. Another point, don't upset the check-in girl with any sort of nonsense, because as you trot of , she will slap a "FRAGILE" sticker on your case, and you can bet that someone, somewhere, will be very inquisitive about whether something inside will break, you may find that your suitcase will be tested for durability, with tests such as , dropped from a great height, lobbed and thrown about, jumped up and down on, etc

Finally, hand luggage. or should this be renamed "i've got too much hold luggage, i'll take the rest on the plane" WHY WHY WHY, do people take so much! its supposed to be 5-7kg and of a standard size, and the stuff thats taken cannot have use to anyone while on the plane. The most annoying part of this mis-use is that all hand luggage has to be x-rayed and checked, this takes time, so when you're queueing for ages at the security check its because of idiots that decide to take too much, and even worse the ones that pack banned objects. On all the flights i've been on , i've never seen anyone giving themselves a manicure, strange really , because so many decide to pack these sets in their hand luggage, and ..... you've guessed already , they contain scissors and these people are most indignant and rude when they are confiscated.
Another point to remember, is how much is packed into the overhead lockers, just watch next time when you see people trying to lift their "5kg" of luggage into the compartment, there's an accident waiting to happen, if one of these cases fell and hit someone on the head, well it don't bear thinking about.
Personally, i think the airlines should get really tough, all this un-neccessary weight that is being carried must mean that the plane uses more fuel, and the cost of fuel must be one of the most major costs in running an airline, instead of having to add fuel surcharges onto holiday prices, start to surcharge those who take everything including the kitchen sink

[Moorf]

Should have added, the forum is called holiday-truths.co.uk in case anyone is interested.

[lindajax]

I feel duly told off- Thanks for that!

[leslie]

nz is a perfect place to travel by train. if they still have those cars with panoramic windows the views are great - you'll be drunk in views/ vibes alone by time you arrive. also had fab lounge car - v good with children. no nicer way to transport ones excess bagagge.

[Diny]

I feel duly told off- Thanks for that!

Hooray for getting away with extra cabin luggage :nice1 Good on you.

As for the person who posted the write up on the other forum. I guess the only carry-on luggage he had was his annorak.

Hands up ... I admit it ........ I do not travel light. And I'm talking about luggage so no rude comments please :laugh

Diny

[Moorf]

I guess the terms forum and discussion can no longer be used in the same sentence. :no

If you're gonna admit to knowingly breaking rules or intending to, where it could affect others then expect someone to have an opinion on it! :roll: It's nothing personal, just a general opinion on those that decide that rules don't apply to them. I'm sure if I told everyone that I actually can't be bothered to slow down to the speed limit around schools cos I don't have kids and can't be bothered, and I don't "do" slow that I'd have just as many opinions thrown back at me!

As for my copy and paste of the other persons post, it's not so different from many attitudes on this forum so I guess we're all a bunch of anoraks :laugh :laugh :laugh :laugh

I wonder what the attitude would be if somebody's kids or partner had a 10kg overweight bag land on their head? Nah, that wouldn't happen, would it?

:no

[veronica]

Diny if we all adopted that policy the plane wouldn't take off, people with your baggage policy need people like me with my anorak, (skiing of course) and the other man with his anorak to prevent aborted take offs. Can just get a mental picture of a little fat plane with fat red cheeks puffing its way down the runway and collapsing in a little sweaty heap at the far end.

[markkellaway]

I'm sure people don't realise that planes have to be "trimmed", the weight distribution has to be right for it to fly correctly. While on an internal flight in the US a couple of weeks ago the stewardess had to ask people to move seats to get the weight distribution correct because the flight wasn't full. Admittidly this was a smaller plane (100 ish seats), but the principle is the same. The weight limits aren't there to have a rule, they are there for a reason. :nice1

Mark. :P

[Diny]

:laugh :laugh :laugh

Veronica - have you ever read Busy Busy World by Richard Scarry? Your vision of the bulging plane is very similar to the illustrations of one of his stories. :nice1

[/quote]people with your baggage policy need people like me with my anorak




[quote]

Well I've got to have somewhere to stash my trident and spare set of cloven hooves during the flight.

[veronica]

Umm think you can tell I used to work in a library and read all the kids books

[lindajax]

I unlike some others on this forum I have packed up my life and moved to NZ - including my 4 year old. This is no mean feat it is not a case of coming in the clothes you stand in.I assure you.
My luggage was not hugely over and I was not advocating an attitude of 'just bring big bags and fill em full to the brim'.

A forum IS for discussion NOT for making sarcastic remarks or trying to tell people off.
I wonder what really gives some people the idea that thier views are more important and correct than others .
I am actually totally fed up with 'comments' being thrown in here and there - they offend me and I see no value in them so BACK OFF

[Diny]

:clap :clap :clap

[Moorf]

Strange - very similar views were expressed on a thread covering the same topic and yet that one stayed relatively calm and collected. Perhaps people who have come to the end of this thread should jump to the following discussion where views from both side of the fence were aired :nice1

http://www.emigratenz.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2095&postdays=0&postorder=asc&star t=0

[Danpoll]

Did you know what the true cost price of flying one human being from London to New York is.

Twenty Five Pound

this was 3 years ago, so with price of fuel say Thirty, thirty five pounds. Now it all comes down to weight trimming to use less fuel and ultimatly keep the costs down. So now hands up who now has a ounce or should I say a kilo of sympathy for these airlines.

so the more you carry on and dishonest you are, you are then literally hurting the profit of these airlines, poor poor airlines.

Dan

[lindajax]

Dan,
I wonder if we would be asked to also lose wieght to ensure the aircraft can take off too if we're a bit porky - now that would be priceless! :laugh

All joking apart though I know what you mean about profit margins etc.
It seems very strange how different airlines say different things .........

The lady at Sing Airlines did actually say to me that they were not concerned if each bag was 3 kilos over and that wouldn't be a problem.
One wonders who is giving the information and how much trouble you can be in if you take tham at thier word.
This was one of the reasons I chose this airline _ it did allow flexibility with luggage size and wieght .... where as others such as Air New zealand were very inflexible.

Linda x

[Moorf]

I wonder if we would be asked to also lose wieght to ensure the aircraft can take off too if we're a bit porky - now that would be priceless!

Some airlines may consider charging larger people for 2 seats! Not sure how'd they enforce this unless, along with your passport number, you have to include your weight, when booking the tickets. :?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3984973.stm

(off to join a gym......)


Dan - having worked on BA's first class offering for a couple of years we were given access to the actual costs - I agree, astounding. But, believe me, the last thing they do is let excess costs (due to baggage or whatever) eat into their baseline profits - they just pass those costs onto us passengers.

[veronica]

air NZ are fairly inflexible with the baggage, but then they allow you to take 2 bags each of up to 32 kg. this means 64kg each person as opposed to the normal baggage allowance of 20 kg for most airlines going West to East.
Pete and I moved ourself over here too (surprising that) and we had an authorised weight allowance of 25kg + 7kg and a laptop. and yes we did it and managed quite well, amazing how much crud and junk our lives are full of normally, take it away and you find you really don't need a lot of it.

Regarding the cost of flying and trimming weight etc. I have no knowledge of the cost (although I would suspect that is a very simplified costing) but I have been on a plane that was very full and heavily laden and it had to have two goes at taking off so obviously weight does have a factor in the safety issue. Was really relieved to get off of that plane I can tell you.