[Dougal]

Hi

Have just spoken to Singapore Airlines who said that if I show my Visa at check in I will be allowed 40kgs baggage per person flying (one way). OH flew with them in Feb and had to beg (3 times) to get 35kgs.
Does anybody know if the showing your visa thing really works as I would hate to turn up with that amount of baggage and be told to lose most of it! They refused to put it in writing.

D

[Nienke]

:confused: It seems they tell a different story each time someone asks that question?
They (in Amsterdam) told us last december that we could buy 40 kilo's extra, but only if we faxed them the visa BEFORE we purchased a ticket and it would cost us around 40 euro's.

[Aydon]

I sent them an email this morning on the very subject. I said that we were emigrating and we were also members of their frequent flyer programme. This is the reply I got:


Dear Mr Aydon

I am afraid the maximum that we can authorise for you is 30kilos to checkin in and a further 7kilos hand luggage.Once you know your flight details and dates we can put the authorisation in your booking.Normal baggage allowance it 20kilos.


So now I'm as confused as you :)

[Nienke]

:laugh

[Bubbles]

I know it doesn't help much but........................ :laugh :laugh from me aswell.

I've got all this to come. :(

[Paul and Linda]

we were flown out business class, but the bug bear is whilst you get a larger baggage allowance for the big flights that smaller connecting ones do not recognise your BC status and will charge you extra for your luggage!

[k-k]

Hi Dougal

We flew out of Heathrow with Singapore Airlines on 11th Jan. We emailed them the previous November to ask about an increase in baggage allowance. They emailed back saying they would increase it to 30kg each. There was no mention of showing a visa before or at check-in.
We made sure we had a printout of the email, but at check-in I mentioned that we had more than the usual 20kg (we had about 62kg divided between 3 bags) and the checkin agent just said 'yeah, thats fine'. She didn't ask to see our visa (though obviously they were in the passports) and we didn't have to show the email.
We also had two carry on bags which were almost at the 7kg limit each and 2 laptop bags which although weren't huge were stuffed full of stuff. None of these were weighed.
I had read on the forums that people were getting different replies from Singapore Airlines each time they asked about the allowance, but we had no problems at all.
Hope that helps
Karen

[Dougal]

Thanks for all your thoughts and experiences.
Its a bit of a lottery I think really. I might try and phone again but the holding drives me mad! :mad:

I might be brave enough to just try and wing it on the day - depends how much I want to take I suppose. I could always come over all damsel in distress at check -in!

D

[Dougal]

Ooh by the way could somebody who emailed Singapore Airlines let me have the email address please - might try attacking it from that angle.
Thanks

D

[Aydon]

Dougal - YGPM

[veronica]

the 30kg thing is what Singapore airlines told me too.

[Simon & Emily]

This may be a dense question, but with Singapore Air can you just take one suitcase each, with a variable weight posibility of 20 or 30 kg, or can you take two each, like you used to be able to get with ANZ? I've checked the website, but it's not very clear, and spoken to a couple of travel agents who were worse than useless.

Nothing like first hanb info from those who have already done it / understand the system. (Can you tell that we've only flown twice?)

Thanks,

Emily

[Dougal]

Have emailed Singapore Airlines and they said that I could have 30kgs + 7 kilos hand luggage (they would sort this after I have booked flights). The 40 kilos is for people going to Australia. :wah

Hope this helps.

[jim&alma]

This may be a dense question, but with Singapore Air can you just take one suitcase each, with a variable weight posibility of 20 or 30 kg, or can you take two each, like you used to be able to get with ANZ? I've checked the website, but it's not very clear, and spoken to a couple of travel agents who were worse than useless.

Hi Emily,
Each person can take 2 pieces of luggage each. If you check in together, it doesn't matter how much each suitcase weighs as long as your collective baggage totals to what you're allowed (e.g. 2pax X 20kg). My last flight with them was a couple of years back coz they're more expensive, it was Asia-Europe but I distinctly remember they allowed 30kg for economy. But it says on their site now that its 20kg.
Alma

[Simon & Emily]

This may just add more confusion, but a travel agent I'm trying to sort things out with claims that Air NZ now allows 2 bags each at 23KG provided you go through the US and therefore use the US system. This looks to be a straight change from 32kg to 23 kgs. However, if flights don't go through the US, you still only get one item at 20kg each.

How unfair is that? You can fly with any route / airline apart from the US and only get 20kg each person, but go through the US and get 46KG.

So, for 4 flying - 2 adults, 2 kids - you get a total of 80kg with one route or 184kg with a US connection. Am a being very dense here? I know you have to carry them about yourself and get them into cars etc, but isn't that what husbands are for? :D

We were planning to go with Singapore, but if this info is true, and there is no time limit, then we will have to go Air NZ / US just for the weight alone.

However, all agents cover their backs by the old ' all info subject to change, only confirmed when you book your flight' trick, and that is what 'the computer' is telling them at the moment.

Emily

[veronica]

have just flown back to the UK with Singapore airlines and returned with Air NZ via LA. the service on singapore is better, the food better and Changi airport is great, but you can only get away with up to 30 kg.
Air NZ seems to have budget cuts on its food, they still offer alcohol with it but the food seems to be very basic and no real choice (maybe I was just sitting at the end of the trolley run) but its biggest disadvantage is it goes through LA and the ridiculous immigration/customs set up.
Where anywhere else in the world you would go into a transit lounge, at LA you have to go through immigration and get photographed and fingerprinted, get bags and go through customs, out into the street, along a bit, up the escalator with said luggage (there may have been a lift I didn't find due to lack of time) recheck bags, go through security and leg it to the departure gates, not a relaxing experience. each individual step involves queuing and in my case the computors went down at immigration with about 50 or so people to go. it took about 25/30 mins for them to get going again (and I had already queued for about the same time) so by the time I was through I had to run, dump my bags at the checkout and leave them unattended there to be checked in by airport personnel who I couldn't see. They were amongst other travellers who were queueing to have their bags checked on other flights. this seemed to negate the OTT security procedures that are in place. I just got to the gates as they were boarding, and thats with jumping the queues at check in and security. At Christchurch I was one bag down as it had apparently gone to Auckland, it did get delivered to our house later that evening though.

This baggage check thing apparently doesnt happen if you are flying to Auckland, only Christchurch. I think in fairness it wouldn't have been so tight with the computors behaving but it was the reason we stopped flying with airNZ a few years ago and we only decided to give it another chance as it was suggested here on the forum that the luggage thing had been amended. As I said it has changed for Auckland but beware those who are south island bound. Its a real shame as I would rather spend the money flying Air NZ and support local industry but after I take the return flight back to the UK next year, unless they change the route, I won't be flying with AirNZ via LA. better luggage allowance or not

[Simon & Emily]

OK, I'm hopeless at finding info I need on the web. Can anyone tell me, from experience, how expensive it is for excess baggage through Singapore Airlines?

Veronica, your experience fills me with fear - we never wanted to go though the US, but with 2 small children flying over, I can guarantee that we won't get in all into 4 suitcases /hand luggage. We are going to be paying an extortionate amount of money to get a 4ft' high cube in, but the problem will be getting stuff we need as soon as we land, without having to duplicate it all.

Thanks,

Emily

[Nienke]

I just booked my flight with Singapore Airlines and asked for extra allowance, here's the deal for the Dutch: when booking one-way ticket you request 10 kilo's extra for 55 euro's (you have to get approval from SQ first) and when you show your visa at check-in you get another 10 kilo's for free. Basically one extra suitcate. This is per person.
It is mentioned in your ticket, so no hassle at check-in!
No mention of upgrading to 30 kilo's though... :mad:

Emily: Excess baggage (apart from above) would cost you 76 euro's per kilo....

[foolsgold99]

but its biggest disadvantage is it goes through LA and the ridiculous immigration/customs set up.
Where anywhere else in the world you would go into a transit lounge, at LA you have to go through immigration and get photographed and fingerprinted, get bags and go through customs, out into the street, along a bit, up the escalator with said luggage (there may have been a lift I didn't find due to lack of time) recheck bags, go through security and leg it to the departure gates, not a relaxing experience. each individual step involves queuing and in my case the computors went down at immigration with about 50 or so people to go. it took about 25/30 mins for them to get going again (and I had already queued for about the same time) so by the time I was through I had to run, dump my bags at the checkout and leave them unattended there to be checked in by airport personnel who I couldn't see. Have to say I don't recongise that at all, We got off the plane at LAX, less than a minute in queue, 30 seconds to leave immigration. Then straight into a transit lounge, which while not the greatest had not much wrong with it, plenty of comfortable seating, a shop to buy magazines, and free soft drinks, good opertunity to charge my laptop. No need to collect baggage or recheck.

If you fly on NZ1 you don't need to do any of the above, there is a flight that leaves London 2 or 3 hours eariler in the day, where you may have to collect bagage, but if you book the correct flight, LAX is perfectly nice experiance. I've already booked our next flights in June via LAX

[Hannah-NL]

We have booked with SA as well, coming from Amsterdam going to Auckland, leaving on april 15 (OMG!)

Anyway here's what they confirmed to me, you get 30 kilo's as immigrant
I had to fax them our PR stickers as proof
You buy a one time 10 kilo's extra at 55 euro, this makes 40 kilo's.
The booking agent told me they are not too hard if you have 5 kilo's extra. So that makes 45 kilo's each.
I asked her to email me what she told me, so I have the proof printed out with her name at the bottom.
If they try to tell me anything when all 4 of us get there with loads of bagage, they better have a REAL good story ready!

I guess if you move on to an inland flight with for instance Air NZ to Wellington or Christchurch this would not be possible as they will not allow the extra weight.

[Nienke]

Slightly different story but the same end result Hannah-NL, we both get 40 kilo's!
Could I have a copy of your email though, so I can get those extra 5 kilo's as well?