What about air travel and baggage?

Gone are the days when you always had checked baggage included in the price of any flight ticket. That's why it's really important to choose the right deal that suits the reason for your trip and your needs. If you're travelling for one night in Europe, you'll probably be fine with cabin baggage. But if you're flying to the US for six months, you'll probably need checked luggage. And if you're planning some major outlet shopping before you return, you'll probably need at least two checked bags on your return trip.

Globally, there are two types of baggage - checked and checked.

Cabin baggage you take with you on board the plane, where you store it either under the seat in front of you or in the bin above your seat, depending on its size. Every airline will allow you at least one free cabin bag, but some will only allow you to store a small one under the seat in front of you (small backpack, purse). You often have to pay extra for a larger cabin bag (or choose a higher fare that includes it).

Checked baggage you check in at the departure airport, you don't have to worry about anything else, and you usually pick up your baggage at your final destination, where the airline will transfer it to the next flight if there are connecting flights on the same ticket. An exception, which you will be made aware of at check-in, is for example flights to the USA, where you must always collect your baggage at the first airport you enter the USA and where you must clear your baggage. You can then re-check it on the connecting flight at a dedicated Connecting Flights counter if required.

In most cases, airlines now apply a 'piece' concept to checked baggage, looking at the number of pieces rather than their specific weight, but usually not exceeding 20 or 23kg. In that case, you would have to pay extra for a heavy bag for such a piece of checked baggage. The maximum weight limit is then 32kg, which you must never exceed, otherwise such baggage will not be accepted for carriage at all.

The other alternative is the weight concept, where the weight is considered instead of the number of pieces. If you have a free checked-in bag in economy class and the airline follows the weight concept for the route, the limit will usually be 20kg or 23kg. Which means if you check 2 suitcases weighing 10kg each, you won't pay anything extra.

As a rule, checked baggage is no longer included in the basic price of an economy class ticket, even on long-haul flights. When you use our online booking platform, you will see two small indicators next to each offer that will immediately let you know if your basic ticket includes cabin baggage and at least one piece of checked baggage at the same time.

The standard minimum checked baggage allowances for each class of travel and fare are usually as follows:

Prepaid extra baggage

If your selected fare does not include any free checked baggage (or you need to increase your standard limit), you can increase your limit yourself. This is also possible when you check in at the airport, but you will pay many times more than if you prepay for your baggage before you arrive at the airport. There are two ways to do this on our online ticket booking platform: