Now with the summer holidays, a travel perk known as ‘bag pooling’ can be a lifesaver when your bags are overweight, but not every airline accepts this – and here’s why
There’s nothing more frustrating than pulling up to the check-in desk and being told that your bag is overweight. As a former check-in agent, this would happen quite often. In this situation, passengers have the option to re-pack or pay the overweight fee.
For the most part, airlines share a standard weight limit of 23kg. However, 32kg is the maximum weight per bag – anything over is considered a potential injury risk to all airport staff during manual handling.
But if you’re travelling with a big group of friends and family, you might be able to save a couple of hundred pounds by distributing your weight in different suitcases. In aviation terms, this is ‘bag pooling’ – but not all airlines will accept this.
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Bag pooling refers to combining the total baggage allowance of multiple passengers under the same booking to distribute the weight of their checked bags. It means that passengers travelling together can combine their weight allowance by distributing it in different bags, as long as it doesn’t exceed the maximum weight limit.
To save you some time, we’ve gathered all the necessary information from the UK’s most popular airlines.
Ryanair
Ryanair might have cheap flights, but most bags are not included. It’s best to purchase any additional fees at the time of booking, with passengers having the option of a 10kg or 20kg checked bag, with 30kg as the maximum weight.
One important thing to note is that passengers will have to pay £12 per additional kilo. This can be fixed as the airline allows bag pooling.
Their page says: “Bag pooling is allowed between passengers with check-in bags on the same flight reservation. It means that if you have 2 20kg Check-in Bags (40kg total) on your booking, one of those bags could weigh 15kg while the other weighs 25kg. However, no bag can weigh more than 32kg.”
TUI
TUI’s system works differently from other airlines, with bag allowances varying depending on whether passengers have a flight-only booking or a package holiday booking. Checked baggage is considered an additional cost, and the maximum weight depends on the booking.
Compared to other airlines whose maximum weight per bag is 32kg, TUI’s checked baggage can only weigh up to 25kg. TUI also allows passengers to pool their bags if they’re under the same booking, as per their site.
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British Airways
For all British Airways flights, the standard checked baggage allowance is 23kg per bag and passenger, unless they’re travelling in business class, have purchased a second bag, or have an airline status.
According to their website, passengers are not allowed to pool, share, or combine their checked baggage with other travellers, even if they’re under the same reservation. They explained: “For security reasons, you must only check in bags that you’ve packed yourself. You are responsible for any bag that is linked to your name in the booking.”
If the bag weighs more than its allowance, passengers will pay an additional cost of £65 per overweight bag. It applies to only one journey.
easyJet
easyJet is famously known for its cheap prices to thousands of destinations. Checked bags are not included in the ticket cost. Each passenger is entitled to buy up to three checked bags, and this is cheaper when purchased online, rather than at the check-in desk. Their baggage allowance is from 23kg up to 32kg, with prices varying depending on the route.
The good thing is, passengers can pool their total weight allowance. As stated on their website, this is allowed as long as the bags don’t exceed 32kg.