Airline weight restrictions: what every traveller needs to know

Dion Wick    ash, Travel Gear     airlines, budget airlines, flights, travel advice, travel tips, weight restrictions

You’ve searched far and wide for a bargain flight and saved enough pennies for a decent trip away. But if you’re not careful, airline weight restrictions will sting you with a host of scary charges for overloading your suitcase.

Weigh everything beforehand, and watch those fluids. Image: Flickr/ Robert S. Donovan

Packing for a flight is increasingly difficult: there’s a minefield of  regulations to traverse, and even once you are through security you’ll need to have space set aside for any duty frees as carriers are  tight on what you can take onboard.

According to recent research by Amadeus, the total revenue airlines receive from ‘extras’ such as baggage charges etc. is expected to rise by 44% this year.

Gulp! But heed our advice when it comes to baggage restrictions and you’ll beat the budget airlines.

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The 10 worst things about travelling (we love)

Mark Pawlak    Adventure Sports & Travel Thoughts     Adventure Travel, airlines, airports, flights, hotels, Travel

If, like us, you love travelling, then you’ve probably grown used to many of its quirks and discomforts. In fact, it’s some of these very same moments that have now come to define our experience – so as much as we might hate everything on the list that follows, in some way they are all moments that signify the very things we love most about travelling.

Rolley cases, love 'em.

Early Starts

Essential if you are to get to the cheaper flight and avoid the rush. No one likes getting up at dawn o’crikey, but there’s something special about being up before the world, as black skies turn inky-blue.

Odd Coffee

We’ve all got used to good coffee. Still, there’s something about the cheap, instant, sachet stuff – especially when it comes topped with UHT milk.

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Is our love affair with airlines ending?

Mark Pawlak    Adventure Sports & Travel Thoughts     Adventure Travel, airlines, airport, Flight, flying, Gatwick, London, Planes, Switzerland, Travel

The 1960’s were the golden era for the airlines. To fly then was glamorous, exclusive and fashionable. Airlines were all vying for business and were trying to outdo each other with opulence. Fast-forward to today, and it’s a very different world; such is the drive for profits, it has pitted holiday travellers, business folk and adventure sports tourists against the airlines. And the cause of the schism: hand luggage.

But are new restrictions actually slowing down journey times? It took so long getting through the gate on a recent budget airline flight to Switzerland, the plane was delayed. And the pilot was not impressed; his words to passengers over the intercom gave it all away: “I’d like to apologise on behalf of my crew for the delay in getting underway; this was due to the extended time spent boarding at Gatwick….” read more