Domestic air travel baggage fees

[jimmynug 13]

This is just an FYI for anyone that is going to be in the Philippines in the future. We just got back from the Philippines today and had quite a shock on baggage fees with Philippine Airlines. Going over, we flew Korean Airlines and had an allowance of 2 bags per person at about 22 kilos each. Flying Philippine Airlines from Manila to Cagayan de Oro, we were allowed 1 bag a person at 10 kilos. We were packing very heavy going over, so we new we would have to pay extra, however, to say that we were shocked at the amount is a slight under statement. According to Philippine Airlines we were 100 kilos over and had to pay 200 pesos a kilo for a grand total of 20,000 pesos. And to add insult to injury, we were told that it was our fault and that we could have only paid 50 pesos a kilo if we had paid more than 24 hours in advance. So the lesson here is to weigh your bags in advance and pay in advance. I guess I didn't do enough research and didn't read anywhere about the difference in paying in advance.

Now, flight back from Cagayan de Ore to Manila, I had learned my lesson and thought I had everything covered. We didn't have much at all (gave just about everything away including most of the wife's clothes and shoes, yeah I know it will cost me now) and even left some of our suitcases in CDO. We were allowed 40 kilos, and just to be safe, we paid in advance for 40 more kilos, total of 80 kilos. Haha, their not going to get me again. Well, I really should have know better. At the ckeck-in counter in Cagayan de Oro, we put the bags on the weight machine and it showed 82 kilos (no way they weighed that much) however i could live with that. Now it starts to get interesting when the clerk looks at the scales, they jump to 92 kilos out of the blue, nothing added from the 82 kilo reading. At this point I start to question the whole thing and am quickly told to just carry-on one of the smaller bags (they allow a smaller amount I think like 7 kilos for carry-on). If I had not questioned anything I would have paid and extra 6,000 pesos, yet no charge when I question the weight. Amazing!

Once in Manila, we check-in at the Korean Airline counter, weigh ALL of our bags and the bags that weighed 82-92 kilos in Cagayan de Oro weighed 48 kilos in Manila, nothing taken out or added (which was about right). So with nothing added or taken out, our bags coming back weighed a total of 82 kilos at one time , 92 kilos a short time later, and then 48 kilos after our flight to Manila. The math will always confuse me in the Philippines, just like the guy that rented a car to us that got mad at me for not washing it before turning it back in, this after it had a tire blow out and he would not reimburse for the tire I bought because the tire was holding air when I got the car (it was a defective tire and not anything that I had run over or hit).

Anyway just watch the weight of your bags and send as much as you can ahead of time, or get ready to pay.

[AKteacher 104]

An alternative if you have a lot of heavy bags is to take the ferry - there is no weight limit, only what you can fit in your cabin. We have taken max loads with full bags plus boxes of stuff we got shopping in Manila. Only a minimal portage fee (40 pesos per bag if I remember correctly, but it's been 2 years since we took the ferry) for them to carry all those heavy bags to your cabin. Manila to Cagayan takes close to two days, but it can be a fun trip. There's a disco at night, and a festive atmosphere. Explore the ship (the animal hold was interesting...), talk to fellow travelers, relax and watch the scenery go by. They take the interior route (usually with a short stop in Cebu City), so swells and sway are minimal so if you get seasick it should not be a problem unless you are extremely motion sensitive. It's a fun way to travel if you have the time. First/second class fares are generally comparable to coach airfare.

http://travel.2go.com.ph/

[Greenbaum 12,259]

I travel with a scale. It's a mechanical scale but you can get it at Target or Walmart and you just attach a bag to hold it up in the air and the needle moves and you know how much your bags weigh.

Just might come in handy for a trip like that.

[Hank_ 9,174]

Especially when the gal behind the counter has her foot on the scale along with the luggage

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

This is just an FYI for anyone that is going to be in the Philippines in the future. We just got back from the Philippines today and had quite a shock on baggage fees with Philippine Airlines. Going over, we flew Korean Airlines and had an allowance of 2 bags per person at about 22 kilos each. Flying Philippine Airlines from Manila to Cagayan de Oro, we were allowed 1 bag a person at 10 kilos. We were packing very heavy going over, so we new we would have to pay extra, however, to say that we were shocked at the amount is a slight under statement. According to Philippine Airlines we were 100 kilos over and had to pay 200 pesos a kilo for a grand total of 20,000 pesos. And to add insult to injury, we were told that it was our fault and that we could have only paid 50 pesos a kilo if we had paid more than 24 hours in advance. So the lesson here is to weigh your bags in advance and pay in advance. I guess I didn't do enough research and didn't read anywhere about the difference in paying in advance.

Now, flight back from Cagayan de Ore to Manila, I had learned my lesson and thought I had everything covered. We didn't have much at all (gave just about everything away including most of the wife's clothes and shoes, yeah I know it will cost me now) and even left some of our suitcases in CDO. We were allowed 40 kilos, and just to be safe, we paid in advance for 40 more kilos, total of 80 kilos. Haha, their not going to get me again. Well, I really should have know better. At the ckeck-in counter in Cagayan de Oro, we put the bags on the weight machine and it showed 82 kilos (no way they weighed that much) however i could live with that. Now it starts to get interesting when the clerk looks at the scales, they jump to 92 kilos out of the blue, nothing added from the 82 kilo reading. At this point I start to question the whole thing and am quickly told to just carry-on one of the smaller bags (they allow a smaller amount I think like 7 kilos for carry-on). If I had not questioned anything I would have paid and extra 6,000 pesos, yet no charge when I question the weight. Amazing!

Once in Manila, we check-in at the Korean Airline counter, weigh ALL of our bags and the bags that weighed 82-92 kilos in Cagayan de Oro weighed 48 kilos in Manila, nothing taken out or added (which was about right). So with nothing added or taken out, our bags coming back weighed a total of 82 kilos at one time , 92 kilos a short time later, and then 48 kilos after our flight to Manila. The math will always confuse me in the Philippines, just like the guy that rented a car to us that got mad at me for not washing it before turning it back in, this after it had a tire blow out and he would not reimburse for the tire I bought because the tire was holding air when I got the car (it was a defective tire and not anything that I had run over or hit).

Anyway just watch the weight of your bags and send as much as you can ahead of time, or get ready to pay.

I understand where you are coming from because I flew over last year from LAX to Manila and I knew we were going to be over because my wife was taking alot home for her family. So I had to pay extra at LAX because one of my bags was 4 pounds over, and could not redistribute it to another bag. I then had to pay more for our bags for our flight to Davao as well, so I was pretty mad to say the least.

The reason why you had to pay more on the domestic flight to CDO and back was because you paid for budget economy that is the reason why you were charged so much. When I flew over and I had to pay extra I was flying Premium economy so the sticker shock was alittle less than yours.

My question is why were you flying so heavy on the way back? We flew heavy on the way there because we were taking stuff for family and friends. So we didn't have that much stuff on the way back and did not have to pay for extra on the way back.

[jimmynug 13]

I understand where you are coming from because I flew over last year from LAX to Manila and I knew we were going to be over because my wife was taking alot home for her family. So I had to pay extra at LAX because one of my bags was 4 pounds over, and could not redistribute it to another bag. I then had to pay more for our bags for our flight to Davao as well, so I was pretty mad to say the least.

The reason why you had to pay more on the domestic flight to CDO and back was because you paid for budget economy that is the reason why you were charged so much. When I flew over and I had to pay extra I was flying Premium economy so the sticker shock was alittle less than yours.

My question is why were you flying so heavy on the way back? We flew heavy on the way there because we were taking stuff for family and friends. So we didn't have that much stuff on the way back and did not have to pay for extra on the way back.

Coming back, we were not really that heavy, 48 kilos between 4 of us, and most of that was dried fish and other items friends wanted. The whole point on coming back is that someone at Philippine Airlines tried to charge us for double the weight that we really had.

[Tahoma 2,292]

For domestic flights, try PAL business class. Chinook tells me that business class has a higher baggage weight allowance. We've had some very heavy bags and have never been charged anything. During our recent trip, our two bags weighed a total of just under 100 pounds. No extra charge.