South Africa's Policy on Excess Luggage

All passengers travelling to and from South Africa have a free baggage allowance but, as with the vast majority of national and international carriers, there are certain weight and size requirements.

Thereafter, any excess luggage will have to be paid for according to the charges set out below.

Bear in mind that to be eligible for the free allowance, each piece of baggage may not weigh more than 32 kg or 100 lbs and the total weight allowance for each passenger per flight is 100 kg or 219 lbs. On top of this, each passenger is entitled to additional hand luggage as long it can be easily stowed in the overhead rack or under the seat.

If you happen to be flying first or business class, you are entitled to two pieces of hand luggage, as long as they fall within specific size and weight dimensions. Economy class passengers, however, are limited to only a single piece of hand baggage.

• Each individual piece may not weigh more than 8kg or 18lb, must be 55x40x20cm or under, and must not be larger than 115 cm or 45 inches
• Foldable garment bags with maximum dimensions of 57x54x15cm are also permitted
• So too are smaller items like cameras, jackets, handbags and even fully collapsible pushchairs
• Handicapped passengers are allowed any number of items, free of charge, including dialysis equipment, crutches and even a wheelchair. It is advisable, however, to contact each airline directly for a more concise breakdown of these allowances

All other excess baggage will have to be assessed and charged according to two basic principles - the Weight Concept and the Piece Concept.

Weight Concept

Any excess luggage will be charged at a rate of 1.5% of the highest normal direct, adult, one-way economy class fare pertaining to the day and direction of travel and only from the point where the baggage was deemed excess to the first point of collection. There are a handful of international exceptions, including:

• From Australia and New Zealand - 1%
• From Europe and the Middle East to Australia and New Zealand - 1% (except from Israel where a 1.5% rate is applicable)
• From London on a direct SAA flight a rate of 1.5% will apply

The national carrier, South African Airways, has a number of exceptions where a flat rate is charged and these include

From Frankfurt or Munich to South Africa - EUR30 per kg

To Blantyre or Lilongwe - R30 per kg

To Maputo - R25 per kg

To Mauritius - R50 per kg

From Mauritius - MUR160 per kg

To Luanda - R45 per kg

To Mumbai - R110 per kg

To Hong Kong - R65 per kg

The excess baggage rate for domestic travel within South Africa is R30 per kg. Passengers who are travelling with golf bags, surf boards, bicycles and other sporting goods should contact the carrier direct for applicable rates.

Piece Concept

Please be aware that even if a passenger with a PC allowance checks in baggage after a stopover is made for a route where the weight concept applies, the free baggage allowance will remain PC but the charge for excess baggage must be paid according to the weight concept charges above.

One excess charge will apply for each bag that exceeds 2 checked bags: any bag bigger than 158cm or 62 inches but smaller than 203cm or 80 inches, and 2 bags bigger than 273cm or 107 inches but neither bag exceeding 158cm

Two excess charges will apply for excess numbers plus for all baggage exceeding 2 checked bags and bigger that 158cm but smaller than 203cm

Three excess charges will apply for any bag that is bigger than 203cm and /or weighs 32 kg or 70lbs for the first 45kg or fraction thereof; for each additional 10kg or fraction thereof, one excess baggage charge will apply.

http://www.excessluggage.co.za Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Amelia_Stenson