Many Airlines Now Charge for Carry-On Luggage

Don’t Get Caught Paying Extra At The Gate for Your Carry-On

One of the worst parts about modern flying is that the ticket you pay for is rarely the final amount you’ll pay for your flights. Airlines have pushed full steam ahead with added fees lumped on top of their basic fares. From food to luggage to seat selection, it seems like only the most expensive tickets get perks like free seat selection and a checked luggage allowance.

However, it’s not just the checked luggage that you need to watch out for these days. Now, you also have to worry about your carry-on and whether the airline will even let you have one, let alone pay an extra fee for bringing it onto the plane. Yes, you read that right. Sometimes, airlines won’t even let you bring a carry-on with you; all you can have on the plane is a personal item, which is much smaller than a carry-on and usually the size of a backpack.

Sounds crazy, but it’s true. If you conduct a search on a website that checks flight prices for a variety of airlines, you might notice that some of the flights have restrictions on baggage. And those restrictions don’t always mean that there are extra fees associated with your luggage. Sometimes, those restrictions mean you’re limited on the size and type of luggage you can even bring with you, whether it’s a small purse or a huge, oversized piece of monster luggage.

Depending on how and where you book your ticket, you might not realize in time that your ticket doesn’t come with a particular amenity related to luggage. Conversely, your ticket might actually come with a luggage allowance that you don’t need, which means you might have paid too much for your ticket or selected the wrong class of ticket. Let’s decipher some of this luggage tomfoolery and learn how to make sure you don’t end up with a serious luggage problem when booking your next vacation itinerary.

(note: some of the links here are to websites with which I am an affiliate, and your purchases help fund my website!)

When Can You Expect Luggage Fees When Flying?

Virtually any ticket except for a first-class ticket may come with extra fees related to luggage. If you’re flying first class, you might not care about added fees anyway, but for the most part, you can take your personal item, carry-on luggage, and checked luggage with you and not have to worry about extra charges when you choose a pricey seat at the front of the plane.

The same is definitely not true for the other classes, but you’ll usually get all the luggage perks when you fly business class since that class of ticket often takes the place (these days anyway) of a first-class ticket, especially on domestic flights. Some airlines no longer have first class and only offer business class, premium economy, and economy. For business class passengers, luggage is usually part of the initial ticket purchase.

When booking premium economy or economy, you won’t always score free luggage. In fact, you might actually run up against prohibitions against any luggage at all. For some basic economy flights, you can’t even purchase a space for your luggage. Some airlines actually sell tickets where all you’re allowed to bring is a personal item, and they won’t even let you get on the plane with a small carry-on fee or no fee.

But that’s not the sort of situation we’re talking about here. Rather, this is a discussion about luggage fees and when you need to take a look at what’s included in your ticket and what’s not included. If your ticket is located anywhere within the budget section, you have a 50/50 chance of needing to pay extra for your luggage when you get to the airport. Further, some airlines will punish you with higher fees should you fail to purchase your luggage allowance before you arrive for your flight.

Is a Carry-On Bag Always Cheaper Than Checked Luggage?

So, the answer to this question is a little quirky. You’d assume that checked luggage is always more expensive than carrying your bag on the flight with you, but that’s not always the case. Strangely, there are some planes out there that don’t have any room for carry-on luggage. There’s literally not enough space in the overhead bins to fit traditional carry-on-sized luggage.

So, instead, the airline will sell plane tickets that don’t have the option for carry-on luggage and will only offer the choice of paying for checked luggage or not having any large luggage at all. If you’re only taking one flight without a layover, and you’re looking at flying in one of these small planes, there’s a good chance the airline won’t have any option for free luggage, even though you can’t even take a carry-on with you.

The only option you’ll have is to buy a space for your luggage under the plane, which can mean fees of anywhere from $30 to eleventy-billion for each flight. Note, though, that if you have a layover somewhere, and only one leg of your flight occurs on one of these planes, the airline might include checked luggage with your flight should you have purchased a carry-on for the overall ticket.

Just because there are no carry-ons for a particular part of your journey doesn’t mean that you can’t pay for carry-on luggage. The airline will simply take your carry-on and put it under the plane for the part of your journey where carry-ons don’t fit. Just remember, though, that this option usually only happens when you have a flight with multiple legs and layovers that have you switch planes in the middle of your journey.

It’s Not All Bad. Sometimes Luggage Fees Are Included

Something I’ve noticed when creating my international itineraries is that checked luggage is very often included on long-haul international flights, as long as you’re not flying the absolute bottom level of economy. If you’re flying regular economy, upgraded economy, or premium economy, those long flights often allot you a piece of checked luggage.

In some cases, you even get more than one checked bag as part of the ticket price, and there isn’t even an option for getting a cheaper ticket without a luggage allowance. For example, when I bought my tickets to Vietnam on China Airlines, our flight over was in premium economy, and our flight back was in regular economy. Both flights came with a checked luggage allowance, and there wasn’t an option for a cheaper ticket without the luggage.

I’m sure that the airlines are compensating for the luggage allowance with a higher ticket price, but at least you don’t need to concern yourself with paying for your luggage after you buy the ticket. Even if the price is a little higher to compensate, you might find it convenient that all you need to do is buy your ticket, print it, and check your luggage in at the desk when you get to the airport.

These days, some companies require that you click through a dozen screens of different fees before you actually get to the payment page. Some of the small regional airlines in Europe are quite notorious for this. You’ll think you’re about to buy your ticket, but nope, there’s another page of checkmarks, questions, and fees you need to take care of before you get to book.

Watching Out for Luggage Size Restrictions

Not only have some airlines started to require that passengers pay for any and all luggage taken aboard the plane, but some companies have even created tiers with varying costs for differently-sized luggage. I recently booked a flight on a regional airline operating out of France, and they actually had three separate weight options for luggage.

One of the problems I had while booking the tickets was that I wasn’t sure how much my luggage would weigh months in advance of the trip. How was I to know whether my bag would weigh 15kg, 20kg, or 30kg? I’m reasonably certain my luggage wouldn’t weigh more than 30kg, but I wasn’t confident that I could get the weight under 20kg either, so I had to opt for the most expensive option.

Long gone, apparently, are the days when you could just check a box for a luggage allowance and pay a simple fee. Now, the fees are varied, and you have to know everything about your luggage well before you’ve even packed. And don’t you dare think about arriving at the airport without having already bought your luggage allowance and measured your bag.

You may end up paying more than $100 just to get your bag on the plane or under it because you didn’t buy your luggage allowance in advance and decided to bring a piece of luggage that was a half-inch too big for the ominous baggage size checker. It’s always a heart-thumping moment when you have to put your baggage on a scale at the airport desk, isn’t it? Do yourself a favor the next time you fly. Make sure you’re well aware of all the parameters for your luggage, whether you need to pay, and if your ticket already comes with the luggage allowance.

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