British Airways Baggage Fees & Tips To Cover The Expenses
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British Airways utilizes a pretty classic baggage allowance system, dependent on cabin class.
Fees for additional luggage per piece depend on when you purchase your baggage allowance, your cabin class and lastly (at times), whether you’re flying out of Gatwick / Stanstead, or any other route.
The British Airways baggage policy can get a little confusing at times – we hope this clears it up a bit!
Table of Contents
British Airways Carry-On Allowance:
1 handbag/laptop bag: FREE
1 standard carry-on bag: FREE
Size Restrictions:
- Personal: 40 x 30 x 15cm (16 x 12 x 6in)
- Standard: 56 x 45 x 25cm (22 x 18 x 10in), up to 51lb
Lap Infant Carry-On Policy:
- Allowed 1 cabin bag for items required during the flight
- Up to 56 x 45 x 25cm (22 x 18 x 10in), max. 23kg (51lb)
Stroller Check Policy:
- One stroller per child can be checked at gate free of charge.
- If the passenger has a small, fully collapsible stroller (with maximum dimensions of 46in x 15in x 15in when collapsed), the stroller can be taken to the gate and picked up right outside of the destination gate
- Larger strollers checked at gate will be available for pick up at the baggage carousel in the baggage hall.
British Airways Checked Baggage Allowance:
All checked bags must adhere to a max weight of 23kg (51lb) for Economy & Premium Economy; 32kg (70lb) for Business and First Class fares; must adhere to max dimensions of 90 x 75 x 43cm (35.5 x 29.5 x 16in).
Hand Baggage Only / Basic: 0 bags included
Economy: 1 bag included (23kg)*
Premium Economy: 2 bags included (23kg)
Business: 2 bags included (32kg)
First: 3 bags included (32kg)
*2 bags included (23kg) for economy flights to/from Ghana, Kenya, Japan (booked from 1 July 2016), Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone Connecting between India and USA/Bermuda/Canada, or connecting from Saudi Arabia to USA/Bermuda/Canada
Additional / Excess Baggage Fees:
Additional Baggage Per Piece
Economy
UK Domestic and Euro Traveller (incl. Plus, Plus Flex and Business UK fares)
- To / From London Gatwick or Stanstead: £36/$55/€46 (online/ in advance); £40/$60/€50 (at the airport)
- All other Routes: £60/$90/€70 (online/ in advance); £65/$100/€75 (at the airport)
World Traveller and Eco (OpenSkies)
- When your inclusive checked baggage allowance is one bag – First extra bag: £60/$90/€70 & Each additional bag: £120/$180/€140 (online/ in advance); First extra bag: £65/$100/€75 & each additional bag: £140/$200/€150 (at the airport)
- When your inclusive checked baggage allowance is two bags – Each bag: £120/$180/€140 (online / in advance); Each bag: £140/$200/€150 (at the airport)
Premium Economy
World Traveller Plus and Prem Plus (OpenSkies)
- Each bag: £120/$180/€140 (online/ in advance); Each bag:£140/$200/€150 (at the airport)
Business & First Class
Club Europe
- To / From London Gatwick or Stanstead: £36/$55/€46 (online/ in advance); £40/$60/€50 (at the airport)
- All other Routes: £60/$90/€70 (online/ in advance); £65/$100/€75 (at the airport)
Club World, Biz Bed (OpenSkies) and First Class
- Each bag: £120/$180/€140 (online/ in advance); Each bag:£140/$200/€150 (at the airport)
Overweight Fee: 51-70lb £65/$100/€70
Oversized Fee: You can take larger items of up to 190 x 75 x 65cm (75 x 29.5 x 25.5in) for an additional charge. (Currently, we waive this charge so you do not pay it.)
For baggage fees related to special luggage (sporting equipment, musical instruments, etc.) please refer to British Airway’s policy here.
Credit Cards That Reimburse You For Checked Bag Fees
Use one of the cards below to knock out some checked bag fees when flying British Airways.
| Credit Card | Fee Reimbursement Details |
|---|---|
Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card |
|
Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card |
|
Chase Sapphire Reserve® |
|
Exclusions & Waivers:
The extra allowances apply:
- in any travel class for everyone on your booking as long as you as the qualifying frequent flyer is traveling on the booking
- only on British Airways flights, except for hand baggage only (Basic) fares and group rate bookings
Executive Club Gold/oneworld Emerald: One additional free checked bag; weight allowance of 32kg (70lb) per checked bag)
Executive Club Silver/oneworld Sapphire: One additional free checked bag but max. two bags per person (excl. hand baggage only (Basic) fares); weight allowance of 32kg (70lb) per checked bag
we are planning to travel from Boston to London, London to Zurich then returning to Boston during the month of June. We are two seniors, and will be looking for lower cost flight options.
Our question now is about luggage. We usually travel with one small bag each. However we will be bringing a roll of prints with us on this trip. The prints can be rolled in a tube of 40 inches tall by 6 inches in diameter, actually 8 inches in diameter would be better. Can this be brought into the cabin, and if checked, how do we do this? Thank you
Since when did BA flight out of Stanstead? I’d be interested in you giving a run down on their routes?
Plus are they stopping flying from their main hub of Heathrow? You make no mention?
Perhaps they are handing LHR T5 over to Ryanair and swapping slots at Stanstead?
Erin may want to weigh in on this as well but I do know that British Airways flies from Stansted Airport in the summer to Faro, Malaga, Palma and Ibiza. I did some research and found that they started flying from there in 2016.
I am currently booked on a flight to London which does not include a checked bag. I received an email from British Airways saying that I could purchase that privelige for less than at the airport if I did it online through that email. I had to buy to find out the price, so I haven’t said yes yet..
Do you have any idea how much that is likely to be?
Hey Hilary, an email that won’t give you the price seems really suspect to me and is something I have never heard of. I would worry that someone is trying to scam you and certainly would not purchase the checked bag through that link. If you contact British Airways either online or over the phone, they should be able to give you up to date pricing for your flight and either confirm or deny that the email in question came from them.