British Airways Baggage Fees & Tips to Cover the Expenses

- UPDATED: March 20, 2019

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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
British Airways Checked Baggage Allowance
Additional / Excess Baggage Fees
Can I Pre-pay for Baggage?
Credit Cards That Reimburse You For Checked Bag Fees
Exclusions & Waivers:

Table of Contents

British Airways Carry-On Allowance
British Airways Checked Baggage Allowance
Additional / Excess Baggage Fees
Can I Pre-pay for Baggage?
Credit Cards That Reimburse You For Checked Bag Fees
Exclusions & Waivers:

British Airways Carry-On Allowance

1 handbag/laptop bag: FREE
1 standard carry-on bag: FREE

Size Restrictions:

Personal item: 40 x 30 x 15cm (16 x 12 x 6in), up to 23kg (51lb)*
Standard carry-on: 56 x 45 x 25cm (22 x 18 x 10in), up to 23kg (51lb)

*For flights to/from Brazil, the personal item has an increased size allowance of 45 x 36 x 20cm (18 x 14 x 8in)

Lap Infant Carry-On Policy:

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.
A small, fully collapsible stroller (with maximum dimensions of 46in x 15in x 15in when collapsed), can be taken to the gate and picked up outside of the destination gate on arrival.
Strollers that collapse down into a carry bag can be taken on board in place of your standard carry-on bag, providing it does not exceed the maximum carry-on bag dimensions.
Larger strollers checked at the 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 and 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/51lbs)*

Premium Economy: 2 bags included (23kg/51lbs)

Business: 2 bags included (32kg/70lbs)

First: 3 bags included (32kg/70lbs)

Children and infants (aged 2-11 with a booked seat): Same allowance as adult plus up to two items including a collapsible stroller, travel cot, car seat or carry harness.

Infants under 2 years: 1 bag (23kg/51lbs) plus up to two items including a collapsible stroller, travel cot, car seat or carry harness.

*2 bags included (23kg) for economy flights to/from Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria or flights between Europe and Japan. Connecting between India and USA/Bermuda/Canada, or connecting from Saudi Arabia to USA/Bermuda/Canada. Flights between London and Doha have an allowance of 1 x 32kg.

Additional / Excess Baggage Fees

Additional Baggage Per Piece, per way

Economy Hand Baggage Only (Basic)

Route	Purchased Online	Purchased at the airport
Short-haul to/from London City Airport	First bag: £25/$40/€35 – £40/$60/€55 Additional bags: £60/$90/€70	£65/$100/€75
Short-haul to/from London Gatwick Airport	First bag: £20/$30/€25 – £35/$55/€45 Additional bags: £36/$55/€46	£50/$75/€65
Short-haul to/from London Heathrow Airport	First bag: £25/$40/€35 – £48/$72/€66 Additional bags: £60/$90/€70	£65/$100/€75
Short-haul to/from London Stansted, Bristol, Birmingham, Dublin, Edinburgh, Manchester	First bag: £20/$30/€25 – £35/$55/€45 Additional bags: £60/$90/€70	£65/$100/€75
Long-haul to/from USA, Canada, Mexico from London Gatwick	First bag: £40/$55/€45 Second bag: £60/$90/€70 Third+ bags: £120/$180/€140	First extra bag: £44/$60/€50 Second extra bag: £65/$100/€75 Third+ bags: £140/$200/€150
All other Long-haul flights	First bag: £60/$90/€70 Second bag: £60/$90/€70 Third+ bags: £120/$180/€140	First bag: £65/$100/€75 Second bag: £65/$100/€75 Third+ bags: £140/$200/€150

Economy

Euro Traveller (Plus and Plus Flex)

Flights to/from London Gatwick: £36/$55/€46 (online/ in advance); £50/$75/€65 (at the airport)
All other routes: £60/$90/€70 (online/ in advance). £65/$100/€75 (at the airport)

Premium Economy

World Traveller Plus

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); £50/$75/€65 (at the airport)
All other Routes: £60/$90/€70 (online/ in advance); £65/$100/€75 (at the airport)

Club World and First Class

Each bag: £120/$180/€140 (online/ in advance); Each bag:£140/$200/€150 (at the airport)

British Airways updated their additional baggage fees at the end of 2018/early 2019. View their previous baggage fees here.

Excess Baggage Fees

Overweight Fee: 23-32kg (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, British Airways waives 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.

Can I Pre-pay for Baggage?

British Airways does allow passengers the ability to pre-pay for luggage online.

Passengers need to log in to their booking on the British Airways website to do this.

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	Use your miles to offset or "erase" any travel purchases that you make with your card. It's easy. Earn 20,000 mile sign up bonus (worth $200) once you spend $1,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening. 0% Intro APR on purchases for 12 months Annual Fee: $0
Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card	Like with the Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Card, use your miles to offset or "erase" any travel purchases that you make with your card. Earn 50,000 mile sign up bonus (worth $500) once you spend $3,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening. Annual Fee: $0 intro for the first year, $95 after that.

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 in any cabin class (excl. hand baggage only (Basic) fares); weight allowance of 32kg (70lb) per checked bag)

Executive Club Silver/oneworld Sapphire: One additional free checked bag but max. two bags per person when traveling in Economy (excl. hand baggage only (Basic) fares); weight allowance of 32kg (70lb) per checked bag

To see more airline baggage fees and policies, click here.

FAQ

How much can my suitcase weigh on British Airways?

When flying British Airways, all checked bags must not exceed 23kg (51lb) for Economy & Premium Economy passengers and 32kg (70lb) for Business and First Class passengers. Bags that are heavier than these standard allowances will be subject to excess baggage fees. Standard carry-on baggage cannot weigh more than 23kg (51lb).

Is luggage included with British Airways?

Luggage is included with British Airways on all fares apart from their Economy Basic fare (hand baggage only). The standard allowance is 1 bag (23kg) for Economy (apart from selected routes which allow 2), 2 bags for Premium Economy (23kg each), 2 bags for Business Class (32kg each) and 3 bags for First Class (32kg each).

How big can a carry-on bag be for British Airways?

British Airways allows passengers to bring 1 standard piece of carry-on that must not exceed 56 x 45 x 25cm (22 x 18 x 10in) with a maximum weight of 23kg (51lb). An additional personal item can be brought onboard that cannot be larger than 40 x 30 x 15cm (16 x 12 x 6in) with the same weight allowance as a standard carry-on piece.

How much is excess baggage on British Airways?

Excess baggage fees for British Airways depend on the route. If your bag exceeds the standard baggage allowance weighing 23-32kg (51-70lb) then you will be subject to a fee of $100. Baggage heavier than 32kg (70lbs) will not be accepted by British Airways. Baggage that is larger than the standard checked baggage allowance of 90cm x 75cm x 43cm (35.5″ x 29.5″ x 16in”) is permitted up to 190cm x 75cm x 65cm (75″ x 29.5″ x 25.5″) and BA states that they currently waive the fee but this might come into effect at some point in the future.

5 comments

Howard Yarme · April 17, 2018 · Reply

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

Steven Jack · July 10, 2018 · Reply

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?

Christine Krzyszton · July 10, 2018 · Reply
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.

Hilary Gibbs · October 31, 2018 · Reply

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?

Jeff Brownson · October 31, 2018 · Reply
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.