Swiss International Air Lines Baggage Fees & Tips to Cover the Expenses
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With Swiss International Air Lines it’s all about planning ahead with your baggage, as fees are significantly cheaper to book online at Swiss.com rather than amending your booking at check-in.
Table of contents
Table of Contents
Swiss International Air Lines Carry-On Allowance
1 personal item: FREE
1 standard carry-on bag: Free for economy passengers
2 standard carry-on bags: Free for business and first passengers
Size and Weight Restrictions
- Personal: 40 x 30 x 10 cm
- Standard: 55 x 40 x 23 cm (8 kg)
Lap Infant Carry-On Policy
- Lap infants will be charged approximately 10% of an adult fare. You can carry on a certified car seat and baby food. Strollers are not permitted on board. Baby bassinets and special baby food (suitable for up to 24 months) is offered on all long-haul flights and should be requested upon booking.
Stroller Gate Check Policy
- With the 10% ticket fee, an infant has a checked allowance of 1 piece of luggage weighing up to 23 kg plus a folding stroller. Smaller collapsible strollers are sometimes permitted to be taken up to the gate, so ask at check-in if this is possible. Otherwise, all strollers must be checked baggage.
Swiss International Air Lines Checked Baggage Allowance
All baggage must not exceed 158 cm in size (width + height + depth).
European Routes
Light Fare Class: No baggage included
Classic & Flex Fare: 1 piece 23 kg
Business Fare: 2 pieces at 32 kg each (total weight maximum 64 kg)
Intercontinental Routes
Light Fare Class: No baggage included
SWISS Economy Fare: 1 piece 23 kg
SWISS Business Fare: 2 pieces at 32 kg each (total weight maximum 64 kg)
SWISS First Fare: 3 pieces at 32 kg each (total weight maximum 96 kg)
Additional/Excess Baggage Fees
Baggage rates apply for 1 route only, and return flight fees are payable at the departure airport in local currency.
| Zones | Overweight or oversized (>24 kg/32 kg or >158 cm) | Overweight and oversized (>24 kg/32 kg and >158 cm) |
| Within Switzerland | USD $46 | USD $93 |
| Europe | USD $57 | USD $114 |
| The Levant and North Africa | USD $86 | USD $173 |
| Short-haul intercontinental | USD $115 | USD $230 |
| Medium-haul intercontinental | USD $138 | USD $276 |
| Long-haul intercontinental | USD $173 | USD $346 |
Individual baggage pieces must not exceed 32 kg. Heavier baggage will need to be checked as cargo.
When traveling on an Economy Light Fare, you can upgrade to include a piece of checked baggage — the price depends on when/where you update your booking:
| Sales location | Within Switzerland | Europe | Intercontinental |
| On swiss.com | USD $16 | USD $27 | USD $60 |
| At check-in | USD $35 | USD $44 | USD $60 |
| At the gate | USD $60 | USD $60 | USD $60 |
Charges for an additional piece of baggage
| Zones | Max. 23 kg and max. 158 cm on swiss.com | Max. 23 kg and max. 158 cm at the check-in counter | Overweight or oversized (>24 kg or >158 cm) on swiss.com | Overweight and oversized (>24 kg and >158 cm) at the check-in counter |
| Within Switzerland | USD $64 | USD $80 | USD $126 | USD $172 |
| Europe | USD $73 | USD $92 | USD $149 | USD $206 |
| The Levant and North Africa | USD $92 | USD $115 | USD $201 | USD $287 |
| Short-haul intercontinental | USD $138 | USD $172 | USD $287 | USD $402 |
| Medium-haul intercontinental | USD $184 | USD $230 | USD $368 | USD $506 |
| Long-haul intercontinental | USD $230 | USD $287 | USD $460 | USD $633 |
Tariffs for flights from/to Japan
| Additional baggage item | swiss.com | Check-in | Gate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard (max. 23 kg, circumference less than 158 cm) | USD $150 | USD $200 | USD $210 |
| Oversize (circumference more than 158 cm) | – | USD $500 | – |
| Very heavy (24 – 32 kg) | – | USD $350 | – |
| Very heavy and oversize (24 – 32 kg, circumference more than 158 cm) | – | USD $650 | – |
Can I Pre-pay for Baggage?
Swiss International Airlines does allow passengers the ability to pre-pay for luggage online or via their call center.
Here are the ways you can pre-pay:
- Log in to your booking on the ‘Manage my bookings’ area of the Swiss website and add baggage up to an hour before departure.
- Contact their call center by calling +1 877 359 79 47
Recommended Cards That Reimburse Your Baggage Fees
| Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card - This no annual fee card comes with a 20,000 mile welcome bonus (worth $200) once you spend $1,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening. When you use your card for travel purchases (e.g. baggage fees), use your miles to pay off all, or part of, your statement! This is why we like this card. |
| Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card - The "big brother" card to the VentureOne® with a larger 50,000 welcome bonus (worth $500) once you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening and you'll earn 10X miles per $1 spent across thousands of hotels. |
Exclusions & Waivers
Increased baggage allowances for specific routes:
Economy class passengers benefit from higher checked baggage limits on the following routes where each piece must not exceed a total size (width + height + depth) of 158 cm:
| Route | Free baggage allowance |
| From U.S./Canada to South Africa* | 2 x 23 kg |
| From U.S./Canada to East, West, Central Africa (without Mauritius)* | 2 x 23 kg |
| Flights commencing in Switzerland to Vietnam/Sri Lanka | 2 x 23 kg |
| Travel commencing in Brazil*** | 2 x 32 kg |
| Travel commencing in Switzerland to Brazil**** | 2 x 23 kg |
| Flights commencing in India to the U.S. | 2 x 23 kg |
| Flights commencing in the U.S. to India** | 2 x 23 kg |
| Between India and Canada | 2 x 23 kg |
| Between U.S./Canada/Mexico and Afghanistan, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Yemen | 2 x 23 kg |
| Flights commencing in Canada to Serbia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Iraq, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka | 2 x 23 kg |
| From or to Japan | 2 x 23 kg |
*Applicable irrespective of stopovers en-route
**On flights between the U.S. and India, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, this offer applies only if you depart from or land at these U.S. airports: Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver, Chicago, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, Charlotte, York, Washington, Boston, Philadelphia, Detroit, Miami and Orlando. You must always travel via Europe.
***Applies only to flight tickets issued before 28 February 2019.
****Applies only to flight tickets issued on/before October 14, 2018.
Increased baggage allowance for frequent flyers
On all SWISS-operated flights for Classic, Flex, and Business Fares (not applicable to Light Fares), passengers with the following status have a higher baggage limit:
| Status | All European routes |
| HON Circle Senator STAR Gold | + 1 baggage item of 23 kg in economy class + 1 baggage item of 32 kg in business and first class + 1 set of golf equipment |
| Frequent Traveller | + 1 baggage item of 23 kg in economy class |
| SWISS Golf Traveller | 1 set of golf equipment |
| Status | To/from/via U.S, Canada | Other Destinations |
| HON Circle Senator STAR Gold | +1 bag 23 kg in economy class +1 bag 32 kg in business and first class | + 1 piece of luggage 23kg in economy class + 1 bag with 32kg in business and first class + 1 Golf equipment |
| Frequent Traveller | +1 bag 23kg in economy class | + 1 piece of luggage 23kg in economy class |
| SWISS Golf Traveller | +1 Golf equipment | + 1 Golf equipment |
The baggage allowances and fees of the first carrier on interline flights or the first marketing carrier on codeshare flights will apply to all subsequent flights in the itinerary.
To see more airline baggage fees and policies, click here.
Featured Image: Courtesy of Shutterstock; Logo courtesy of Swiss Air Lines
