How to deal with extra bags
 

Hi all,

I will be taking a lot of internal flights in India. We are coming from the US for a wedding but wil be doing some touring before hand. I'm sure wedding clothes will fill up atleast one bag. The baggage allowances for flights within India are much lower than for International flights. We will be there for 20 days, so I don't think it's possible to only have 35lbs of stuff each.

Have any of you dealt with this issue and how did you get around it?

My husband paid the first bribe in his entire life! Seriously!

Two years ago we spent 6 weeks in India and took only one internal flight (on a budget airline), and no one mentioned our overweight bags. The one thing they do carefully monitor though is the carry-on weight. You could buy those special travel vests and put every heavy item in the pockets.

A month ago we had budget flights between Delhi and Kathmandu. I got some flak in Delhi about the weight of my carry-on, but no one made me pay or said anything. In the Kathmandu airport the guy at check-in started to question the weight of our bags. My husband slipped him a small "tip", and the bags went right on the conveyor belt.

If there is a hotel or b&b you'll be staying several times during your trip (perhaps in Delhi since so many flights go through there), you could try asking about leaving things there. I've heard others say that some airlines will waive those luggage limits for people who have on-going international flights. Or, suck it up and pay the excess baggage fee.

I'm trying to look for the exess baggage fee but they only have a price per kg over weight. It doesn't say anything about having an extra bag.

It may be that they do not allow extra bags...

Send them an e mail or telephone them to ask.

Could you ship the wedding outfits ahead? Just a thought if nothing else works.

Thirty five pounds of clothing for 20 days in a tropical, poverty ridden land? Are you including the weight of the Samsonite? Yeah, quit the moaning or ditch the fur coats.

jobin--You are mistaken when you call India a tropical country. Parts are, and parts (many) aren't. We used jackets, fleece, shawls, hiking boots etc. on our trips to India in Feb. and March. It depends on where the wedding is held and where the OP will be traveling.

I going to North India in December, so yes it will be cold and we will be needing jackets.

Not sure why you're making rude comments but whatever helps you sleep better at night.

And there may be a lot of poverty in India, but an Indian wedding (of any economic class) is not somewhere where you dress simply. Multiple clothing changes, lots of flash required.

I guess jobin's middle school is on vacation this week.

We travel India often and are always WAY over weight with camera gear mostly. Never had any issues with it. But we do have a check in system that works well....With three travelers we generally always seem to have one of us off the rest room during check in ......;-)

Thanks guys, I know its way in advance but Im trying to avoid any last minute dilemmas. My regular stuff shouldn't be too much but the 5 or so wedding outfits will probably take up a lot of space, not to mention we are there for Christmas and New Years.

You can never be too prepared!