Got my Frommer's online newsletter, which advises that effective tomorrow (2/13/2007), British Airways will implement a more restrictive baggage policy -- NO pieces over 51 pounds. They will make exceptions for electric wheelchairs, some sporting items, and musical instruments. Policy applies to all class of flyers - and they're no longer allowing payment of excess weight fee (that's overage to the bags, not the person!).

Here's the link to the article -- http://www.budgettravelonline.com/bt...referrer=email

my question - WHO needs a 50 lb suitcase???

That is still a lot of luggage! I left with a 12 pound bag last year, and it definitely wasn't 50 on the way back.

My parents do, for one, when we fly transatlantic to London and then on to another place in Europe (without connecting as they are staying in London for a few days to visit me). Especially when I'm flying over to live for a year on two suitcases. Thank God I ended in London.

I think that there are a couple of inaccuracies with the story. Even though the new policy becomes implemented tomorrow, it will not be enforced until September 30, 2007.
And (speaking only for travelers from North America) the number of bags if you are flying First or business class is increased from 2 to 3.
BTW BA's policy is still more liberal than some others (Qantas at 44 lbs for instance) and the same as other major carriers to Europe (American Airlines for instance).
I believe that this change has more to do with baggage handlers than it has with BA. The policy is being adopted to comply with unionized baggage handlers contracts.
For some reason BA's policy of notifying their customers seems to cause more of a stir than other carriers who remain mute.

WEll, Janis, there are a few of us who have been known to carry a heavier suitcase and we don't even ask other people to carry it for us!

All BA is doing is bringing it's policy more in line with other airlines like UA, VA, AF...

For folk travelling Transatlantic even Cattle Class, they will have an allowance of 46kg (100lbs) plus their cabin luggage. I don't think all my clothes weigh that much

This is already standard with US airlines, NW, UA, AA etc.
My suitcase weighs 18 lbs empty (it's large, heavy duty, and has the handle for pulling and the metal frame, all of which adds weight)....so it's not much of a stretch to add another 35 lbs to it....which puts you over the limit. I now bring two lighter bags instead of one heavy one.

Didn't BA also recently limit long-haul flights to one checked bag? And the single checked bag has to be below 50 lbs?

That's fine for me, but I can see some people may go over. Without the second bag, they'll have to just dump the extra stuff, I guess.

<<All BA is doing is bringing it's policy more in line with other airlines like UA, VA, AF...>>
Agreed - and some of these airlines have had these restrictions in place for the last two years.
Inacurate, alarm-raising story...I guess this is why we are on the Fodors forum and not the Frommers forum....

Janis- my first thought immediately, who needs to carry a 50lb. suitcase? And as mrchillybeans said, you use different suitcases if you can't add to the weight limit.

first of all I would never (and never have) ask someone to carry my suitcase. But my point was - since one is allowed <b>2</b> checked bags WHY would any bag need to weigh over 50 lbs -- ever?? Even a starving student moving to Oxford (JoeTro ) does not need 100 lbs of &quot;stuff&quot; plus carry on.

I have ended up with a bag over 50 pounds traveling around Europe. It is a fairly big rolling duffle. Why do it? It's much easier for me to roll around one 50 pound rolling duffle than two separate 25 pound bags. And I can easily lift a 50 pound bag into a train. And actually it's the main bag for two of us, along with a lightweight back pack and a smallish carryon. Once checking in, we were told that the rolling duffle was 58 pounds. I opened it up and took out our two winter microfiber topcoats (going to London). The clerk said you'll need to take more than that out, but I already knew they weighed 5 pounds each so that put us at 48 and we were allowed to carry them on separately.

janis and tudor - would you please have a &quot;tete a tete&quot; with my wife? It is too close to Valentine's Day for me to suggest your observations. LOL.

robjame: Maybe you could come up w/ a &quot;bad back&quot;, making her have to lug her own stuff and she might figure it out for herself (w/o you having to say <i>anything</i

janis -
U.S. and Canadian flights can still take 2 checked bags, but BA is limiting others to 1 checked bag. So I can imagine that causes a problem for some.

Jolie, outside Transatlantic &amp; Pacific routes one bag is the standard for the folk at the back of the plane.

BA used to allow you to have multiple bags as long as they were under the then 32kg limit, but as you've lost 9kg from the luggage allowance anyway I can't see that being a problem - at worst buy a very large &amp; cheap bag and put all your bags into it before check-in

BA are still allowing 2 bags of 23kg across the Pond for the Cattle Class - just like VA, UA and virtually every other airline

robjame- As always Janis is right. Having carried one too many heavy bags myself, I realized that I didn't use half of what I put in them and downsized accordingly on the next trip.
I went to London w/my mother last spring and had to carry my own bags as my husband wasn't going, glad I learned how to pack light, I had to wind up helping my mother who always has my father to carry her things!

I'm just trying to help you folks who check bags. I only ever take a 19 inch or at most 21 inch rolling bag and the most it has ever weighed was 26 lbs. most of the time it is between 18 and 22 lbs. That's all - for 2 weeks or 2 months.

I know what you mean, and it would be nice to do it, but some of us can't. I had one bag a little over 50 pounds coming over. It's hard when you have lots of books to bring over in addition to clothes, etc.