do you have any rules of thumb that work when it comes to estimateing your return luggage weight?

how often are you surprised?

c

never, actually. I'm not sure why you are asking about return luggage weight, rather than going luggage weight. Mine are hardly different. Anyway, it doesn't make any difference because I check my main suitcase and you are allowed up to a really high limit that I could never approach that with one bag (I think it's around 75 pounds).

Now, I have been surprised going when they weighed my 25" rollerbag that I had stuffed pretty full for a long trip, including shoes and books. Much to my surprise, it only weighed 36 pounds (and I thought it would be more). So, now my rule of thumb is that as long as I have that size bag or smaller, I know that even when fully packed, it is not going to be a weight problem and is not going to weigh more than 40 lbs max.

I suppose if you bought some very heavy object, that wouldn't be true, but then you'd know what that would weigh.

Oh I have exceeded the 75 lbs in the past. depending on what you shop for. I have really packed it in!

Nope. I pack light and anything heavy/bulky/fragile I ship home.

On many airlines the limit is now 50 lbs.

I'm more concerned about my own weight when returning from vacation. Especially after visiting countries with good chocolates.

We bought a very accurate hanging type scale and we always weigh the luggage before we leave. We also try to leave enough wiggle room for purchases and often carry a spare fold-up but strong and easily checkable bag for the return.

My luggage is almost always lighter on the return trip because I always pack a ton of books and discard them as I finish them during the trip.

I agree with StCirq. I throw away most of my travel planning stuff and I hate to shop - so I never have anything extra to haul.

Yes, absolutely. I buy wine, in substantial quantities. And knock on wood, I have still never paid (except in shoulder strain) for traveling TO Europe with typically (a bit under) thirty pounds (checked bag) plus 10-ish carry-on...

...and coming back well over 50 (plus pushing 20, in my carry-on).

It can be a lug, but it hasn't stopped my behavior yet!

Best wishes,

Rex

I know when they weighed my carry-on at Glasgow airport, I saw "17" on the scale and thought, "Oh, that's not too bad," until I realized it was in kg and not lbs! I had anything breakable in the backpack (two vases and a flow blue gravy boat), two bottles of Scotch liqueur, and some books - it's amazing how it adds up. By the end of my trip (hiking through the airports for one overseas and one domestic flight later), my back and shoulders felt more like it was a ton of bricks!

I am with PM! luckily they don't weigh me only the suitcase!

Giving you a heads up-I just had to give Alitalia 100 Euros last week from Milan to Catania, Sicily for overweight bags. They allow you to have 40 kilos for international but on their domestic flights it was 20 kilos-where is one supposed to put the extra stuff when traveling from international to domestic? My daughter is studying abroad in Sicily for her college semester so there wasn't much we could do about it.I should have bought each piece of luggage a "seat" on a discount airline instead?

Only once, we we took a Swissair biz class flight for our move to Belgium. The movers had come a month previously and taken most of our stuff; we were bringing with us the bits and pieces that didn't go in the container, including the computer hard drive, etc. Thought we had it under control, but we ended up having to borrow an enormous suitcase (biggest I'd ever seen) from my sister-in-law and we filled it to bursting.
When we got to Swissair checkin, turns out our baggage was 60 KILOS over the weight limit (even at biz class standards). Ooops. Anyway, they took it all and didn't charge us an extra dime. No wonder they went bankrupt ;-)

Ì have been over and charged something like $100.00 from the US to Ireland taking some of my possessions over each time. The cheaper airlines (This was a charter) tend to charge. Aer lingus going back from the U.S. scolded me...and rightly so as it was too heavey to pick up and unfair to the handlers who could hurt themselves. They asked me to buy another bag (cheapo one in the airport) and distribute tyhe items and did not charge me extra.