Sansa Air Weight Limit - Advice needed!!
 

Hello good folks,

My girlfriend and I are headed to the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica on friday night and we are taking a short Sansa Air flight from San Jose to Puerto Jimenez...

My problem is that Sansa only allows 25-27lbs per passenger and i will have a heavy suitcase. What are my options???

After speaking with someone at Sansa I was informed that I could pay $1 extra per pound (which im fine with) BUT that the extra weight would have to be removed from my checked bag and sent later on the next flight (which i'm not fine with) Is this true???

Has anyone run into a problem with a bag being too heavy during a Sansa flight??? How did you resolve this? Somehow i need to get about 40lbs of clothes and gear down there and i'd rather not have it split up onto two separate flights... Is that just the way it is?

Thanks so much to all the helpful members on here! You guys and gals really are great!

Yours,

Joe Farah

It depends on how full the flight is in terms of weight whether your bag can fly with you or not. Also, it sort of depends on how big you and your girlfriend are too. We were traveling as a family of four and our kids were 5 and 7. They had us stand on the scale with our bags for the weight, so it wouldn't have mattered how much each bag weighs, but I think that's because the kids were so light that things weren't tight on that flight.

We have seen them give people a pretty tough time. Before one flight we took to PJ, they told the girl in front of us that her bag would be left off the plane entirely because the flight was too full. She pitched a fit, and they gave in to her, but it was pretty dramatic. Her bag wasn't even over the weight limit.

I am a reformed 50-pound rolling suitcase packer. I use the weekend convertible bag from ebags.com and am able to get all my stuff in there, and it usually weighs in at about 22 pounds. I've been on another flight with them that wasn't very full, and they didn't even weigh the bags or ask our weights. I would try to get the extra weight out if you can; you won't really know if they'll take it or not until you see how full the flight is. Most places in CR will do laundry for you for a fee if that helps at all.

thanks for the replies so far everyone. I see what you're saying about not really knowing how it will go until it's take-off time and we know how full the plane is.

Is this 27lbs for both carry-on AND checked baggage or just for the checked bag. I wanted to bring my Amphibians and reptiles of CR book but it must weigh 10lbs easy!!! Oh what is a herper to do????

Make some friends at the airport and have them take some of your stuff. :-) Nature Air is a little more generous with the weight (not by much though). As mentioned taking a lightweight bag and doing laundry helps. If the flight isn't full or overweight chances are you could take it with you for a fee.

A lot of times the lodges have books you can borrow, so I'd leave the book home. If not, you can always identify the critters from their photos later. Of course if you're trying to distinguish venomous from non-venomous, I guess it's better to know while you're face to face (or face to ankle)! Are you taking snake hooks? They're always fun things to get through airport security!

Thanks everyone! We'll see how it goes...

bd, no snake hook for me! If it's non-venomous I'll grab it and if it's dangerous then i'll leave it be and take some pics from a safe distance. Fortunately i know at a glance which snakes are venomous.

hipvirgochick, thanks for the suggestions :-)

I did have a little bag with books, magazines, and my camera that I carried on. They didn't weigh it, didn't even seem to notice it, but no guarantees I guess. Is your herp book a hard cover version? If so, maybe paperback version?

I'd take the book if it's important to you and just pack really light as far as everything else goes. I usually travel for about a month at a time in CA and my bag typically weighs well under 20# including gifts for host families and my Spanish study materials/novels. Check out this site: www.onebag.com Happy trails!

Instead of hoping to get by/around it, I honestly would just pack lighter. Unless I was going for a couple months, I can't imagine what I would need to pack that would weigh more than 40 lbs.

Don't take a suitcase, extra pounds you don't need. Use a duffle bag, pack light - t-shirts, shorts, and have laundry done if needed. There are so many books upstairs at Bosque, you will most certainly find what you need. If not, ask Philip I'm sure he has it all in his head!

Agree with others. Be tough. Reform. Turn yourself into a very light packer - and never look back. You'll be SO MUCH HAPPIER. We just spent 2 months in Mexico, and last year two months in Panama - each taking the weekend convertible carryon mentioned above from e.bags. They were each probably under 20 lbs fully loaded. We checked those and each took a smallish bag or backpack for carrying camera, binocs, books (PAPERBACKS ONLY ALLOWED - or (gasp) relevant PAGES torn out of heavy books). We could carry this stuff ourselves in airports and bus stations. The weekender is soft side and small, but you wouldn't believe how much it will hold. No wheels. Very light itself.

On a lot of Sansa and Nature Air they didn't even weigh our suitcases! Shove what you can into your carry on bags. They definitely don't weight the carry-ons. Also, travel with less. It's a good idea for many reasons. 2 of the most important being: you won't be a target for petty crimes AND it really is a lot easier to travel in costa rica (all the unpaved roads, walking, flights, etc.) without the heavy bags.

Actually I have had my carry on weighed and even had to redistribute things between carry on and bag so don't be too sure of anything. Sometimes no weigh at all. Just hope for the best but be prepared. :-)

True hip, my last couple of flights they weighed my bag, my carry-on and me. I wish I could redistribute my own weight :)

Just a thought, if you're running right at the limit or a little over, pack it on yourself. I've worn my heaviest shoes, my rainjacket, my 1 pr of pants etc just to save some weight from my bags.

Ok well i just stood on my bathroom scale with my suitcase and got two surprises. First was that I'm heavier than I thought and second was that my bag was only coming in around 25 lbs... Mind you, it wasn't fully packed, but it shouldn't go up past 35 at the very most which I'm guessing won't cause too much of an issue. Thanks very much for all the input and Tully, I was thinking that same thing last night about "wearing" all my heavy stuff on my to cut down ;-)

You guys have been fantastic in answering my questions on this topic and a few others and I want to sincerely thank you for your time. I'll definitely do a trip report and post some pics and let you all know how it went...

- Joe

They didn't weigh us, just our suitcases, but they did ask our weight.

We took a small flight once in the U.S., and I asked them if women ever lie about their weight, and the agent said they always add ten pounds onto whatever the women tell them - lol!

No offense, but what are you taking that would add up to 35 pounds? I travel for a month or more at a time, including cooler high altitude places and snorkeling gear, and if my bag hits 20 pounds before I leave I take things out.

Do check out the www.onebag.com site and here's a great Rick Steves' quote from his pack light website:
'The importance of packing light cannot be overemphasized, but, for your own good, I'll try. You'll never meet a traveler who, after five trips, brags: "Every year I pack heavier." The measure of a good traveler is how light she travels. You can't travel heavy, happy, and cheap. Pick two.'
http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/packlight.htm

I think you're kidding yourself if you think that extra 10 pounds won't be a problem. If the flight is full, and everyone is an adult, it is a problem. They aren't making these restrictions to inconvenience people, it's because of the weight a plane can handle. You don't want to be overweight heading out over the mountains.....

Hysterical volcanogirl!!!

hopefulist - my camera gear alone takes up a third of the weight, plus i have packages of AA and AAA batteries PLUS all the stuff that has batteries inside it like headlamps, etc... Maybe if i took the batteries out of everything and left out the packages of AA's and such that would help. I can grab batteries when i get the store at Jimenez right?

JeanH - I called on tuesday and there were still 6 open seats on our flight. And thank you so much for your clarification on why there is a weight limit... here i thought they were just trying to be jerks for absolutely no reason.

Herp I think your best case with the camera equipment would be to pack your main bag right at the limit or just a hair under. Then as mentioned wear anything heavy. Then can your camera equip fit in a small carry on? Even if it's overweight, they sometimes will weigh you and your carry-on together, so that would be a plus for you. Try not to act like it's heavy :) and maybe they will not weigh it separately.

hip - I remember Sansa did just ask me, not weigh me. I lied, just a tad :D

I know it doesn't seem right that our safety is based on a bunch of women telling the truth about their weight! :)

If you are staying at a hotel near the airport the night before and returning the night before your international flight, see if you can store bulky things you won't need at the hotel. Most of the hotels in the area allow you to do this.

When I've flown Sansa in the past I would check a duffle bag and carry on a back pack containing valuables and a change of clothes. One time they wouldn't let anyone carry on anything larger than a small purse or hand bag so I had to check the back pack also. I wasn't expecting this, so I had to scramble and pull out things like my passport, money, camera, and other valuables. I didn't want to risk checking those things. Good thing I always keep some plastic bags handy in one of the duffle pockets.

tully -- Usually they ask, but one time (can't remember if it was Sansa or NA) made me get on the scale. Ugh. I think that was the time I had to restribute stuff between my carry on too. That was fun! ;-)

I have just returned from the Osa Peninsula, and flew with Sansa on one of their twelve-sweater planes, so thought I'd share the latest.
My hold luggage was a fair bit larger than the stated dimensions (30 x 18 x 12 inches). They didn't blink an eye at the size, but there was a small intake of breath when it weighed in at 29.8lbs. Just under the maximum, I got the impression it would have been an issue if it was over the limit. Mind you there were only 9 passengers, three of who were children, so maybe not.
They asked me to step on the scales with my carry on bag, and they made a note of the combined weight. I think the bag itself was no more than 8lbs but they didn't separate it from my weight. I had a medium-sized day pack, some people's carry ons were bigger than mine. I had a couple of bottles of water in it too, there are no security scanning machines in San Jose's domestic airport, or at Puerto Jiminez, although there was a manual bag check at San Jose.
I agree with other people's comments
1. Leave behind what you don't need - not only does it add to the weight, but also everything you take will most likely end up being slightly damp because of the humidity, so it's nice to have some fresh clothes on your return
2. I stayed at an Eco lodge for 5 nights. I had 2 pair of shorts, 1 pair hiking trousers, 1 pair long trousers for the evening, 3 quick dry t shirts (excellent for this environment) and a couple of long-sleeved shirts/tops. Swim costume. Hiking boots. Flip flops. Water shoes. Sarong. Plus camera gear, sun gasses, sun cream, hat and PJs/underwear. I took all my toiletries but the lodge supplied soap, shampoo, conditioner and shower gel. They also supplied beach and shower towels, mosquito net (not that I saw any), torch, binoculars, umbrella, rubber boots, snorkel equipment and so on. You really won't need to take too much with you - ask beforehand what your accomodation supplies.
3. Have a small bag with your carry on incase you need to put some of the contents into the hold.

Hope this is useful

Wow, nice to see some old names resurrected in this thread.