Baggage Allowances on United and Alaskan Airlines
 

Hello All,

I am travelling internally in the US in economy on both of these airlines and I am having a bit of a brain melt down to determine the baggage allowances!

I just want someone to explain to me in the most simple terms how many suitcases each per person x how much weight I will be allowed?

I will have a 2 x 23kg (50 pound) check in PLUS 1 x 7kg (15 pound) allowance per person travelling internationally from Australia to US (that is a whopping total of 53kg or 115 pounds of luggage).

Now, before I get all the travellers on this forum tsking at the enormity of this indulgence - please understand that whilst I will be travelling VERY light from home - I plan to do some serious shopping damage whilst travelling west to east and back again in the US!
So - please, will I only be able to carry 1 x 23kg case + a carry-on for the internal flights and if I end up with another case because of shopping excesses how much extra $$'s maximum will the airlines charge me per flight if the second suitcase weighs again the maximum of 23 kgs (so 66 kgs in all!), just for example?

Also - on the trains (AMTRAK) between NY and RI and RI and Washington - there is no check in luggage available - but it appears that you can carry 2 cases x 50 pounds each on board per person - so does that mean I can carry a total of 100 pounds all by myself on board a train (sure I'll have fun lifting that on and off trains and into overheads!)?

Thanks for your help!

Some of the larger Amtrak station have red caps who can help you on an doff the train if you have mounds of luggage. Bags that heavy cannot go overhead - they might fall off and kill someone.

They can help you load them at the end of the car - you keep only a carry-on in the overhead rack. (I know they have them in NYC and I think DC - not sure otherwise). I highly reco you give them a decent tip - at least $10 for all the stuff you have- so you don;t have to haul it up and down escalators to the train platforms.

Can't help on planes - I have never flown with that much stuff.

There is no free baggage allowance on your internal flights except for the small carry-onboard piece.

United: 1st bag is $25, 2nd bag $35. Each additional bag is $100 and also there is a $100 per bag fee for any bag that weighs more than 23kg.

Alaska charges $20 each for your 1st 3 bags and $50 for a 4th.

If you get the United Airlines Credit card, your first bag is free on each flight as well as the first bag of one companion. This may add up to a decent savings if you have a few flights.

And remember that those extra fees are per trip, each way. For example if you fly NYC to LA with a change of plane but on one ticket, that counts as one trip. If they are separate tickets, I imagine that it would count as 2 trips.

Luggage in the US can be quite inexpensive at stores like TJ Maxx and even some department stores like Macy's. Would it make sense for you to travel with fewer bags and just buy what you need as you need it, preferably as late in your travels as possible?

It depends on the airline is the short answer to your first question, so I strongly suggest you block out some time to call and ask the airline(s) yourself. I wouldn't trust the well-intentioned answers here to be correct.

NewbE, I assume that clarkgriswold copied the information from the airlines websites and that OP Daneille08 is just trying to understand what she's already read. It does get confusing
No matter what, you need to count the number of flights, note which are on whicn airline, and count the number and size of bags.

http://www.aa.com/i18n/travelInforma...eAllowance.jsp

http://www.alaskaair.com/content/tra...lInfo-policies
It also notes "When your travel involves multiple airlines (including flights marketed by one airline and flown by another), please refer to your travel confirmation to determine which airline's baggage policy applies"

I meant no disrespect to anyone's answers, nyer. It is indeed confusing.

I understand NewbE,and I'm one of those who advocates going to the source when you need certain information rather than relying on opinions. I think what I picked up on is that the OP had some figures but just couldn't quite see what it all adds up to in the end.

Nyer - thanks, you are absolutely right. Wading through the myriad of figures gets confusing and by the time I get to the end I've forgotten what it said in the beginning! Blame, way too much on my mind!
Clarkgriswold - yes, I do believe we have paid for some baggage allowance on these flights. It operates in much the same way as discount travel providers here in that you pay so much before you fly or cop a premium amount for check in luggage at the airport.
Anyway - I guess the bottom line is if we're overweight (in terms of baggage) we'll just have to cop the extra charges - so I suppose that is the very crux of my question and it seems Clarkgriwold has provided that answer! Seems like the bulk of our shopping will be in LA as the last stop before we fly home. Thank you all!