I need to increase my baggage allowance weight

[Gorilla-G]

I fly out on thursday and want to increase my baggage weight, how many days prior is the least time you can do this?
I'll be phoning them tomorrow anyway but would just like to know at what point prior to flight is this not allowed anymore?
Another thing I'd like to ask is I'm using bathroom scale to weigh my luggage, how accurate are these?
Final question is has anyone caught the coach from victoria to gatwick? They say that the coaches leave every 15 mins and take an hour to get there, is every coach full to the brim? I want to travel at roughly 3-4 pm.
Thanks.

[dzug2]

No idea on baggage - it will depend on which airline you are using I would think

'they' are wrong about the coach - from Victoria it runs every hour on the hour and takes roughly an hour and a half

The Easybus service does run every 15 minutes, but it runs from West Brompton, not Victoria, and takes about an hour and a quarter. As they use minibuses it's advisable to book.

[boxtops]

I'm not aware that you can "increase your baggage allowance", it's fixed by the airline - you pay excess baggage when you check in. Check your airline's website - they will have all the details of your weight allowances.

If you are sure your bathroom scales are correct, we still allow a bit extra when we weigh ours just in case they are a bit out. I'm not prepared to pay excess baggage on the way out, normally the allowance is 18 or 20 kg per person.

[Buenchico]

Why is it that people who post questions like this never tell us which airline they're flying with? They all have different rules!!!

Bathroom scales aren't particularly accurate when weighing within the range which they're designed for (i.e. the range of weights of most adults). They're probably even less accurate when used for lower weights. (Allow up to 10% error).

Dzug2 has answered the coach question. (It's always best to book). From Victoria you might as well go by train. It takes around half an hour and, if you book now you can easily get a single 'Advance' ticket for a fiver (instead of the regular fare of £17.90):
http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

Chris

[Gorilla-G]

Sorry buenchico I thought all airlines were similar. It's with thomas cook. I want to upgrade from 15kg to 20kg. I've read that you're allowed 5kg hand luggage, is this correct even if you've upgrade from 15-20kg?

[Buenchico]

You're allowed 5kg of cabin baggage (not exceeding 43cm x 28cm x 23cm) irrespective of whether you've got hold baggage or not.

If you didn't add it on when you booked your flights, your hold baggage allowance is NIL (and NOT 15Kg, as you suggest). You can only add a baggage allowance (of 20Kg, for a charge of £12) "as long as you have more than 4 days before you depart":
http://book.flythomas...-extras/hold-baggage/

That seems to suggest that it's already to late to add a baggage allowance. However this page refers to "outside of 3 working days", so you could try to do it right now and see what happens:
http://flythomascook....swers/detail/a_id/334

Chris

[boxtops]

I've never heard of upgrading baggage allowances, especially on charter flights - I wonder where you read this?

[theshedman]

Hi, if you have booked a package holiday with them, then there is provision for an extra 5kg but only if you book it within 4 days of travelling so you could be in luck if you do it first thing on Monday morning. You can also do it within 3 days of travelling but that will cost you around 35 pounds if it's a short haul flight. Hi boxtops, on Thomas Cook if you book a holiday these days they only give you 15kg allowance, plus 5kg cabin allowance but they do give you the option of booking an extra 5kg. Another way of getting some more cash out of you as they used to let you have 20kg as standard.

[boxtops]

Thanks for the clarification, shedman - I don't use charter flights these days as we don't book package holidays, but it's useful to know.

[theshedman]

I only know as I just booked with them and was given that option. Last time I went with them you got 20kg as standard but this time to upgrade I had to pay an extra £15 each to go from 15kg to 20kg.