Airline FAQ’s on Boarding and Baggage

How to Check In for a flight ? 

Check in is the procedure of confirming your attendance for your flight. By checking in one ensures that the traveller will be on board and will be taking the flight. Once the check-in process is completed the airline staff provides a card called as a boarding card which provides information like your seat number, the gate number where the flight will arrive,etc. Below we will discuss check in process step by step in brief.

1.Once you reach the airport well in time for your flight locate the airline counter for your flight.

2.Upon locating the airline counter see if the check in for your flight has commenced or not which will be displayed on the screen beside each counter.

3.Once you queue up for checking in ensure you have all required documents like passport, visa, and a copy of your ticket or e-boarding pass handy.

The airline agent will look up for your reservation on the system and may ask for your meal preference or seat preference if the same has not been assigned as yet.

4. Post this you have to place your check-in bag (big bag which goes inside the aircraft) on the ramp beside the counter. The Machine will weigh your bag and the airline representative will tag your baggage.

5. Once the bag is weighed the airline employee will give you a boarding card and baggage tags which are normally pasted on the back of your boarding card. Some airlines also provide you tags for your cabin baggage. You have to tag your cabin baggage personally and fill in required information like your name, contact number and flight number.

Nowadays airlines have started self-check-in kiosks at the airport facilitating a faster check-in process. One can also check in for flights online by doing a web check-in or a mobile check-in which fastens the check in procedure and traveller just has to drop their bags at baggage drop.

What is a baggage tag?  

A baggage tag is a sticker which is attached to your bag by the airline employee which identifies your baggage. Every airline has a different baggage tag specifying passengers name, flight number, PNR and a barcode. Earlier bags used to be the segregated basis of names on tags alone however nowadays due to advancement in technology a bar code differentiates every bag and is sorted accordingly. When a passenger checks in for a flight the airline employee tags the bag and puts a sticker on the back of the boarding card which is acts as a receipt for your baggage. In event of lost baggage this proves to be influential and hence it is necessary to keep it safe. A cabin bag is simply tagged with a normal tag or a sticker which a passenger himself has to fill in. The airport security screens this bag as well and stamps the tag post-screening.

What is a Boarding card /Boarding pass?

 A boarding card or boarding pass is a card which the airline employee provides to the passenger upon checking in him for the flight. A boarding card confirms that the traveller will be on board for the flight. A boarding card shows travellers name the record locator, seat number, ticket number, gate number, class of cabin, etc.

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What is Baggage allowance ? What is baggage allowance in airline? 

 Baggage allowance is the amount of luggage that an airline allows a traveler to carry for its travel. Every airline has a restriction on amount of luggage a traveler can carry. Baggage allowance can be classified as carry on baggage and checked in baggage.

Cabin Baggage/Carry on baggage/Hand Baggage:-  Carry on baggage or cabin baggage is the baggage which a passenger is allowed to carry on the aircraft or cabin which can be stored in the overhead bin. All major airlines allow cabin baggage free of charge, however, there are certain rules that need to be followed. A cabin bag should not weigh more than 7kgs in weight and should be as per specified dimension by the airline. For eg:- Emirates allows 1 cabin bag weighing up to 7kgs of weight however it should be as per the following dimension  55 x 38 x 20 (length+width+height). Some airlines also allow you to carry a personal item on board apart from this allowance like a laptop or a small bag, however, this is complete as per airline regulations. Hence before your flight, you can always check for baggage rules on the airline website. Besides these regulations Cabin baggage has also a restriction on carrying Liquids, gels or flammable objects. Essential things like medicine may require a prescription and policies vary from airline to airline.

 Checked Baggage/Tagged Baggage:-

Checked baggage is baggage allowance which is checked in and is stored in the luggage compartment of the aircraft. Checked baggage is of two types depending on which type of baggage policy the airline adopts.

1.Piece concept: –A piece concept allows a traveller to carry a piece of luggage as per specified dimensions, weight and size. As per this concept a piece can be defined as a bag which weighs not more than 23kgs or 50 pounds and should be not more than 62 inches or 158 centimetres in dimension(length+width+height) .(**However please note the dimensions and weight mentioned may vary from airline to airline. ).Some airlines offer one piece of luggage while others offer 2 piece however it is important to check for specified dimensions as well.   A traveller has to abide by these regulations else the airline will consider it as excess baggage. In an event when the bags are over permissible weight limit or do not meet the set parameters in such a case the passenger is liable to pay a excess baggage fee. Some of major airlines today allow purchasing excess baggage online. If a traveler is aware about baggage policy but has a excess baggage and wants to carry the same he can choose to purchase excess luggage allowance online or at the airport, however pre paying for baggage online costs less. Currently all airlines do not have this facility but major airlines do allow to purchase excess baggage allowance.

 (TIP:- None of the airlines in the US allow for free baggage allowance for domestic travel (within the us) except for South west airlines and Jet blue. All airlines charge a fee for checked bag first piece of luggage will cost $25 and second piece $ 35, only carry on bag is free of charge, however some low cost airlines do charge for cabin bags as well. )

2.Weight concept: – This type of baggage policy has no restrictions on dimensions but has restriction on weight. As per this policy a traveller is allowed to carry a bag weighing a certain amount as per baggage policy as checked baggage. If the weight of the bag exceeds specified limit the traveller is liable to pay for excess baggage. Most airlines allows two bags however a single bag should not exceed 32kgs .In case when the bag weighs more than the allowance excess baggage fees apply. As per IATA regulation excess baggage is calculates as 1.5 percent of the full fare economy fare for each kg of excess baggage. The airline will charge for a minimum of 6kgs of excess baggage. What this means is even though passenger has 3kgs or 6kgs of excess baggage he will be charged for 6kgs as per rule. Below we shall explain the calculation in brief.

Baggage allowance for BOM-SIN is 20 kgs however it is found that the passenger has 3 kgs of excess baggage. The Calculation as per IATA regulation will be as per below.

Y class fare for same flight is $500.

Hence $500 x 1.5% = $ 7.5

That is $ 7.5 for each kg of excess baggage.

However the minimum excess baggage allowed is for 6kg.

Hence $7.5 x 6= $ 45 even though there is only 3kgs of excess baggage.

In case it is found that the excess baggage is 9kgs it would be $ 7.5 x 9 = $ 67.50.

Above calculation applies only for international flights as per IATA regulation. However all major airlines now follow a different way for calculating excess baggage which is relatively cheaper than above method. All major airlines have a chart on their website displaying exact charges for excess baggage.

(TIP: – In case more than 1 passenger is travelling you can ask the airline to pool the bags in case baggage for one person is more than other. However a single bag should not weigh more than 32kgs of weight.)