# Arrecife airport overweight charges



## Graham_07 (13 Mar 2008)

Any frequent visitor to Lanzarote will be familiar with Arrecife's airport's stringent weight rules on the way home. 20Kg is 20Kg and any over they look for €8/kg in excess. Just heard from a friend today who's just back & didn't think he was over but got hit for €90 ( they wanted €120 but he only had €90 left ) in excess. Given that this represents some 15Kg or 75% overrun on his case, he's been worried since that maybe there was something wrong. I've taken the policy of always weighing cases on an unused check in before joining the ordinary queue and have found a few Kg of a difference at times on the scales. I'd recommend anyone heading there to do same on way home just so you don't get any nasty surprises when you get to top of queue.


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## colm (13 Mar 2008)

They are very strict on it..Plus a surplus charge for paying with credit card.
They also dont deduct anything if your hand luggage is under weight.


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## Graham_07 (13 Mar 2008)

colm said:


> They are very strict on it..Plus a surplus charge for paying with credit card.
> They also dont deduct anything if your hand luggage is under weight.


 
Correct, 5kg for hand luggage. What gets me is that if you're 5 kg under, thats fine. I'm next and am 3Kg over, I get done. Between us we're still under. I know there's a weight limit for the plane but on average will that be exceeded? I regularly see people weighing in luggage at 10-12Kg and that gives a lot of scope for following passengers. Unfortunately that doesn't feature on their radar.


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## Caveat (13 Mar 2008)

In Fuerteventura the other week I'm pretty sure I saw a (new looking) sign advising *€20 per kilo/part kilo* excess.

I always travel light but I'm sure some people had a nasty surprise.


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## mathepac (13 Mar 2008)

Yeah, it seems it may be turning into a bit of a money-making racket at Gran Canaria as well. I got caught two years ago for 160.00 on the way back. I checked the cases once we got home and the correct charge should have been 40.00 for 5 kgs over (not my case!).

I used your empty check-in desk ploy last November when travelling with my daughter and infant grandson. We were OK at 38 kgs total, 20 kgs and 18 kgs individually, as apparently you cannot compensate for over / under allowances within a party.

At check-in, they demanded payment of 64.00 for the bags being overweight. When I pointed out I had already weighed the cases and that they were within the allowance, the check-in clerk's English suddenly deteriorated and we were informed through an interpreter that as my grandson was travelling with us, they were waiving the charge as a courtesy. Personally I think the fact that we were at the head of a long queue helped.

I wrote to the airline, probably the same one that operates out of Lanzarote, but am still awaiting a response or an acknowledgment.


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## lasno (13 Mar 2008)

The airport does not decide on baggage limits, its the airlines that decide that.


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## Graham_07 (13 Mar 2008)

lasno said:


> The airport does not decide on baggage limits, its the airlines that decide that.


 
That may be, but the excess charge is displayed behind all check in desks ( which you only see when you get to the top of the queue) regardless of the flight/airline departing from that desk. And 20kg on Canaries flights, regardless of the airline, appears to be the normal limit.


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## Guest127 (13 Mar 2008)

Fuerteventura about 3 weeks ago (seems longer). Person in front of us was over. allowed to open cases and redistribute weight. Still couldn't get down to zero however and one of the passangers informed us there was 9 in the party and at Dublin on the outward leg they got hit for €90 so I don't suppose they had much chance of escaping on the return. one of our cases was flicking between 15 and 15.5 kgs and the check in girl asked me to put up the second case. Together they came to 28.5 and she just booked them through at that stage. No has ever looked or checked my hand luggage which I estimated was pretty close to the 10kg limit. Couldn't find a unused check in which was 'On' to check weights before hand.


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## sandrat (14 Mar 2008)

We flew back from New Zealand last year and got told we owed 700 dollars in excess. We nearly died - neither of us had the money. They weighed our handluggage and told use we could move more stuff into that and to go and rearrange bags and come back. We found a weighing scales beside a bin and both put on our heaviest coats and shoes. we threw out towels and toiletries and redistributed stuff into hand luggage. we were about 4 kilos over still but they let us away with it thank god and didnt weigh our handluggage a second time. (mine was so heavy i was kicking it along the floor rather than carrying it!)


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## Caveat (14 Mar 2008)

sandrat said:


> (mine was so heavy i was kicking it along the floor rather than carrying it!)


 
Not being smart, but did this not raise alarm bells re excess charges?


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## sandrat (14 Mar 2008)

i think the staff were just being nice because we were nice to them and accepted that we might have to pay and not shout and scream like some other people do. Plus if we had been flying back over america we would have had a higher baggage allowance but cos we were flying over asia we didnt. Plus they expressed sympathy about the length of our journey. We had just flown from queenstown to auckland (we paid 30 dollaars excess there and the bags were exactly the same) then were flying auckland to hong kong with only just over an hour in hong kong - hong kong to heathrow (NEVER again) and then an hour in heathrow and heathrow to Dublin!


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## Armada (14 Mar 2008)

Hi, 

I was in Tenerife Sur in January using Ryanair. While we waited for the check in desk to transfer over for our flight we noticed almost everyone checking in was beenn charged for excess weight. The check in desk was about one of a row of 20 in line.

We had weighed our bags in the hotel before leaving it and were pretty sure the weight was more or less right. My other half been the cynic that he is decided to weigh the bags again at an active but unmanned check in desk. The weight read 1kg over. He moved to the next desk where it read 1.5 kg over.

Long story short 4 belts gave 4 different readings all heavier. We brought this to the attention of the eventual check in staff member who in suddenly -very broken english ushered us through quickly and denied that the scales were wrong.

I wonder how many times does this happen and does anyone ever have the time to challenge or ask for luggage to be reweighed on a different belt?


Another slightly different observation, A person it seems can be 30 kg over the average weight and not be charged.. will that be the next thing?


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## Graham_07 (14 Mar 2008)

Armada said:


> Hi,
> Another slightly different observation, A person it seems can be 30 kg over the average weight and not be charged.. will that be the next thing?


 
I had been thinking the very same thing earlier. Better start slimming, only 3 weeks to go before next trip out.


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## Guest127 (15 Mar 2008)

Armada said:


> Hi,
> 
> Another slightly different observation, A person it seems can be 30 kg over the average weight and not be charged.. will that be the next thing?


 
discussed this too on our latest trip. mrs and mrs cu would have a combined weight of well under 20 st. two people in front of us on the outward leg, (both wearing irish rugby jerseys, ) while no way overweight but well built probably had a combined weight of 30st.


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## Graham_07 (15 Mar 2008)

So if they can compensate for people's weight why not their luggage. Must write me a letter to Futura Air . Wonder if I'd ever get an answer.


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## GoldCircle (3 Apr 2008)

It is indeed the airlines that decide the tarriffs for excess baggage on their flights. What you have seen in previous years, is that the airlines/charterers have lost out in so far as the handling companies haven't been bothered charging excess, for the most part, as they don't need the grief. 

As the cost of kerosine has increased and margins have come under pressure, the airlines are now incetivising the handling agents in far off places by offering them a percentage of revenue taken in a service income. (Similarly, when Aer Lingus started its baggage changes nonsense a while back, they announced that check-in staff would get a percentage of every excess-charge collected.)


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## Johndinger (2 May 2008)

*Airport overweight charges*

Don't know about Arrecife, but there are now scales in Shannon that you can use for 1 Euro to save yourself this kind of grief.
I went to Uk last week and used it. Called Weigh and Go or something. Just inside the main door.


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## Graham_07 (2 May 2008)

*Re: Airport overweight charges*



Johndinger said:


> Don't know about Arrecife, but there are now scales in Shannon that you can use for 1 Euro to save yourself this kind of grief.
> I went to Uk last week and used it. Called Weigh and Go or something. Just inside the main door.


 
In Arrecife just use one of the empty check in desks, the scales are always on. No cost. 

However just heard theres a suitcase which tells you its weight on some readout on the case ! Whatever next, a talking case ...." hey bud, I'm overweight, get rid of those cigs, wine, funny dvd's etc.etc."


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## gipimann (2 May 2008)

And [broken link removed] a nifty gadget I saw for sale in the Irish Times this week.....while in Lanzarote not thinking about baggage charges!


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## Graham_07 (2 May 2008)

gipimann said:


> And [broken link removed] a nifty gadget I saw for sale in the Irish Times this week.....while in Lanzarote not thinking about baggage charges!


 
Thats handy, especially if you have a case full of El Grifo on the way home


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