Virgin - only 6kg hand luggage allowance?

[djmck30]

Flying from Heathrow to Johannesburg next month with Virgin, just noticed today that they specify a 6kg weight limit for hand luggage!?

Can anyone who has flown this route recently (or Virgin out of Heathrow in general) advise how strictly this is enforced? Not looking to take the mick, but I normally take a small cabin-friendly case on as hand luggage for my fragile/valuable stuff, and seeing as the case itself is a couple of kg I can see me passing the 6kg limit quite easily..

Just strikes me as odd - say what you like about BA, but their policy of "as long as you can lift it into the overhead locker" seems much more sensible. Wish I'd noticed this before - has put me right off flying with beardy's lot again..

Thanks in advance!

[Puggit]

Never, ever had my hand luggage weighed, including Virgin on that route. Don't take the mick and you'll be fine (oh, and don't take Ryanair)

[djmck30]

Puggit said:

Never, ever had my hand luggage weighed, including Virgin on that route. Don't take the mick and you'll be fine (oh, and don't take Ryanair)

Cheers fella - already way ahead of you on the Ryanair thing. Read some mixed reports online, but these mostly seem to be talking about the US routes?

Think I will chance it, but would be interested to hear if anyone else has been pulled up on this?? Mainly if I'm going to get stung to put it in the hold, I may as well go nuts on the weight

[GWMD]

Never had my hand luggage weighed or even looked at whilst flying Virgin out of Heathrow. You'll be fine.

[Nickyboy]

I had mine weighed on a trip to Washington and it was enforced, someone i was traveling with had to ditch 2 books. This was 3 years ago mind.

US Airways for some reason have an 18kg allowance on cabin baggage

[davepoth]

When will they start weighing people? I really think they should.

[davepoth]

Paddy_N_Murphy said:

oh.

limits?

I once sat next to a guy on the plane who weighed twice as much as me (I was 9 stone at the time) and he paid the same as me. How is that fair?

For obscenely obese people they do sometimes make them buy two seats. But given the wide variety of weights it must mean that the pilots have to be very generous in their estimate to make sure they have enough fuel, and that means the flight costs more for everyone.

[hidetheelephants]

Paddy_N_Murphy said:

Well you say that - it is getting more frequent - even with the real airlines - I have a Shoulder Targus bag thing and so not a piss take Roller job, and they often look to weigh it.

I think it is a bit off TBH. Live has become hard enough to lightly travel without Hold Lugage with all the 100ml liquid bull, but once you put a lappy + charger, plus shirt and a folder 6KG is long gone.

I may of put heavy things in my pockets whilst checking in before - or better still at regional airports popped out to pick up another bag out the car in the car park outside.

IIRC someone was flogging jackets with absurdly large 'poacher's pockets' for this very purpose; even without going that far I have lugged heavy items through security in the capacious pockets of various waterproof sailing jackets.

[twister]

davepoth said:

But given the wide variety of weights it must mean that the pilots have to be very generous in their estimate to make sure they have enough fuel, and that means the flight costs more for everyone.

How far would you take this crazy idea? Ban all food sales in the airport to prevent people putting on weight after check-in? Give people money back if they go for a huge dump just before boarding? Calculate the wages of the aircrew based on their weights?

And if you're so keen to ensure that everyone pays their fair share of the flight costs, do you then abandon all advance purchase discounts and say that every ticket in a given cabin class will be charged at exactly the same rate? Because right now, that lardy-arse sat next to you could easily be subsidising your ticket...

[djmck30]

Ah, this old chestnut again

I'm more annoyed that there is a rule, but it seems to be inconsistently (or at best sporadically) applied so you when you turn up at the airport you're at the whim of whatever side of the bed the check-in staff happened to get up on that day..

[andyroo]

twister said:

How far would you take this crazy idea?

He did say in his post that some airlines will charge for two seats, so there's your answer. What was that over-exaggerated ranting about? The query is quite a logical one.

[LuS1fer]

6kg isn't that light - it's just less than a 1/3rd of your hold case. Isn't the answer to buy a lighter cabin case, they are very light these days.

[twister]

andyroo said:

He did say in his post that some airlines will charge for two seats, so there's your answer.

That's the answer to the question "what do you do if you're physically unable to fit in a single seat?". What dave was suggesting goes much further than this - charging people not on how much physical space they require, but how much they add to the take-off weight of the flight.

andyroo said:

What was that over-exaggerated ranting about? The query is quite a logical one.

It might be logical in a completely abstract divorced from reality sense, but it's quite absurd once you start considering the practical implications.

[djmck30]

LuS1fer said:

6kg isn't that light - it's just less than a 1/3rd of your hold case. Isn't the answer to buy a lighter cabin case, they are very light these days.

Most other airlines specify a limit of around 10kg-12kg (even Easyjet etc) and others no limit at all as long as you can lift it unaided into the lockers.

Virgin's weight limit is exeptionally low, which made me curious as to how rigidly they enforce this..

[sharpfocus]

davepoth said:

I once sat next to a guy on the plane who weighed twice as much as me (I was 9 stone at the time) and he paid the same as me. How is that fair?

Civilised society means that he doesn't eat you and take both seats. And so as equals you pay the same rate I guess.

[andyroo]

twister said:

It might be logical in a completely abstract divorced from reality sense, but it's quite absurd once you start considering the practical implications.

And how do they come to the conclusion that someone requires two seats? They seem have considered the practical implications there without running into any absurd impracticalities.

It's no stretch of the imagination to take what they already do for luggage and apply it to people is it?

[Zod]

They only weigh hand luggage if you look as if you are struggling. For those who are powerfully built, this is never a problem.

[andyroo]

Zod said:

They only weigh hand luggage if you look as if you are struggling. For those who are powerfully built, this is never a problem.

No matter how powerfully built you are, they will always weigh the luggage going into the hold though. Not even a directorship and a strong throwing arm will get you out of that one

[ianash]

I've just flown back from SFO on Virgin in economy. I can't id the jet - non 747 - but was as uncomfortable as a Ryanair flight. It's the 1st and last time I fly Virgin.

[Targarama]

ianash said:

I've just flown back from SFO on Virgin in economy. I can't id the jet - non 747 - but was as uncomfortable as a Ryanair flight. It's the 1st and last time I fly Virgin.

Sounds like a replacement plane. That route has been a 747 for many years. I'm so sad I can even name the planes they use on that route ...

Virgin's service has, in general, been getting worse. Especially in the cheap seats. However I find the biggest difference is made by the cabin crew. For some reason some crews are an angry bunch and others are a fun team who have a laugh and a giggle. Strange as the crews don't stay together, its mix 'n match for each flight they work.