‘Miss, your bag is 2kg over the limit. That’ll be £100’.
As if! My flight to Japan wasn’t starting out as the relaxing journey that I had anticipated. Despite flying with Qatar, a respected Middle Eastern airline they were extremely strict with baggage allowances, giving Ryanair a run for their money.
I was moving to Japan to live there for at least a year so I needed to pack some essential items. I have massive feet even for UK standards so I needed to pack a good supply. I also have crazy, curly hair so I needed to pack a diffuser hairdryer. Add that with all the smart suits I needed for teaching and 30kg just wasn’t enough luggage!
To avoid paying £100 so I had more money to spend on Sushi and Kawaii things in Japan, I decided to wear 2kg of clothes on the plane. As I clumsily floated through security wearing two extra skirts, two pairs of jeans and as many jumpers I could sling round my shoulders, I hoped I gave off the vibe that I was a stylish yet modest Amish woman, not a crazy mentally unstable eccentric.
I wasn’t going to let my fashion faux pas get in the way of my pre-flight tradition; a good old pint of Stella! As I made my way to my seat at the bar, a nearby woman looked visibly appalled as I peeled off my many layers so that I didn’t sweat to death.
Needless to say no-one sat next to me on neither of the two flights over….
Looking forward to reading about your adventures in Japan. That is certainly a country I would love to visit.
Thanks Inga, It’s certainly a very interesting and different country. I’ll let you know my first impressions soon.
Hahaha! I had to do that when I flew on Ryanair! I wore 18 shirts and sweaters onto the plane, it was so heavy I had to lift the collars off of my neck so I could breathe!
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Wow, 18! I only had about 4/5 layers on and I was extremely uncomfortable so I don’t know how you coped with 18 layers! I didn’t think Qatar would be so strict…
That is a funy story! Don’t worry though I would have done exactly the same!
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You deserved a beer after that!
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Haha! Wow, well I haven’t done this… YET but I’m pretty sure if I faced the same problem as you, I would have done it in a heartbeat! Enjoy your trip 😀
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Fingers crossed I never had to do that yet but my other half did once.
When I left Japan I had 5kg extra and when I saw that I felt awful, waiting for the woman at the desk to ask me for extra money of something. She looked at it, looked at me, smiled and just passed it without saying a thing, best woman ever!
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hahaha! I love it!!! I love your idea! What I used to do is take out some things and stuff it much as I can in my carry-on luggage. However, taking out some clothes and use it to avoid the fee is a great idea! I’ll keep that in mind (:
by the way, Japan is amazing! I had only been there for a week, and there were so many fascinating things to see!
Great idea! I have also thrown away clothes or just shifted them between bags. They don’t typically weigh carry ons:)
Unfortunately my carry on was bursting! Qatar weighed mine! 🙁
I just flew on Aer Lingus, and in Orlando, they told me I was 5kg over for my checked bag, and asked did I want to shift some things to my carry-on. I had just watched all of the carry-ons of about 10 other passengers being weighed, and people shifting things left and right, so told her, why don’t you weigh my carry on first! She did and it was 1.5 kg over, but she let it slide, since I told her there was no place to shift any of the weight from my checked bag, and I would just have to pay the $100! Wished I’d thought about wearing some extra clothes! Have to keep that in mind for the future, though I’ve now put on my packing essentials for my carry-on bag, a luggage scale!
I’m normally very good at packing light but I had to pack a lot because I was moving to Japan. The appoying thing is I weighed the bag on a luggage scale and it was ok…grr
Oh my god! Didn’t you just sweat on the whole flight? Thanks for the creative input 😀
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I took as much off on the plane as I could (especially the 2 pairs of jeans!) and then I felt ok. I still ended up wearing 2 skirts over a dress though which wasnt’t so comfortable!
Wow! Never thought of doing this! The wife and I are always struggling to keep our luggage within the weight limits-we do over pack. This might be a nice solution for us, especially on our way home after we have collected additional souvenirs and other baggage from our travels. Thanks for sharing!
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I wouldn’t reccomend it as a solution, it was more like crisis management! I guess it could work on a short flight but on a long haul flight it gets uncomfortable wearing so many layers!
LOL! Hey, ya gotta do what ya gotta do…
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It saved me £100 🙂