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By Andrew Compart
British Airways is making changes in its baggage policy that will include enabling customers to pre-pay for excess baggage on the airline’s Web site -- and get a 20% discount on the fee for doing so.
The new option is part of the changes the airline will begin to phase in for carry-on and checked baggage beginning July 5. Robin Hayes, the airline’s executive vice president for the Americas, said the changes will make BA’s policy easier to understand and will reduce the time its customers spend in line at airports.
As of July 5, 2006 for example, the airline will remove weight restrictions for carry-on baggage, but travelers must be able to lift their bag unaided into the overhead storage bin. All customers will be allowed one standard-size carry-on for overhead and one briefcase, laptop computer or equivalent that will fit under the seat.
As of Oct. 11, 2006 changes to the airline’s free checked-baggage allowances will consolidate existing policies that are based on the number of bags or total weight and depend upon route and class of travel.
Instead, the airline will have a single allowance system based on the number of bags that can be checked. The number of bags will vary according to route and class of travel, and the maximum weight of the bag will be reduced to 50 pounds, “to comply with health and safety recommendations.”
The number of free checked bags allowed for travel to or from the U.S. will remain the same as today, at two.
Oct. 11 also will mark the date that excess baggage charges are standardized to a fixed fee that will be based on the length of the trip. British Airways claimed the new charges will be less than current ones “in the majority of cases.”
More details on the new policies, including sporting equipment that can be checked for free, can be viewed at www.ba.com/baggagepolicy.
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