by Devesh Agarwal
Effective 1 September 2013, Qatar Airways has increased the checked-in baggage allowances for its passengers.
Economy class weight allowances have increased from 23kg to 30kg while business and first Class have increased by 10kg to 40kg and 50kg respectively. The number of bags allowed to be checked-in remains the same and is dependent on the type of ticket purchased. The increased weight allowance does not apply when travelling to points that are regulated by the per-piece baggage allowance such as trans-atlantic flights to/from North America.
The new baggage allowances are available on the return trips of those passengers who have already travelled prior to September 1.
However, the new allowances come at a price. The airline will increase its excess baggage rates in September, and, in a strategy borrowed from low cost carriers like AirAsia and IndiGo, will offer passengers the ability to purchase excess baggage at discounted rates of up to 20% on its website.
Frequent flier members of Qatar Airways’ Privilege Club will continue to enjoy excess baggage allowance in addition to the new increased baggage allowance.