Now, pay a hefty fee for carrying excess check-in baggage

Travelling with luggage that weighs more than 15 to 20 kg will now be costlier for all fliers. Reportedly, private air carriers have received court’s approval for charging pre-booking fees for extra baggage. For now, the only airline that permits domestic economy passengers to carry up to 23 kg of check-in baggage free of cost is Air India.

On Wednesday, the High Court in Delhi put aside a Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) mandate that capped extra luggage fee at INR 100 per kilo for each excess kilo between 15 to 20 kg. Although, air carriers were previously free to levy any amount as extra baggage fee on luggage exceeding the 20 kg cut off, they can revert back to their old fee of up to INR 350 per kilo above 15 kg. These developments mean that the passengers will now have to cough up about INR 250-350 extra per kilo in the 15-20 kg bracket. According to news reports, almost 2 years ago, all Indian domestic airlines, barring Air India, had cut down free check-in baggage weight for domestic economy fliers from 20 kg to 15 kg. Soon after, the air carriers starting demanding INR 350 per kg for every kilo over and above 15 kg of check-in luggage.
However, when the passengers cried foul, the DGCA ordered the airlines in the summer of 2017 to avoid charging more than INR 100 per kg for every kilo exceeding the set limit of 15 to 20 kg. Above 20 kg, the airlines could charge any amount per kilo as extra baggage fee. However, the court reprimanded the DGCA for fixing the aforementioned charged for the extra check-in baggage.
On its part, the Federation of Indian Airlines, having private airlines like IndiGo, Jet, SpiceJet and GoAir as its members, challenged the ruling. On Wednesday, the court gave its assent to the air carriers allowing them to go back to former fee structure. This means that from now onwards, the passengers will have to pay higher fee (INR 220 to 350) for every extra kilo they carry beyond 15-20 kg.