Hi All

I'm flying out to Toronto in a few weeks with Thomas Cook on a BUNAC visa.

At first I thought the 20kg (!) baggage allowance would suit me as I'm planning to travel light and just take clothes, my laptop and camera and nothing else.

BUT I've just started packing and I'm already up to the 20kg limit and havent got nearly enough stuff! I've been brutal with what clothes to take but I've still got far too much.

I called Canadian Affair who I booked my flights through to ask if I could increase my baggage allowance and they said the only way I could do this would be to upgrade to Premium Class and get a 30kg allowance. But of course all the Premium Class seats on my flight are sold out! So the lady told me just to go with 10kg extra and pay £100 at check in (which would be the same price to upgrade to Premium anyway).

Does anyone know of a better way for me to take/send more stuff (mainly clothes)? I thought about maybe sending a bag with another carrier on the day - is this possible?

It is possible, but cannot think why you would do that. You will be sending it as cargo, which will cost more and it will also have to be cleared customs. which costs and would likley not clear until the next day.

Excess baggage is by and far the lowest cost and simplest method. An alternative is a courier, such as Fedex, but this is unlikely to cost less and may take longer, unless you use overnight, which is horrendously expaensive. Surface shipping is a lower cost, but takes a few weeks to transit.

wear lots of clothes on the way out?!
or atleast wear your heavy ones!

Thanks - I'm thinking excess baggage may be the way to go!

I'm planning on that!

Definitely will be wearing a few shirts and my heavy winter coat!

yeah wear your heavy stuff, oh and the laptop an go inthe plane with you, check the size of the bag theallow in the cabin, i think its 5kg max, even my handbag doesnt weigh that much and i keep everything in there!

Buy a mega lightweight suitcase

Air Canada Cargo. £1.35 per kilo plus an overall customs charge of £25. I am sure British Airways would offer something similar.

It is not that simple. Depends what it is being carried and also the size of the items. There is a weight/size ratio, the cube weight is what the carrier goes by. Customs clearance will cost more than $25, there are also a whole load of other charges and fees added onto the clearance fee. We're bringing in 2 cubic foot boxes quite regularly that only weigh 3lbs, shipping cost is around $130, clearances and brokerage $180, also don't forget fuel surcharges. BA is higher priced than AC.

when we flew out here last year our big case was 31K! i was bitting my nails i can tell you, but she just stuck a heavy sticker on it and said nothing! the other 2 cases (there was 3 of us) where just over too only by about 1-2K , maybe because we had a one way ticket, not sure, was with Thomas cook too out of manchester, all i would say is take your chances but be prepared to pay, if you get away with it GREAT!

This clip sprung to mind http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q--6wtCPHg8

Hope you get on OK - we're flying with Thomas Cook this Thursday to Nova Scotia with 20kg (no option for Premium & 30kg!) - we've flown Premium Class several times with TC to Alberta, so think I may have to resort to doing a Joey

All the best

I was quoted the following from Heathrow to Edmonton:

80p per kilo +
30p per kilo fuel +
9p per kilo war risk +
8p per kilo hanndling charge +
8p per kilo x-ray charge =

£1.35 per kilo (GBP) + overall customs fee of £25 (GBP)

I have no idea of the cube/weight/box size ratio mentioned, but perhaps should look into it before choosing AC Cargo over Excess Baggage!


M

Cube rate can make a huge difference to the final price. Air Canada do not do customs clearance, so you may want to check what they have quoted you for and who would do the clearances. Out of interest I spoke with my customs broker and asked the question. If you are shipping personal effects the owner of the goods has to do the clearance, a broker cannot do it for you.

I would double check everything, because it does not sound like they are giving you the correct information or you are not being clear in what you want. You need to tell them the dimensions of your shipment as well as the weight, they will tell you whether you are paying on cube weight or actual. You will find it considerably easier and probably more cost effective to bring your belongings as excess baggage. You can clear everything through at once and not have to go back to customs to clear the goods then to the AC cargo warehouse to pick your package.

Other fees we pay include terminal charges ($45), CBSA compliance fee ($12.50), a handling charge to the warehouse ($10.00), all plus taxes. Also when sending cargo, you need to be able to convince customs that they should not be collecting tax on these items.

Might be wrong, but my understanding is that for economy class it is 20kg hold luggage plus 5kg hand luggage making an actual overall total of 25kg. So you can stuff your hand luggage with shirts and jumpers, and wear heavy coats on your back. You can also carry your laptop onto the plane, and this isn't counted in the 5kg hand luggage allowance.

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