What is baggage limit in American Airlines?
American Airlines is one of the nation’s largest and oldest airlines, with an extensive global network. It connects and serves a large number of destinations within the US and other countries through its major hubs. American Airlines is one of the main legacy carriers in the United States and it carry million of passengers and their belongings annually. It is thus important to comprehend the allowance of American Airlines concerning baggage limit when flying with them. From this article, the reader is able to get adequate information about the commercial policies of American Airlines specifically concerning baggage allowances.
American Airlines has laid down some guidelines that dictate the amount of baggage that you are allowed to carry on board and the fees that are charged in such circumstances. Such personal details include your ticket type, your route, your elite status tier, your military service, and your credit card. However, in basic economy fares, passengers are allowed to take only a personal item that can fit in the carrier’s seat in front of them. In local travel, the free allowance of checked baggage per standard economy ticket is one bag with a maximum allowance of 50 pounds and 62 inches of total dimensions. The allowance is higher in international flights as compared to domestic ones. Passengers with elite status or with credit card companies’ eligible credit cards are allowed to enjoy the benefits of free check-in baggage and free check-in baggage that is not overweight or oversize.
Carry-On Baggage It is important for all the passengers with tickets in American Airlines flights to note that they are allowed to carry one carry-on bag and one personal item on board, without incurring any extra charges. These may have to conform to size and weight standards. The carry-on bag should not exceed 45 linear inches in the combined total of length, width, and height and should weigh no more than 25 pounds. However, your carry-on item such as purse, laptop bag or briefcase must also be able to fit under the seat in front of your row. If you attempt to bring a carry-on baggage that exceeds the specified measurements or weighs more that 20 pounds without prior approval from the airline, you will be asked to check it in and this check in fee will cost $35 for domestic flights only. To learn more about the specific dimensions of your carry-on and other personal items, please refer to the website of AA. Ensure this to prevent issues during the boarding process concerning the compliance of the bags.
Checked Baggage The number of checked bags you are allowed to carry for free is influenced by the type of ticket you purchase alongside other features like elite status. Here is a breakdown:
Basic Economy: Carrier does not permit free checked bags. The first bag costs $30 and the next is $35 when flying locally within the country. International routes have varying fees and the details can be seen on the AA website. One notable exception is that Basic Economy is offered to elite status members and active duty US military personnel, who are permitted one free checked bag that does not exceed 23 kilograms.
Main Cabin/Standard Economy: Domestic routes offer free baggage allowance for one piece checked luggage for the travelers. It is important to note that bags must not exceed 50 pounds and also their size must not exceed 62 inches in the linear sense. There will be an additional charge of $35 for the second checked baggage. In addition for the route to Canada/Mexico/Caribbean/, you get one free bag of 50 pounds. Restrict it to free allowance for 70 pounds to all other international destinations and Brazil which allows only 63 pounds each.
First Class/Business Class: This means that irrespective of the destination, passengers are allowed to carry two bags which weigh not more than 70 pound each for free. It is possible to apply for free checked bags and more of them with some limitations according to certain destinations. The same also applies to first class tickets, group bag check option, you can check 3 bags up to 70 pounds each for $150 and up to 5 more travelers can attach bags to your itinerary.
From the above information it is clear that the baggage policy of American Airlines can be a bit complicated due to various route and ticket restrictive measures and exceptions. Therefore you should know whether you are given free check in baggage, how many and the size and weight allowance when getting to the airport. When you pay for excess baggage charges, you may otherwise negate the benefits accrued from the low cost flight. If you are not confident about the baggage allowance on your particular route, you can always go through the official web page of AA or check their Twitter and consult with the support team.
Extra Weight Bags & Other Fees Baggage which is carried in the hold will attract additional charges for excessive weight of such baggage. These are $100 for bags weighing between 51-70 lbs, $200 for bags measuring between 71-100 lbs, and $300 for bags measuring more than 100 lbs, on domestic flights. Excess baggage fees are also applicable to bigger bags for which charges start from $75 for bags that exceed 62 linear inches up to 80 linear inches. This means that overweight and oversized baggage fees differ when travelling to international destinations and can be significantly higher than travelling within the US so try to stick within the free allowance. Members of the armed forces on active duty are entitled to travel free of these excess and oversize baggage charges even when traveling internationally.
Elite Status Baggage Allowance Additional baggage allowance and oversize, overweight, and excess baggage are free for the AAdvantage members from Gold status upward, and the airline’s check baggage policy allows up to 10 pieces of checked baggage. Other status tiers such as Platinum, Platinum Pro, and Executive Platinum are also a step up in that they provide increased luggage limit benefits. For instance, the domestic Executive Platinum fliers are allowed to have five free checked baggage that have a limit of 70 pounds per baggage. Baggage fees is a great benefit of obtaining ‘elite status’ – thousands of dollars could be saved per year especially for the regular traveler.
Credit Cards Perks It is also worth checking the free checked bag allowance with your credit card: credit card providers such as Barclays or Citi, which offer the American Airlines credit card, will provide the same additional free checked bag allowance as the elite status tiers. As I had indicated most cards such as the AAdvantage MileUpSM Card come with a complimentary of one checked bag up to 50 pounds on AA operated flights. Even some premium cards like Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard include perks like the 2x free checked baggage at 70 pounds and first/business class domestic baggage service charge waived. Having an AAdvantage credit card is so advantageous that it can give up to $200 in checked baggage fees for per trip plus the First Group boarding perks.
Current enlisted members of the United States Armed Forces. In addition to other exceptions as mentioned above such as for elite status, active duty US Military
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