Are some airlines / airports ripping passengers off regarding excess baggage charges?
Before leaving our apartment in Tenerife I always weigh the cases on the bathroom scales to give a rough idea of there weight. Yesterday both cases were 14kgs or under. On check in at Tenerife airport one case was 15.5kgs the other 13.5Kgs. The weight limit for this airline on checked in baggage is 15kg. Normally we get a direct flight home however yesterday the return journey involved two flights, via Dublin. When we checked in for the second flight in Dublin the case that weighed 15.5kgs in Tenerife now weighed 13.5kgs and the other 12.5kgs (both cases had not been opened or tampered with in any way). I was very surprissed that a case could loose 2kgs on check in scales.
Are these scales callobrated? If anything I thought that a case may gain weight slightly with moisture!
There were a lot of people having to pay large amounts of money because they were being told that there case was overweight. Some may not have been. Is there any way of checking that the airport scales have been callobrated correctly?
GDS,
Welcome onboard
This is a common discussion point on these boards. There's a thread on this very subject over on the General Questions forum. If you do a search, you'll find plenty more. Airport scales are callibrated, tested and certified on a regular basis. Or should be! Some airports display the certificate but you can always ask to see if. They may not produce it though if the flight is busy. If you have a disputed figure, it's advisable to double check on another set of scales. It's the airport that normally looks after this although ground handling agents and airlines should ensure this is done as it's in their own interest to make sure the weight of luggage being put on aircraft is accurate (the information is needed for weight calculations and correct loading of the aircraft). Bathroom scales will give an indication, but may not be accurate. The surface the scales are on can make a big difference to their accuracy, eg you need to put them on a hard floor and not carpet or they will under-weigh.
Darren
Welcome onboard
This is a common discussion point on these boards. There's a thread on this very subject over on the General Questions forum. If you do a search, you'll find plenty more. Airport scales are callibrated, tested and certified on a regular basis. Or should be! Some airports display the certificate but you can always ask to see if. They may not produce it though if the flight is busy. If you have a disputed figure, it's advisable to double check on another set of scales. It's the airport that normally looks after this although ground handling agents and airlines should ensure this is done as it's in their own interest to make sure the weight of luggage being put on aircraft is accurate (the information is needed for weight calculations and correct loading of the aircraft). Bathroom scales will give an indication, but may not be accurate. The surface the scales are on can make a big difference to their accuracy, eg you need to put them on a hard floor and not carpet or they will under-weigh.
Darren
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