Southwest baggage confusion..

[sersee05]

I have five people flying out to Disney..I know you get two free bags from Southwest..is that per person? Do they weigh your bags to make sure it is at 50lbs..I had read that if it is more they will charge you 50 dollars? Do you guys weigh your bags before ..? Have you ever been off?

I was concerned about our luggage situation....since the temps fluctuate(November)..we will be bringing warm and cool clothes ...Normally I pack all our stuff in one big luggage bag and my dh has his smaller one..but I bet it weighs more than 50lbs..

Carryon wise.. I realize we can bring a carry on duffel bag..How do I find out if a bag is the right size for a carryon? We can also bring one personal item(my purse). Is this also per person?

TIA

 

[richmo]

Yes, thats two bags per person. Each bag can be up to 50 lbs. Yes, they weigh it; if you go over, you can move stuff around or add to carryon. I think the scales are pretty accurate, but that could vary by each counter.

I believe there are bins near the checkin line at the airport that give you an idea if your carryon is too large. There's probably dimensions online somewhere if you really need to know.

 

[clanmcculloch]

Since we're allowed a total of 8 suitcased for our family of 4 (yes it's 2 checked bags per person, I make a point of packing only medium sized suitcases to make sure I don't go over the weight limit. I can pack a LOT of stuff into a small space so when I pack a full sized suitcase it's always over 50lb. Even with only using medium sized suitcases, we never need more than 4 going down (we seem to always buy that discounted one at the resort gift shop for packing the extras we buy) and I do tend to over pack.

I've never actually had them weight each bag individually. They put all of our suitcases on the scale at once and weigh them all together for the family. I realize that this isn't standard proceedure and they COULD weigh them individually but that hasn't happened with us. It's much faster for them to weigh them together and when there's a line, they do try to keep everybody moving. I suppose the fact that our bags aren't huge helps with that as well. If one of the bags was larger or if it felt heavy when moving it over to the conveyer belt they might weighed individually. We haven't encountered that before but we haven't put ourselves in that situation. I like to make sure each bag is under 50lb anyway, just in case they ever do decide to weight them individually.

 

[Jestocost]

I've never actually had them weight each bag individually. They put all of our suitcases on the scale at once and weigh them all together for the family.

I fly weekly on business and several times a year on vacation and NEVER have had them weigh my entire party's bags together. That may be the way that they do it at your airport, but I would not ever recommend counting on that to be the case.

 

[clanmcculloch]

I fly weekly on business and several times a year on vacation and NEVER have had them weigh my entire party's bags together. That may be the way that they do it at your airport, but I would not ever recommend counting on that to be the case.

Really? Even at MCO, SWA has never weighed our bags individually.

I did make a point of saying to be prepared for the possibility that they CAN weight them individually and I make sure that each of my checked bags is under 50lb. I wasn't trying to advise that SWA won't weight them individually and I tried to be clear about that. I was sharing my experience as well as what I do just to be safe. If I wasn't clear then I apologize for any confusion.

 

[goofy4tink]

We've had our bags weighed one at a time, as well as all together. But, I will say that the people checking those bags in know, almost to the ounce, how much each bag is when they lift it up!!! I can come pretty close...to within 5 or so pounds.

The weather in November isn't going to be all that cold. I've been in early Nov and late Nov...as well as early Dec and mid Jan....I have never needed a ton of warm clothing. This is how I fly from Boston to MCO, from Oct-March....
jeans, heavyish socks, turtleneck, sweatshirt, pullover lined windbreaker. I have light gloves in my bag. I pack jean capri's, maybe a second sweatshirt, as well as some long sleeved shirts and some short sleeved shirts and a few pair of shorts or other capris. I have a pair of regular sport socks for each day, but a heavy pair for the night if it turns really chilly. When I get to MCO, I head to a restroom, take off my tops, and put on a short sleeved shirt, stowing the heavier clothes in my carryon bag.
Then, for the return trip home, I put on my 'winter traveling' clothes again.

I have yet to need more than one checked bag when flying at this time of year. But, I do have a carryon with that change of clothes.

 

[pamjb]

When traveling with my family, I always split our clothes up so no one bag has one person's clothes, just in case a bag mysteriously takes a wrong turn and ends up somewhere else.
I always weigh my bags at home. The skycaps at curbside at PHL usually just eyeball a bag. They don't weigh every single one. Same applies at MCO.
Here is the link to SW's baggage information

http://www.southwest.com/travel_center/baggage.html

 

[NotUrsula]

I've never actually had them weight each bag individually. They put all of our suitcases on the scale at once and weigh them all together for the family. I realize that this isn't standard proceedure and they COULD weigh them individually but that hasn't happened with us. It's much faster for them to weigh them together and when there's a line, they do try to keep everybody moving. I suppose the fact that our bags aren't huge helps with that as well. If one of the bags was larger or if it felt heavy when moving it over to the conveyer belt they might weighed individually. We haven't encountered that before but we haven't put ourselves in that situation. I like to make sure each bag is under 50lb anyway, just in case they ever do decide to weight them individually.

They may have done it and you just didn't notice. I make it a point to watch the scale readout, and every time that I've ever seen a SWA ticket agent put multiple bags on the scale, they will ever so slightly lift each one as they tag it, and they watch the numbers.

When I travel with the family, I normally pack one 27" pullman. It invariably comes in between 46 and 48.8 lbs. However, just in case, I always pack a tagged empty cloth duffel under the flap, so that I can pull it out and toss some shoes into it if need be, and check it as a second bag. (We NEVER take the maximum allowed number of bags, so that's not an issue.)

Here's a useful trick if you go with the just-in-case duffel plan. Most people do not realize that the power for the scales is almost always coupled to the overhead lights, so when any of the scales is powered up, they all are. You can very easily walk up to an unmanned agent position and use the scale to check your bag's weight before you get into the checkin line.

A second bag is always going to be cheaper than an overweight bag. Pay attention and make sure you have a plan B in case you go over.

 

[stitchlovestink]

Really? Even at MCO, SWA has never weighed our bags individually.
I did make a point of saying to be prepared for the possibility that they CAN weight them individually and I make sure that each of my checked bags is under 50lb. I wasn't trying to advise that SWA won't weight them individually and I tried to be clear about that. I was sharing my experience as well as what I do just to be safe. If I wasn't clear then I apologize for any confusion.

bolding is mine...
on our last trip in Nov 08, they weighed ours. I had one that weighed 52 lbs and one that weighed 54 lbs. And then of course, I had the duffel bag that weighed a mere 22 lbs. But they made me shift stuff around. I wouldn't have minded because I understand rules are rules, but she was so RUDE about it. And to top it off, the 52 lb suitcase was wrapped in that saran wrap type stuff w/ duct tape because somehow the zipper mysteriously got ripped away from the suitcase. But we had to completely unwrap it, take like a pair or two of jeans out and rewrap it and retape it. But we did it. It was very annoying though as to how rude that one SW employee was about the situation. Other than that incident, I have loved SW.

When traveling with my family, I always split our clothes up so no one bag has one person's clothes, just in case a bag mysteriously takes a wrong turn and ends up somewhere else.
I always weigh my bags at home. The skycaps at curbside at PHL usually just eyeball a bag. They don't weigh every single one. Same applies at MCO.
Here is the link to SW's baggage information

http://www.southwest.com/travel_center/baggage.html

bolding is mine...
Smart move on splitting clothing up between suitcases. I always forget to suggest this to others as it has become standard practice for me. I wouldn't have thought of this except years ago (like about 15 ) a coworker was going on a cruise for their honeymoon and his luggage never arrived to the arriving airport. He had to cruise w/out it. I know this is terrible to say, but better his than hers. But still it was a 10 night cruise if I remember correctly. This could really be a problem if you are a not so easy size/build to fit too.
And FWIW, EVERY time I have flown SW out of MCO they have always weighed our bags. Maybe it depends on which person waits on you. But that has been our experience. So OP, I wouldn't count on your bags NOT being weighed. HTH. Have a wonderful trip.

 

[dburg30]

Yea, the splitting the clothing amongst bags make so much sense!! One of those "why didnt I think of that" moments . Never had an issue, but we'll be doing that from now on . And as someone else said, they may weigh them all at once, but are probably watching and adding in their head. They know when it's close and they need to check them.

But to the OP, as you've found out it is 2 bags per TICKETED person (dont try to use an infant and say they get 2 bags, unless you have purchased a ticket for them ) and EACH bag can be 50 lbs. I usually check them at home to make sure the Mrs. didnt get too excited and put all the heavy crap in one bag lol..

 

[pamjb]

I actually really started splitting up clothes after we cruised in 2005 and the garment bag that held our dress up clothes didn't make it. Disney did track down our bag and it arrived in Key West on our second day on ship. But ever since then.....I always split up luggage. Soon I won't have to do that, at least for our boys, since they are close to the same size

 

[bumbershoot]

...the power for the scales is almost always coupled to the overhead lights, so when any of the scales is powered up, they all are. You can very easily walk up to an unmanned agent position and use the scale to check your bag's weight before you get into the checkin line.

Good information!


We have bags that only weigh about 4 pounds empty, and they are officially carry-on size, and they are heavy at 20 pounds. I do not know how a 50 pound bag can be carried by a normal person... (says the person who has a near 50 lb kid who is sick and wants to be carried all over when he feels cruddy, and who, therefore, has been carrying nearly 50 lbs off and on for 2 days, LOL)



When traveling in odd weather, or when traveling to/from cold/hot, I wear my coat on the plane. It's allowed, and it takes the weight from the bag.

 

[sersee05]

wow thanks guys..i would have never thought to split up all the suitcases with everyone's clothes..that is a great tip...!! That thought never crossed my mind!! I have 5 ticketed passengers..so I think I will be ok with the baggage then since it is per person...Thanks again...great advice