Overweight???

[BushBaby]

Just heard a rather disturbing story from a returning Brit holiday-maker. It appears that about 50 people on his flight from La Romana were weighed in at the check in desk & told they had overweight luggage - 5 - 10 Lbs overweight!!! As they were not taking anything more back with them than they had brought (less sunscreen blockers, some toiletries etc but perhaps PLUS a bottle or two of Rum) they found this quite astonishing! They were harrassed to pay a surcharge of RD $150 per pound & those who did not have the cash, had to pay on the credit card!! Some surcharges reached £150 (RD $3,750) I am told!!

It appears that the weigh in machines might have been tampered with so that they showed a higher poundage than actually was the case but regrettably, no-one had a set of hand held weighing scales to check this point. Could this be a trend for the tourist airports? Who do you think the surcharge is going to? The Tour Company, the check in clerks, the airport or a mixture of all three???

The Airtours rep was advised but as she had only been here 2 months, she didn't know how to handle the situation. It would appear that Airtours were NOT the recipients of the excesses charged!! Anyone got contacts with the Minister of Tourism??

Grahame Bush.

[Hillbilly]

The only ones that should be able to charge for overweight are the owners of the aircraft.. At least that seems reasonable.

However, given the need that the PRD has for money, anything to get it seems likely!!

Stupidity seems to abound where it is least appreciated..

HB

[PJT]

You would think the people at the counter after ten people checking in having overweight luggage that something was amiss, that is was not the luggage, maybe the scale? But, knowing you have an opportunity to make some quick cash at the expense of the tourists, why not. Let's do 40 more.

Nobody is going to do anything about it. The government authorities are only there for their paycheck and expect nothing more. (Like Sgt Schultz of Hogans Hero's fame, "I know nothing, nothing")

That kind of thinking has to stop if the D.R. wants to maintain and expand its tourism market, especially, now. Anybody who has taken Marketing 101 will know one of the axioms of a business's survival is, REPEAT BUSINESS. I can guarantee the victims of the affront will not be back to the D.R. too soon, if at all. Aruba, anyone?

The behavior of tourist related government and business agencies should be focused what can I do to keep my tourist guest happy. Not, what can I do to to annoy him. Regards, PJT

[MommC]

Care to guess how many guests and friends we have who have been here ONCE!!!
Now I know flights are expensive but hey when you're getting free room and board for two weeks to a month you would normally make a return visit, wouldn't you???
The buzz phrase is either "Never again" or "Anywhere but there"!!

[TERRY]

Charging for excess weight is not new. Air Transat strictly enforces it 20kg per person rule,anything over that weight its $5 per kilo.
Your average Dominican pays $75-$125.00 per trip back to the D.R.
The recipient of these charges is the airline.
It now appears that the airlines are enforcing this surcharge from the D.R. as well,(Me cunada was charged $150.00 $Can at Las Americas airport two weeks ago) I find it curious that PJT blames Domincans for this surcharge.I think a little research is in order before you start pointing fingers.

I am not in favour of the surchage its not good for business, but I think its the airlines who are doing the gouging.

[Jim Hinsch]

All airlines charge for overweught bags. Charters have lower limits than most regularly scheduled commercial airlines. For example, the weight limit is 2 checked bags of 70 lbs each on Continental and American. Overweight bags are typically charged US$150 each. Many times the scales or broken (as has been the case EVERY time I've been in the Dominican Republic) or the airline agent will make exceptions if over by just a pound or two.

Just because they were not charged on the way over does not mean they should not be susceptible for the charge on the way back. If they claim they had the same weight on the way over, they should be charged for twice - once for each direction.

At Newark airport, flights to the Dominican Republic are set up with scales that passengers can use to make sure they are not overweight BEFORE they arrive at the ticket counter. They do this because Dominicans are big offenders of the weight limit, tending to check two huge bags each and far exceeding the norm for international travelers.

If every passenger checked in the max allowed, the plane would not be able to carry all the luggage. That's the bottom line. It was so bad for a while that Continental was forced to tell each passenger to declare 1 piece as "important" and it was tagged with an orange/pink tag. That was the only piece guaranteed to make the flight and all the excess baggage was sent via freight, arriving up to a week later, which required continuous trips to the airport to see if their luggage arrived. First class passengers were allowed to get both pieces tagged as "important". I was a victim of the "delayed baggage" many times and most of the time, the luggage did not arrive until my departure day.

About 18 months ago, Continental switched from flying 737's to 757's and the problem was alleviated. American flys a different aircraft type (typically, an Airbus) and did not have this problem, but still has strict weight limits. When I travelled with hard-sided luggage, it was very easy to exceed the 70lb. limit and frequently, I had to shuffle items out of my bag and into a second checked bag to avoid the excess charge. For this reason, whenever I fly with heavy bags to the DR, I always include an empty bag inside so if I have to reduce the weight, I've got a place to put the extra stuff.

I almost exceeded the weight this time as I was transporting a new water ski so all my things had to go into a single piece. With the new carry-on restrictions, the weight limits for checked luggage tend to get hit more often.

Search the archives, because there is quite a bit written about this problem. For sure it is not new.

The blame goes to the charter airline and their tour operators for not properly informing the passengers of the low weight limits. This is not a "Dominican Republic" problem, it is an airline problem when flying to the Dominican Republic.

20Kg is pretty low compared to the two bags totaling 140 lbs not including carry-on that the commercial regularly scheduled airlines allow. This is another reason I never use charters. Too many problems. They are always late, treat passengers like cattle, stuff every flight to the max, do a poor job of informing people about delays and expected departure times, no backup crews are equipment, they take forever to check people in, ... it goes on and on. You get what you pay for. Save US$200 on your ticket and prepare for hell - or not - you take your chances.

[PJT]

Terry, I'm blaming the indifference of the Government and the business's, not Dominicans in general. Those tourists have a reasonable gripe. Why are they being charged for overweight, when they were not charged overweight for the portion of the trip to the island? Especially, on charter trips, a travel company would be remiss not to caution travelers of the weight restrictions of how much luggage is allowed going to the island and return. Most tourists do follow the instructions, provided they receive them. Once on the island and about to depart they are a captive audience, and don't the authorities and business's know it. The last opportunity to grab a buck?

The tourist mind set is: I had a wonderful time here, I don't need to put up with any distraction now to ruin the memory. Let's get on the plane. Let's complain and pay up, we have no recourse or sympathetic ear at this point. Who do we see? Where do we go? We need to get on the plane. Nobody told us about this. ......We're going to Aruba next year.

The numbers don't lie? What are the odds that 50 people on one outbound flight would have overweight luggage? Let's suggest that the flight was on a Boeing 757 at full passenger capacity of 239 more or less. 50 people is about 20% of capacity or one out of every five passengers. Is one out of every five passengers going to have overweight luggage? I don't think so. I feel and suspect there was a malfunctioning scale, real or engineered. Overweight is a factor usualy on flights to the island from Dominicans returning home with goodies from overseas, not the reverse.

What recourse is there at the airport? Are the airline scales tested often for acuracy? Do they have a gov't weight and measures seal? Yet, did somebody think to check their luggage on another set of scales?

What is lacking is a process and or ombudsman setup at the ports of entry/departure to protect the tourist from traps like this. Even a public set of scales should be made available. The finger should be pointed right at the Tourism Ministry for not monitoring these situations and doing something about it. Also to blame are gov't employee's and business's waiting for an opportunity to gouge the departing tourist one last time rather than help to make their visit pleasantly memorable.

The focus should be keep the tourist happy.

Also, Grahame, I think it is the air carrier gathering a little extra revenue. Cash and Carry. No doubt there are commissions involved. Regards, PJT

[MommC]

I fly both frequently.....the main reason charter flights have much lower luggage weight limits is because they are carrying cargo that helps defray the cost of the "seats".....the main reason they are so much cheaper than commercial flights. I have only had a few bad experiences with charter flights as far as delays,mechanical problems etc. Mainly they are very efficient (Air Transat being the worst and being the only one I've ever had problems with on the trip to the DR.).
At present I am looking for tickets to return home. I can go "commercial" and spend almost 24 hrs in transit at a cost of roughly $3300. Canadian for two people or I can hopefully go charter with 11 hours in transit at a cost of $900. for two passangers. Now tell me honestly.....which would you choose?
We are usually over the limit on the way down (however we always bring a "sports bag" which can be up to 30 kilos without paying extra) and since we leave or consume most of what we bring I'm always under on the way home.
Tourists with a 20 kilo weight limit usually come down at max weight then stuff three or four bottles of rum,plus t-shirt or pareo,plus souvenirs in their bag for the return not realizing how much a bottle of rum or a couple of t-shirts weighs.
When I travel I always try to "empty" some of my suitcase to make room and "lighten" the load for the things I want to bring back. For example I bring only enough shampoo,rinse,toothpaste,shave cream ,deodorant etc. to last the amount of time I'm away. Any small amounts remaining are pitched for the return home. I bring only to be worn one last time underwear and socks and "pitch" them rather than laundering for re-use (makes room for the new clothes I buy). I bring gifts to relatives and friends which leaves room for "souuvenirs" or misc. items I may buy.
It's called being a "saavy" traveller.
Don't blame the airlines.....they're just trying to accomodate everyone and make enough money to survive another day.
Always wieght your bags before you leave for the airport and be aware of the weight of what you are buying while abroad.
If you don't think your bag is overweight ASK for it to be weighed on another scale and INSIST that it is if the airline employee won't!!
I've NEVER paid for overweight baggage (even when it was!! by only 3-5 kilos)

[TERRY]

I think the days of cheap charter flights to the D.R. from Toronto are over.
Your best bet momm c is to book an open ticket,and go via the states the next time you travel to the D.R.
Current prices to fly to La Romana: $700.00 $Can, plus taxes, + you have the added cost of travelling from La Romana to Juan Dolio.Current prices to fly to Sto Dom via Miami: $984.00.$Can
I wish a Canadian Airline would start a regular service from Toronto to Sto Dom.

PJT if you fly charter to the U.K. the same rules apply, there are no special rules for tourists. Charter flights are cheap and nasty, and some times you have no choice, you have to use them.
I have had to fly to the U.K. on short notice more than once. I have paid overweight coming back from U.K.
I would be more convinced (of a fiddle) if the majority of of the passengers were charged overweight, but 20% is probably about right,and the fact that the passengers paid by credit card would indicate that the charges were legit.

Grahame
Is it possible that you could find out who is the recipient from the overweight charges.It would be interesting to know what companys name appears on the credit card bills .

Regards Terry

[MommC]

To come here I usually go "last Minute". I paid $189.Canadian in January per person.....what killed us was the $150. each in taxes and surcharges and I hear we'll be paying another $24. round trip now due to the "New" security tax. The ticket is a round trip (charters are not allowed to sell one way) however I "miss" my flight back and have to produce my ticket to get a "One way" back to Canada. So basically we will pay more in taxes and surcharges than the cost of the actual ticket.