International Air Travel Luggage Rules

If you are thinking of flying overseas there are specific international air travel luggage rules that you need to be aware of before you go. While this guide should not be your be all end all for international air travel luggage rules, it should be able to help you by answering some basic questions. Keep in mind that these rules will change from country to country and before you make your international air travel reservations you need to make absolutely sure of the specifics of the country that you are going to.

Some Basic Requirements For International Air Travel Luggage

For the most part each airline will have rules that will be for both their regular and international air travel luggage. At minimum your bags are going to have to correspond to these rules so become familiar with them before you decide which airline to go with. Some airlines have extreme costs associated with extra bags, and generally speaking if you are planning to travel overseas you are going to need more than one bag.

One thing to be accurately aware of is that, for the most part, carry on restrictions are much stricter for international air travel luggage than for domestic travel. Some airlines can limit the weight of your carry on to as low as 11 pounds, and with some modern wheeled carry on suitcases weighing 12 to 15 pounds empty, you really have to be careful.

For the most part airlines will describe the maximum measurements as a total number of inches. This is calculated by taking the length, width, and height, then adding them together to get the total. There are standard pieces of luggage that conform to these measurements, but if you have a bag that is of an unusual shape just make sure that it fits the maximum inches. Most airlines will have a maximum of forty five inches, so staying under that you should be alright.

For most flights going out of and into the US from and to other countries there is a weight restriction as well. This generally goes on a two piece system where you can have two pieces of luggage checked, each weighing around seventy pounds. This however can change dramatically once you get outside the US. The weight restrictions are 60 pounds for coach, 66 pounds for business, and 88 pounds for first class on most foreign country to foreign country flights. As you can see the weight restriction is far more serious than the two piece system, so be sure that your international air travel luggage corresponds to the right system.