Have you flown WOW Airlines? Question about weighing baggage

July 10, 2015 8:56 AM

This specifically refers to flying WOW out of BWI, but I'd also like to hear from you if you've flown WOW anywhere else: At what point, and how often, do they weigh your bags?

If you've flown WOW or looked into flying with them, you know their low-low-low prices are predicated on massive add-ons for baggage charges. The base price (which we paid) includes 11 pounds each to carry on. If you want a 25 pound carry on, there's an additional charge. Want to check a bag? That's another price. We are flying from BWI to Keflavik, Iceland, in September for one quarter the price we paid for the same route in 2011. Exciting!

So at this point we feel like we're in some sort of reality show-style challenge: Take a trip to Iceland, wear as much as possible at the airport, carry only 11 pounds in just one carry on. Not even the usual purse or "personal item" plus a carry on. Just the one carry on each, period, for 11 pounds. We're already down to counting ounces of things we want to take. We're staying in an apartment with laundry access, and I'm not really concerned about what to take. Just when we get the bags weighed.

There is no limitation on what you can wear on the plane, however. Obviously we have to take coats, hats, gloves, hiking boots, and whatnot. We're going to look like Randy from A Christmas Story getting on that plane. I'm fully prepared to have every passenger at BWI in gawking at me from their flip flops, shorts, and muscle Ts.

So, if you've flown WOW: I assume they weigh our carry ons at the ticket counter? Do they do it again after that, like at the gate? Because it'll be September in Baltimore, and I need to plan exactly how long I've gotta be sweating in my winter clothes and when I can safely stow all that in my bag.

posted by ImproviseOrDie to Travel & Transportation (5 answers total)

Best answer: Traveled them a couple weeks ago from Boston to KEF. They do weigh all bags at the ticket counter. I purchased a slim purse and wore it but you should be able to slip in to your carry on. I did see people get busted at the weigh in trying to push it.

Remember - it is size and weight. They don't weigh at the gate but did have another place to see if it fits in the carry-on-bag-size-limitation-thingy.


from today's paper "Boyband member collapses on flight after wearing all his clothes to avoid extra luggage costs

James McElvar of Rewind fell ill after attempting to avoid a £45 charge on an EasyJet flight"
posted by ReluctantViking at 9:10 AM on July 10, 2015 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I flew Boston to London via Keflavik and back last week. Both in Boston and in London, they weighed my bag at the check-in desk. I had paid for the 25 pound allowance but I still tucked my laptop and a book under my arm, wrapped in a sweater, to make sure I was under the allowance. They didn't challenge me on that move, but they might be less forgiving of those who haven't paid extra. It was a pretty long wait to check in, partly because they were busting numerous people for being over the 11 pound limit.

But they didn't weigh the luggage again at the gate.
posted by EtTuHealy at 12:13 PM on July 10, 2015

Would it really be _that_ bad to pay the bag check fee? You'll be using some additional fuel regardless since you'll add mass to the plane. If you paid the bag fee, then you could be comfortable, healthier, and potentially be able to pack more stuff.
posted by amtho at 12:51 PM on July 10, 2015

Not what you asked, but how much would shipping a box ahead to the hotel cost? That's actually what I do on the return trip when I go to Japan, but I have the advantage of being able to use USPS from a US military base.
posted by ctmf at 1:12 PM on July 10, 2015

Response by poster: We're renting an apartment with laundry access, so we don't need to take that much to begin with. Maybe an extra pair of pants, a sweater, a couple of t-shirts, socks, and underwear--in addition to the outerwear. I'll probably take a large shoulder tote within measurement guidelines, and my husband will take a small backpack. We're light packers anyway; when we traveled to 5 countries a few years ago, we each took only a carry on. And my camera setup is an iPhone with a few accessories. If we need to pay extra for the 25 pounds of carry on, we will. Until then, I like thinking of it as a game.
posted by ImproviseOrDie at 9:59 AM on July 12, 2015