A young man, Andy Donovan, faced a steep charge of over a thousand pounds for carrying an extra suitcase on his Qatar Airways flight. Andy, 23, had been preparing for a six-month cricket trip to Kingsbury, Melbourne, during the Australian summer.
Initially, Andy had a booking with Cathay Pacific, which involved a layover in Hong Kong. However, due to the approaching ‘super typhoon Ragasa’ in Hong Kong, he switched his ticket on the same day to a Qatar Airways flight to Melbourne via Doha, Qatar.
The flight on September 22 was booked for £312.28. Unfortunately, Andy’s baggage allowance was reduced to one checked bag from the initial two bags permitted on his Cathay Pacific flight. This posed a problem as he required two suitcases, one for personal items and the other for his cricket gear. Despite attempting to purchase an extra bag on the Qatar Airways website, Andy faced technical issues, leading him to try buying it at the airport.
To his dismay, at the airport, he was charged a staggering £1,103.72 for the additional 25kg bag. Andy, a marketing professional from Exeter, Devon, expressed shock at the unexpected cost, which far exceeded the price of his ticket. He emphasized the necessity of his cricket equipment, which was tailored to his specifications, leaving him with no choice but to pay the excessive fee.
The calculation method of the charge was unclear to Andy, but he complied to ensure his travel plans were not disrupted. According to Qatar Airways’ policy, there is a charge of approximately £44.60 per additional kilogram of luggage within six hours of departure.
Andy, who represents the Philippines national cricket team, disclosed that his sister, Katherine Donovan, 21, had taken the same flight a week earlier with two bags without encountering any issues. The decision to switch flights was influenced by Andy’s father, Barry Donovan, 81, a retired pilot, who foresaw the typhoon risk near Hong Kong and recommended the change to a flight with a different layover location.
Barry had to provide a loan to Andy to cover the unexpected expenses, criticizing the airline’s pricing as “extortionate” and expressing dissatisfaction with the lack of transparency regarding luggage restrictions on the tickets.
Despite attempts to reach out to Qatar Airways for clarification, both Barry and Andy have not received a response. Barry raised concerns about the fairness of such practices, questioning how many other passengers may have been subjected to similar treatment.
In response to the incident, a Qatar Airways spokesperson clarified that Andy was traveling on a ‘standby’ staff ticket issued by another airline, which typically does not include ancillary services like excess baggage until the ticket is confirmed. The excess baggage charge was applied in accordance with standard procedures once the passenger was formally accepted onto the flight.
