The 1st time I was given a 15kg allowance for a 2 week holiday I bought a large holdall on wheels.
I actually got more in it than my suitcase and it only weighed 2kg empty.
I put shoes in my hand luggage and bought my toiletries at Boots after check in.
It made me realise how much stuff I took on holiday that I really didnt need.

Last ear wasthe 1st time this happened to us & I must say we managed surprisingly well. As jay trip said I put shoes, books & jewellery, in the hand luggage & every piece of toiletry & sun tan lotion was bought at the airport - these usually take up loads of weight. I also swopped skirts & tops for lightweight cotton dresses. Both hubby & I doubled up the 2nd week, as it was easy to rinse things out if needed. What is odd is that some airlines only give 15kgs allowance while others have 23kgs

Hi,I always buy piz buin once a day sun lotion,it comes in tubes of 100ml or 200ml,hardly weighs anything,we take about 10 tubes but bring some home usually.I bought this years supply from e-bay,hope this tip helps,T.

Also if you buy the 100ml tubes it can go in your hand luggage!

Another tip I just thought of,hide things in hubby's case then make him cut down,

What I did last year was buy all toiletries and suncreams at the airport after security- that saved on a lot of weight. Also took as much things as I could in my hand luggage. Wheras I normally take lots of different clothes for day and night, I sometimes wore a light dress I might have worn one evening as a cover up around the pool during the day so I didn't take lots of shorts and t-shirts. I also took around 4 kaftans which took up much less space than endless shorts and vests.

Although I was worried that I wouldn't have enough weight allowance, it worked out well in the end as there was less washing when we got home Eventhough we have 20kgs Easter and for the Summer, I'm going to try and travel light again.
Good Luck Juby!

I have actually bought a couple of soft holdalls this year as they weigh so much less than the cases. We will take two cases and two soft bags and that should cut down the weight. I also never take toilettries with me apart from sun tan lotion and I buy shampoo, conditioner, shower gel etc. when I get there.

We don't normally have any problems with the weight on the way out, it is on the way back the cases seem to put on weight

The soft holdalls are very good - my daughter was volunteering in the USA for three months last year and managed to get everything she wanted to take with her into her holdall and was still under her weight allowance.

Why don't you just buy some more weight allowance?

I'm fine with 15kgs for 1 week max, but I like to have a decent choice of trainers/shorts/jeans/combats/shirts etc etc for a 2 week holiday so if the airline's standard allowance isn't enough, i buy some more before travel. It's cheaper than paying excess baggage!

I had 20kgs as standard last year with Direct Hols but as I was off to Ibiza for 2 weeks and had a fair bit of stuff to take, i prebooked an additional 5kgs with the airline direct so had 25kgs hold + 5kgs hand which was fine.

I don't get how people can blame the airlines for them not being able to take enough stuff. There is always an option to pay for more baggage and those airlines that have reduced the standard baggage weight mean that the basic offering is cheaper and only those who want to pay for more have to... when everyone got 20kgs as standard the price was included in ALL the tickets... is it just that the charge is more visible now that makes people begrudge paying for it

More likely is the prices stayed the same but they put on a fee for the extra 5kg!

On an individual holiday the prices may have gone up/down or sideways that's for sure.... but if the airline reduces it's cost base by having a proportion of passengers reduce their luggage by 5kgs each then in the long run that airline is going to be able to charge lower prices than it could before as it has a lower cost operation.

Either way, i like it... different airlines with different pricing structures means choice and choice is good for the consumer as we're not all forced to pay for a "one size fits all" service, if i want lots of baggage i pay... if i want to travel light, i can save a bit of ££'s

if the airline reduces it's cost base by having a proportion of passengers reduce their luggage by 5kgs each then in the long run that airline is going to be able to charge lower prices than it could before as it has a lower cost operation.

It sounds good in theory but I bet the truth of the matter is they'll keep the extra profit. I've certainly seen no evidence of cheaper holidays because the weight allowance has decreased.

I disagree... if you think back to before the lo-co operators appeared you had to pay much more for flights. The introduction of the likes of Easyjet/Ryanair/Flybe/Jet2 etc changed the dynamic of the industry by having a low cost base and a no frills base fare to which you could optionally add on the extras that you personally wanted - in response the likes of Thomas Cook and Monarch started to drop aspects of their standard offering and put charges on for these as extras. The basic flight element of a package holiday would be higher today if it included the 20kgs baggage as standard.

You won't actually have seen cheaper holidays because during roughly the same period of time we have had:
1. Taxes put on flights
2. Fuel prices rocket
3. £ take a nosedive v €&$
4. Consolidation within the package industry through mergers (TC/Mytravel, Thomson/FC)
5. Loss of smaller tour ops (Libra/Excel/Kosmar etc..)

The increase in holidays over the last 4-5 years has many, many causes but prices would be even higher if everyone could have 20kg FOC.

I still think it's just more money in their pockets! Same with the meals which used to be in with the price! Are you telling me a company like Thomas Cook took off £10 per meal and £15 for the extra luggage off the price of our holidays? So for a family of 5 that'd be £125? I really don't think so! I think they keep the extra £125 and then also keep the extra they get when people have the meals and the extra luggage!

and a no frills base fare to which you could optionally add on the extras that you personally wanted

and have you seen the prices that some of these companies charge. When pricing flights for our recent trip to Jersey, one company wanted £18 per bag per person, each way. It rather makes a mockery of things when you have flights advertised for 4p and then land up having to pay nearly £70 when everything's added on.

Fuel prices rocket

...but did holiday prices come down when fuel prices came down? I think not.

I do agree that we should be able to pick and choose our optional extras when flying with the cheap no frills airline as this is what keeps costs down but when paying 'a leg and an arm' for some package holidays a decent luggage allowance should be included.

Can so empathise with you Juby - although my allowance is a little more I still wonder how I am going to take everything - have not actually packed yet (going next month) but have made a mountain of stuff to take by the cases - I hope you get the essentials in Juby and have a great time.

shirley h wrote:

Fuel prices rocket

...but did holiday prices come down when fuel prices came down? I think not.

I do agree that we should be able to pick and choose our optional extras when flying with the cheap no frills airline as this is what keeps costs down but when paying 'a leg and an arm' for some package holidays a decent luggage allowance should be included.

Maybe the best idea would be if you had 15kgs included with 1 week packages and got 20kgs as standard with 2 week hols ???? Not sure what they'd do with 10/11 nighters tho'

To be honest thats a good idea! Extra 5kg for two week holidays. One week hols get the chance to pay for the extra 5kg!