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Scales telling tales?

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Scales telling tales?

Q. I recently took a trip where I was dangerously close to being overweight with both my checked bags. With this in mind, I weighed both my bags with a certified scale before leaving the house and found that both bags weighed in at 40 pounds. When I got to the check-in counter, however, my first bag weighed in at 57 pounds on the airline's scales, the other at 42 pounds. Obviously, I switched some things around to avoid paying an overweight bag fee. Is it possible the airlines' scales aren't zeroed automatically, or accurate? Or is this a conspiracy to add overweight bag fees.

A. Like any scale, airline baggage scales are not always accurate, and more local authorities should make a habit of checking and certifying airport scales on a frequent basis, especially as airlines add and increase bag fees. Airfarewatchdog.com recommends that frequent flyers who check bags often bring along a portable baggage scale when they fly. We've been testing the Balanzza Digital Luggage Scale and find it highly accurate. Amazon.com sells it for $16.99, but you can also probably find it at local luggage stores. It weighs just under a pound, measures up to 100 pounds, and can measure both pounds and kilograms.


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I find that the best thing to do is to weigh myself first, then weigh myself holding the bag. Some quick subtraction gives you a more accurrate bag weight at home.

I have never had surprises at the airport with bag weight using this technique at home.

by kcbluestraveler on Saturday, July 18, 2009
i have had problems in the past and paying for overweight bags so i will be looking into this. i considered buying a big scale since the small cant properly hold a bag and be accurate. and when you get to the airport with 100's of people behind you and they state if we want to take things out, you are thinking what? and how do i carry the excess.
if we fly during fall/winter we have the problem since we will pack for 2 seasons since you cant just pack warm or cold and get there and then have to buy warm/cold per the weather.
the only other way we have gotten around it about 50% of the time is that we check in at the stewards vs going inside at the counter. most of them are looking for a tip which we always show in our hands to pay and if it goes over even 5 to 10 pounds, they usually will ignore, since they suspect if we get "dinged" they may lose the tip.

by sara on Thursday, July 16, 2009
Were you "flying" United? That could be the problem.
by Irishman on Wednesday, July 15, 2009
I'm sure their scale would always win, but I think the point is that you can get a good idea before you get to the airport how much your luggage weighs, because the Balanzza scale seems to match up with the Airlines'. At least that has been my experience.
by LoveVaca on Wednesday, July 15, 2009
We use our digital bathroom scales and they have always matched up at our local airports, so we pack confidently up to 49 lbs. But our airport scales have a sticker from local authorities proving it was checked. If your airport scales are not cverified, you only need to contact your state dept of labor or bureau of weights and measures and they will be happy to verify any scale used in commerce (I assume), afterall that is their job. In addition, I would like to point out that the original story has a major flaw in the logic. Not knowing anything about the actual circumstances I can only speculate, but even a scale that is out of calibration should consistantly produce the same inaccurate results. How could two weights, each certified at 40 lbs, then placed on the same scale only seconds apart, one weigh 57 and the other at 42? My theory: the second weight (42) was closer to accurate and the first (57) had something interfering, pushing down, unbalanced, etc. on the scale. (Or the original certified weight was done in error.) Certainly when using a scale, make sure the bag is balanced on the scale and is the *only* thing on the scale (not the bag before it partially on the scale as well). However again, I was not there ...
by StanScan on Wednesday, July 15, 2009
I have the Balanzza Digital Luggage Scale and I wouldn't travel without it. I have checked at the airport as our luggage is weighed and it very closely matches my scale. It is the last thing I put in the suitcase, after it is weighed.
by LoveVaca on Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Will the airlines actually accept a bag's weight according to your own scale? I would've expected them to insist that theirs is correct.
by eilonwy926 on Wednesday, July 15, 2009
I have never seen a digital scale at an airport check in. I'll bet they're never checked by the local authorities for accuracy. Great way for the airlines to earn extra fees. I 'm definitely buying my own scale!
by FurryFlyer on Wednesday, July 15, 2009
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