Spicejet: India’s best answer for International visitors with lots of luggage
If you visit India and have lots of luggage – as much as you were allowed on your international flight into India, the domestic airlines will take you to the cleaners for any domestic connections. In the good old days, major Indian airlines like Jet Airways, Air India and Kingfisher (ok, Kingfisher is not ‘major’ any more), allowed you the international allowance on the domestic legs as long as you could show an international itinerary within 24 hours of the flight. That is not true anymore. Almost all the airlines in India now allow the international baggage allowance on domestic legs ONLY if you are flying them on the International flight AND the international and domestic flights are on the same PNR! This is a big problem. The domestic baggage allowance in India is only one 20kg bag. If you fly in with two 32 kg bags (allowed if you are a Star Alliance Gold), you will be paying Rs. 200 per kg for the extra 44 kg or Rs. 8,800 ($158 USD). The key word in my statement is ‘almost’. The only exception here is Spicejet. They will allow international baggage allowance on any airlines itinerary, as long as the international leg is within 24 hours of the domestic leg (and of course, the international and domestic legs connect at a common city). Here is a link to this policy on their website, for your reference. 
Spicejet was a life saver for me on my last trip to India. I came in on business class and had three bags! Spicejet took care of me – no questions asked. All I had to do was show my international itinerary. Being aware of this policy, I actually booked my connection on Spicejet, despite there being better timed and cheaper options available. I still saved myself a few hundred dollars. This is a good example of how this policy earner Spicejet some additional business. I think other airlines are hurting themselves by forcing international passengers to pay for extra baggage.
One cautionary note I will make, while Spicejet accepts international baggage allowances for checked bags, they still restrict you to one carry-on. This is not a Spicejet policy but a security policy by the government of India. So, remember to check-in your second carry-on bag. In India, it is one carry-on, period! Not one carry-on and a purse or laptop bag.
Anyone have a different experience with Spicejet or any other Indian airline regarding baggage and international connections? Share with us by leaving a comment below.
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This is now still a big issue in 2016. We will flying into HYD airport with 4 bags of 23 kgs each and taking a domestic HYD to NAGpur GoINDIGO flight.
They allow only one bag of 15 kg each and then have a slab rate system for weight above that.
1-5 kg is Rs. 100 per kg
10 kg is Rs. 2000
15 kg is Rs. 3500
30 kg is Rs. 8000
Over 5 kg is Rs. 300 per kg all the way till 30 kg.
It was not clear when chatting with an agent thru their website if prepaying is any cheaper. It looks like it is same whether you pay at airport or prepay. Unlike here in Canada where if you prepay, it is slightly cheaper.
Due to the slab system, now the 23 kg bag will be charged excess rate for 8 kgs (Rs. 100 * 5) + (Rs. 300 * 3) = Rs. 1400, which is about C$28
And as our international flight allows 2 bags per person, if we got a 2nd bag, then that 23 kg will cost a whopping Rs. 5900 (15 kgs at Rs. 3500 and then Rs. 300 * 8 = Rs. 2400), which is C$ 118.
This is just insane and now sure how indian government allows this. That excess weight price is just few Rs. less than the ticket price itself and the excess bag is the cost of almost the price of 3 tickets. I do not get their logic when on each ticket they allow one 15 kg checked bag and one 7 kg cabin bag and if you assume a person weighs an average 60 kgs, so that is 82 kgs on a single Rs. 2000 ticket. Yet for excess bag they charge such prices.
Admin,
Could you please search an alternative or tweak for these charges one will be laid if he has an international connecting flight?
Spice jet policy now says 15 kg is the limit for non-SpiceJet international connecting passengers.
Passenger travelling on Air India domestic sector and connecting to Air India International sector or vice versa on the same ticket, the Free Baggage Allowance of International sector will be applicable.
Hi, I’m travelling to India in December. I’m allowed two 23 kg bags and one 7 kg hand luggage from South Africa. I was told that I can only carry 15 KGS with internal flights in India. That is very little. What do I do with the rest of the luggage? I think the amount you carry should be increased to at least 20 kg. The empty suitcase alone weighs 4 kg….
It’s a revenue source for airlines. Now, if you are Gold on any Star Alliance airline, you will be allowed 2 bags checked in for free on Air India. Do you have status on any of the Star Alliance airline, like South African?