Cathay Pacific to cut baggage allowance for cheapest fares, while boosting it substantially for others

Cathay Pacific is planning to cut the checked baggage allowance for its cheapest economy tickets from 30kg to 23kg, while all other cabin classes will be getting substantial luggage weight upgrades. Sources said the changes were formulated in an effort to convince passengers to shell out more, including for economy tickets offering greater flexibility, rather than instinctively opting for the cheapest fare – a move that may prove unpopular in some quarters. However, the changes will also position Cathay favourably compared to some global rivals – such as Singapore Airlines and Emirates – by offering a more generous baggage allowance for almost all fliers. Currently, economy, premium economy, business and first class tickets come with baggage allowances of 30kg, 35kg, 40kg and 50kg, respectively. Economy class is further broken down into three types of fares: “save”, “core” and “flex”, all of which enjoy the 30kg baggage allowance. While the latter two tickets are more expensive – with flex fares sometimes more than twice as much as save ones – they also offer travellers more flexibility.<br/>