6 airlines with generous student baggage allowances

Studying in a foreign country has its perks, but moving abroad after living the majority of your life in one place is certainly not easy. When international students make the decision to move to an unfamiliar place, they would want to bring with them things that are familiar to remind them of home, necessitating generous baggage allowances.  

Sentimentality aside – what happens when you’re going somewhere without your usual staples, whether it be Milo or Indomie? What’s your next step if you’ve overpacked for your trip? Although you will most likely still overpack if it’s your first time away from home, you might still get away with it if you fly with certain airlines that offer generous baggage allowances.

A good rule of thumb when flying to another country to study is to make use of student baggage allowances. Source: Patrick Fallon/AFP

Qantas Airways

Qantas Airways is offering student visa holders and accompanying family members a 40kg baggage allowance per person if they are flying from Manila/Cebu/Clark/Davao to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington or Queenstown. 

As for those flying via Hong Kong or Singapore, a 30kg baggage allowance will be made available. Fret not if you’re flying beyond Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane, because you can still contact Qantas’ office directly to enjoy a 40kg baggage allowance.

Virgin Atlantic

If you book a flight with Virgin Atlantic from Delhi or Mumbai to London or to any available US destinations on their website, you get to enjoy 87kg of hold baggage allowance in Upper Class and 69kg of hold baggage allowance in Premium and Economy Classic and Delight. All you need to do is make your booking by December 31, 2022.

This scheme is available only for students and is not applicable to their family members. The excess baggage offer will also be allowed only on the outbound journey and until the first stopover point, and will not be offered on flights operated by any other airline, even if they are part of the same booking or on a partner airline. 

Singapore Airlines

Singapore Airlines offers KrisFlyer members with a verified student status 40kg of checked baggage, or three pieces of baggage for flights to and from the US and Canada. Registration is free. 

While some airlines offer student baggage allowances regardless of nationalities, others have more restrictive guidelines. Source: Daniel Slim/AFP

Thai Airways

If you’re a student flying with Thai Airways, you can enjoy an extra 10kg of baggage allowance to 30 destinations around the world such as London, Zurich, Paris, Sydney, Tokyo, New Delhi and Singapore with no charge. Both sales and travel periods are ongoing until October 30, 2022.

Air India

Air India offers a special baggage allowance to students under the Maharajah Scholars’ Scheme.

It is not applicable on US and Canada routes until further notice. The good news is that the tickets can be purchased worldwide, so long as the student is above 18 years old. The offer is applicable to students originating their international (one-way and return) journey from India. Its website notes that journeys originating from Australia, China, Hong Kong and SAARC countries, travelling one way and with a return ticket to India are also eligible.

For those flying from India to Europe, the UK, Japan, and South Korea, an additional baggage of not more than 23kg will be allowed. The maximum baggage allowance is as follows: 40kg for Economy class, 50kg for Business class, and 60kg for First class. Click here for details.

Emirates 

If you book your flight with Emirates by September 30, 2022 using the promotional code “STUDENT”, you won’t just receive discounts of up to 10% on Economy class and Business class fares – you’ll also get 10kg more or one extra piece of baggage on top of the already generous baggage allowance. For journeys to or from Toronto, Canada, and the US, the standard baggage allowances apply.