BonaireTalk Discussion Group
Getting to Bonaire: DAE Weight Restrictions
Bonaire Talk: Getting to Bonaire: Archives: Archives 2006-2008: Archives - 2007-01-01 to 2007-09-30: DAE Weight Restrictions
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By john merriner (BonaireTalker - Post #66) on Friday, June 22, 2007 - 6:06 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Thanks to this board and its participants I discovered that DAE has a weight restriction of 20kgs(44lbs) checked baggage and 10kg(22lbs) carry-on. Imagine my surprise to show up in Curacao via AJ with my two checked bags with 45kgs(100lbs) of diving gear, cloths and food stuff.

So now I have to figure out what to leave home to make the 30kg(66lb) weight limit. :-)

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Patrick T. with two trips in sight!! (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1944) on Saturday, June 23, 2007 - 10:15 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

John guess how i felt on my return from bonaire when they put that in play!

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By DIVER DEBBI (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #514) on Sunday, June 24, 2007 - 10:58 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

John..we too had to deal with the weight restriction this year..I love my 2lb tank weight, so that went into purse , along with my reg..and anything else heavy...they weighed my backpack /carry-on and rolling duffle with dive gear, but not my purse..I know guys don't carry purses, but a shoulder bag or backpack over your shoulder to fit under the seat will not get weighed...especially if you don't make a big deal of it and allusion that it is light ? we really reduced the amt of food ..we used to bring more, and less clothes..remember to check how much your suitcase weighs empty...some are really 5-6 lbs! rolling duffle is lighter..good luck and safe diving

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Pauline Word (BonaireTalker - Post #27) on Monday, June 25, 2007 - 9:00 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

As someone who spent many many years traveling in small planes with my pilot father I can assure you that the weight restrictions are there for one reason -- to help ensure your safety. The pilot has to know exactly how much weight is on board to make it a safe flight. There's no room for error.

I would urge all travelers using these small island-to-island carriers to keep that in mind and not "fudge" on the weight or carry more than you're allowed.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By DIVER DEBBI (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #515) on Monday, June 25, 2007 - 11:17 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

oops!

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dr. Director (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #389) on Friday, June 29, 2007 - 4:10 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Pauline,

As someone who studied aeronautical engineering in college, I fully agree with your statements that "weight restrictions are there for one reason - to help ensure safety" and "The pilot has to know how much weight is on board to make a safe flight." However, what is the difference between a person who weighs 165 pounds and a person who weighs 125 pounds and carries 40 pounds of other stuff on them. Weight is weight regardless of how you get there. (Where the weight is placed on the airplane, i.e., "balance", is something else that has to be considered.) Now I realize airlines assume an average weight for its passengers (and from past press articles on it, they probably assume too low a number based on the number of "overweight" people - recall the USAir Express flight that crashed on takeoff in North Carolina a few years ago because they were very overweighted) so they must be assuming some combination of those people at 165 pounds and those at 125 pounds (in my simple example), and in that scenario, there IS a difference when the lighter ones "add" the extra weight to their bodies.

I have always wondered why commercial aircraft don't include electronic scales on each landing gear strut to know exactly how much weight is on the airplane and exactly how it is distributed. (Knowing the exact weight on each of three landing gear struts allows you to determine the exact distribution and balance on the aircraft.) It is even possible some aircraft now do. Recently I was flying on an aircraft of the size DAE flies, and after all the passengers and baggage were loaded, they made an announcement that they had to bring some baggage inside the aircraft from the cargo area (at the rear of the plane, and not in the front like the ATR-40's that DAE flies). This was to adjust balance. However, after bringing about 5 suitcase into the cabin, they then announced they may have to either remove some baggage or remove some passengers (obviously they were also overweight). Since they didn't remove any people, I can only assume they either removed some bags or decided they were within acceptable limits at that time for that particular airfield and takeoff conditions (altitude, air density, etc.), because we shortly taxied and took off. Since they seemed to be making these decisions in real time, I also assume the aircraft (a newer model) must have had weight indicators on its landing gear.

Notwithstanding what I just did, I do fully agree with and support your closing statement to not fudge on the weight and try to carry more than allowed.

BTW, have you noticed the large number of times people have commented about American Eagle having to leave bags behind in San Juan or Bonaire for delivery on a later flight. Ditto on the comments people make on how nice Divi Divi is that if they can't carry all of your bags, not to worry because they will be brought on a later flight. Both are weight-driven safety issues.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By john merriner (BonaireTalker - Post #67) on Sunday, July 1, 2007 - 3:34 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

I do agree with "not fudging" the weight and I fully plan on keeping the weight under the limit imposed for safety and monetary concerns; in that order.

However, if they are weighing all the bags for safety reasons and rest assured I want them to! Doesn't it seem odd that for X number of dollars more it is okay to exceed the "limit".

Just a thought :-)

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dr. Director (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #391) on Sunday, July 1, 2007 - 4:58 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Beyond the safety issues, as long as the gross weight of the airplane (empty aircraft plus passengers plus luggage plus fuel) doesn't exceed the maximum allowable gross takeoff weight for the aircraft and takeoff conditions, the weight of an aircraft does affect its fuel efficiency. To fly at the same speed and altitude in a heavier aircraft consumes more fuel. (I won't go into a tutorial on aircraft lift and drag here.) By charging extra for overweight luggage, the airline is just trying to recover some of (or perhaps a lot more than) its extra costs. (I won't attempt to address why they don't charge all passengers based on their actual body weight plus the weight of everything they are bringing with them.)

Okay, enough rambling. Besides safety, charging what some airlines do for excess baggage weight is a scam. Just ask Cecil about how much he had to pay for being overweight this past October on a flight to Curacao from Bonaire.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By DIVER DEBBI (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #516) on Sunday, July 1, 2007 - 11:05 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

jeesh!..it was just my 2 lb weight and reg I was talking about ..not a bag of concrete..plus I weigh less than my husband..and he took on less weight than me..i figure it must all average out...good luck with keeping your baggage within the restrictions is all I am saying..and safe diving

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Cecil (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #5714) on Monday, July 2, 2007 - 7:37 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

You know I don't remember how much I paid. I do remember the hassle of waiting in line to pay it.

Oh by the way it is a rip off, I understand the extra fuel issue, but in my case it was the flight from Bonaire to Curacao, 10 minute flight and they charged me the same as any of their other flights.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Pauline Word (BonaireTalker - Post #28) on Monday, July 2, 2007 - 8:55 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Dr. Director, of course it depends a lot on the weight of the passengers. If a 300 pound man shows up to get on board they've got a real problem.

But my main point was just that if these small airlines are not checking handbags or backpacks it could be a concern if someone sticks 10 or more pounds in there thinking it's OK because I do that all the time on big planes, or it's OK because they didn't weigh it. From reading comments on these boards, it does seem that most travelers aren't aware that it's a safety issue and not just the airline trying to get more money for heavier bags.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dr. Director (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #393) on Monday, July 2, 2007 - 4:06 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Debbi - I wasn't attacking you (and I apologize if it gave any appearance that I might be). I too have carried extra weight on the DAE flights, and quite a bit more than a few pounds, considering I had my computer bag quite stuffed. However, I feel I weigh a lot less than most other males on the airplane so didn't worry. I also figure that DAE does not carry anywhere near a full load of fuel so they can haul quite a bit of extra baggage that most divers carry. There is a big difference in the fuel load DAE has to carry for its <30 minute flights vs. American Eagle, because in part, the 2+ hour flight from San Juan is probably pretty close to the range limit on AE's ATR-72. Also I would suspect that almost all of the AE passengers are divers and carrying a lot of weight vs. a considerable number of non-diver passengers on DAE's flights between Bonaire, Curacao and Aruba.

Cecil - I recall you saying the excess baggage charge was almost as much as (or maybe even more than) the ticket price, and you felt very ripped off. You make a very good point about DAE charging the same for excess weight regardless of whether you are flying between Bonaire & Curacao or Bonaire and Aruba, but then all airlines seem to do that, regardless of flight length.

Pauline - As you have indicated, excess weight is a safety issue, but it is much more severe the smaller the airplane. Obviously Divi Divi's small airplanes are much more sensitive to weight issues than DAE's ATR-40's, which in turn are much more sensitive to weight issues than the larger A320's, etc. flown by Air Jamaica, KLM, etc.

 


Visit: The Bonaire WebCams - Current Bonaire images and weather!
The Bonaire Insider - the latest tourism news about Bonaire
The Bonaire Information Site, InfoBonaire
Search Bonaire - Search top Bonaire Web sites


Topics Last Day Last Week Tree View    Getting Started Formatting Troubleshooting    New Messages Keyword Search Contact Moderators Edit Profile Administration