Getting to Komodo with heavy video equip.

What are the options for getting to komodo with a fair bit of extra luggage? i carry about 20KG of dive equip and a 20KG video setup. Last time i went to komodo i didnt have the video rig with me so it was fairly straight forward. i do remember lionair being pretty strict though and on the way back from labuan bajo everyone was weighed along with there luggage!

So how on earth are you photographers/videographers getting to komodo? who are you flying with? are there any airlines offering sports equip allowance?

Last year, my wife and I flew Merpati Airlines from Bali to Bima for a Komodo liveaboard. Between our dive gear and camera equipment, we had 95KG of luggage. Merpati wanted $700,000 rupiah ($78 US) for the baggage overage charge each way. We ended up paying $450,000 rupiah ($50 US) because you can actually haggle with the airline agent regarding this charge. I thought the overage charge was reasonable.

Ramsy:

Last year, my wife and I flew Merpati Airlines from Bali to Bima for a Komodo liveaboard. Between our dive gear and camera equipment, we had 95KG of luggage. Merpati wanted $700,000 rupiah ($78 US) for the baggage overage charge each way. We ended up paying $450,000 rupiah ($50 US) because you can actually haggle with the airline agent regarding this charge. I thought the overage charge was reasonable.

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Thanks for the reply. How much were the flights? what was the actual luggage allowance? since you can haggle the price does that mean there is no price to start with? they could have started at 900,000. But yes, very reasonable.

I believe the flight was around $200 round trip. The luggage allowance was 25KG per person. The way the haggling worked is that they told me I had to pay $700,000. I responded by saying that was too much. The agent then asked me how much I wanted to pay. I said $400,000. She offered $450,000. I said done.

Welcome to Indonesia. Chances are that the money was divided up between any of the employees that saw the deal. If you would have paid the correct fare (there is a set amount per kg that I think is on their website), then you would have been given a reciept and the money would have gone to the airline.

FYI, I hate paying extra charges but my gear was 5kg over on my last trip to Komodo and I don't recall the fee being excessively much.

Jul 2011 Komodo Dancer booked Aviastar both ways to Labuan Bajo (LBJ). Overage fees were non negotiable, paid at a separate office in the airport terminal, but they were reasonable. The only flexibility was with the ticket agent who wrote down the lbs over. That slip then went to the airport office where the fee was paid, and a receipt issued.

I have negotiated some reductions of overage in the past - but when I have paid at airline offices, rather than at the ticket counter, have had much less success. Mind you my checked bags were not that far over. The rates per kilo are usually posted online (if not ask the LOB), and frequently differ depending on your departing city (i.e. different on flight out and return by a small amount). This was also true when flying in and out of Bima.

More worrisome was 5 divers did not get their luggage in LBJ - the boat had to wait around the harbour for a day, which resulted in Sangeang and Bima Bay getting dropped from the itinerary.

This is outside your original post, but some LOBs are not transparent about the mark up on tickets they book. You will frequently get a better ticket price booking direct (easy for some Indo airlines, more difficult for others). A large group of guests on my trip was unhappy to discover they had been charged $290 USD per person when the price llisted on the tickets was $219 (all prices converted from IDR). Those who booked direct paid ca. $210.
N

Hi Big Fish,

The luggage allowance is 20KG, Natasha is right, they have tightened up a little at Bali, although the charges aren't to much compared with the US/Europe. Leaving LBJ we use a local agent, he takes the luggage, pre paid, checks in and sorts boarding passes so all you do is turn up and go through to the lounge. Bali and LBJ have different prices.

The other bit of advice I would give is to try and carry some of your heavier bits as hand luggage, if you have ever traveled in Indo you will know that the one bit of hand luggage rule doesn't apply, on the condition you don't over do it.

Thanks for the replies i normally do not worry about the whole baggage thing, i frequently travel with 65kg plus (with a limit of 30kg) but my experience at lbj made me think. We were all weighed on a set of scales and then again with our baggage. our weight seemed to be totalled up and then scribbled down on a list. i heard they like to put heavy people at the back of the plane to aid with take off hahahaha although i doubt thats true..
I was going to book merpati but theres so much on the internet about them cancelling flights not to mention there safety record!

natasha, what was the rate you agreed. A good rate for one person might not be good for another, although just being able to get my equip there is something at the moment.

anybody got the ferry there? how long does it take?

BF two of my Komodo trips have been Bali-Bali (love the convenience and adore Mermaid I).

I usually pleasantly identify the luggage as SCUBA gear right away and almost always the ticketing agent has given me a few kilos beyond the limit. My primary worry is always making sure the luggage makes the flight. I am happy to pay overage if I can stay on the good side of the ticketing agent. (Of course as is true everywhere, paying overage does not ensure one's luggage will make it on to that flight.) Last trip to LBJ I didn't try to negotiate much, partly because I was trying to help a stranger at the same time. I paid for the amt listed on the slip - under $20 US (equivalent) total, each way. (This was the trip 5 divers did not get all their luggage.)

Roughly the same two trips before that (< $20 US each way) from Bima.

One of my first flights out of DPS back in 08 the ticketing agent offered to settle things at the counter. Definitely what he had asked for was less than what I ultimately paid through the office (I was young, naive, and had no extra USD at that point).

Re, ferry, it is true, delays are frequent in domestic Indonesian flights. In my experience cancellations are less frequent (touch wood!). But my thinking is if I book the flight the majority of other guests will be on (frequently arriving the day of the cruise - I always check with the LOB for this) if there is a cxn, the boat should have to wait if a large enough group is stranded. I have also arrived e.g. in Sorong a day or two early and just relaxed, but in LBJ the hotels will generally be more modest than in Bali or Jakarta. For me, the ferry would be the least relaxing of those three options. I have taken ferries in the Philippines (not Indonesia) and they too were prone to delay, had issues with safety, and were very time consuming. YMMV of course but in all the trips I have done, I have never met anyone who ferried over to LBJ or Bima. I am not sure scheduling that would work. I did meet someone who considered buying an extra ticket for their luggage next time - but it was still less for them to pay the overage.

N

Hi Eddie/ Natasha

Thanks so much for you posts, I have a smilar question to Big Fish because I have lots of camera gear

I'm going to Komodo in 2 1/2 weeks, the three international flights are ok in terms of baggage, I've already sorted that out
The AVIASTAR flight from Bali to LBJ [return] ... may I please clarify for when you went

Hold baggage was 20kg, but cabin baggage I can have two bits of hand luggage so long as I don't over do it [maybe each 7kg is ok]?

Thank you very much .... Layla

Eddie W:

The other bit of advice I would give is to try and carry some of your heavier bits as hand luggage, if you have ever traveled in Indo you will know that the one bit of hand luggage rule doesn't apply, on the condition you don't over do it.

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