Weighing it up

The Flight Wisdom entry on accuracy of airport scales (following a recent Consumerist article) reminded me that often I notice at check in that the scales register a kilo or two (or a few pounds) before I even put some bags on. Sometimes you're lucky enough that is showing a negative figure when empty.

If flying an airline that takes excess baggage seriously (or limits carry-on by weight), it can be very worthwhile to take a second and check the reading before putting your bag(s) on the scale. Excess baggage charges can be very expensive (more than the cost of some cheap airfares), with many airlines basing the charge on a percentage of full fare (the sky high airfare that almost no one pays).