Air India international baggage allowance

I am getting an Air India flight from Bangalore to London and I have a lot of luggage with me as my stay in London will be for four months. I don't want to go over the limit because I don't want to pay the extra charges which are a lot, so I need to know what the Air India international baggage allowance is.

 

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Overview

Air India, established as Tata Airlines in 1932, is one of India's most extensive airline companies. With over 90 destinations in different parts of India and international cities, Air India's fleet can cater to the needs of most domestic and international travellers. For travellers though, it's important to know more about the baggage allowances of Air India. In this thread, the baggage allowances for the different domestic flight airlines in India were discussed, including Air India. Now, we would discuss the international sector of Air India and the baggage allowances that it has.

Air India International Flights - Cabin Baggage Allowance

Weight	Pieces	Sum of Dimensions
8 Kilograms	1 Carry On + 1 Personal Bag	115 Centimetres

First would be the cabin baggage allowance, which is the same for both domestic and international sectors. You are allowed to carry one carry on bag and one personal bag, like a laptop bag, handbag, briefcase or tablet bag, for the flight. The carry on bag should not weight more than 8 kilograms and its dimensions should not exceed 115 centimetres. It should fit either in the overhead bin or under the seat before you.

Air India International Flights - Checked Baggage Allowance

United Kingdom Flights (Including London)

Flight	Economy Class	First Class	Business Class
India to UK	2 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each	3 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each	3 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each
UK to India	2 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each	3 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each	3 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each
UK to Colombo (Tickets Issued Up to May 1, 2016)	Up to 30 Kilograms (23 Kilograms/Piece)	Up to 50 Kilograms (23 Kilograms/Piece)	Up to 50 Kilograms (23 Kilograms/Piece)
UK to Colombo (Tickets Issued After May 2, 2016)	2 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each	3 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each	3 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each
UK to Other Destinations	Up to 30 Kilograms (23 Kilograms/Piece)	Up to 50 Kilograms (23 Kilograms/Piece)	Up to 50 Kilograms (23 Kilograms/Piece)

The table above depicts the baggage allowances for flights between India and the United Kingdom, which includes London. In your case, since you are from Bangalore and going to London, you fit into the first category, flights between India to the UK. For the Economy Class, passengers are entitled to 2 pieces of baggage, with a maximum of 23 kilograms each. For both First Class and Economy Class, passengers are entitled to 3 pieces of baggage, with a maximum weight of 23 kilograms each. The same goes for flights from the UK to India. For other flights originating from UK to other destinations, their baggage allowances are highlighted above as well.

Australia Flights

Flight	Economy Class	Business Class
India to Australia	Up to 40 Kilograms (Up to 30 Kilograms for Return Ticket)	Up to 40 Kilograms
Australia to India	Up to 30 Kilograms	Up to 40 Kilograms
Australia to UK	Up to 30 Kilograms	Up to 40 Kilograms
Australia to Middle East	Up to 30 Kilograms	Up to 40 Kilograms
Australia to Other Destinations (Colombo/Dhaka / Kabul/Kathmandu/Male/Yangon)	Up to 30 Kilograms	Up to 40 Kilograms

The table above depicts the baggage allowances for flights between India and Australia. From India to Australia, baggage allowance is up to 40 kilograms, except for an Economy Class with Return Tickets, which has a weight limit of 30 kilograms. All the remaining flights from Australia to other destinations, even India, has an allowance of 30 kilograms for an Economy Class and 40 kilograms for a Business Class.

Europe Flights

Flight	Economy Class	Business Class
India to Europe (Tickets Issued On/After March 1, 2016)	2 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each	2 Pieces, 32 Kilograms Each
India to Europe (Tickets Issued On/After May 1, 2015)	1 Piece, 23 Kilograms	2 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each
Chennai to Europe (Tickets Issued Before August 27, 2015)	1 Piece, 23 Kilograms	2 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each
Chennai to Europe (Tickets Issued After August 28, 2015)	1 Piece, 30 Kilograms	2 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each
Europe to India (Tickets Issued On/After May 1, 2015)	2 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each	2 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each
Europe to India (Tickets Issued On/After February 1, 2016)	2 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each	2 Pieces, 32 Kilograms Each
Europe to Colombo (Tickets Issued On/After May 1, 2015)	2 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each	2 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each
Europe to Singapore, Bangkok, Dhaka, Male or Tokyo (Tickets Issued On/After May 1, 2015)	1 Piece, 23 Kilograms	2 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each
Europe to Kathmandu/Australia (Tickets Issued On/After May 1, 2015)	1 Piece, 30 Kilograms	2 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each
Vienna to India	2 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each	2 Pieces, 32 Kilograms Each
Vienna to Colombo	2 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each	2 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each
Vienna to Singapore, Bangkok, Dhaka, Male or Tokyo	1 Piece, 23 Kilograms	2 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each
Vienna to Kathmandu/Australia	1 Piece, 30 Kilograms	2 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each
Madrid to India	2 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each	2 Pieces, 32 Kilograms Each
Madrid to Colombo	2 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each	2 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each
Madrid to Singapore, Bangkok, Dhaka, Male or Tokyo	1 Piece, 23 Kilograms	2 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each
Madrid to Kathmandu/Australia	1 Piece, 30 Kilograms	2 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each
India to Moscow/Moscow to India (Tickets Issued On/Before March 16, 2016)	2 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each	2 Pieces, 32 Kilograms Each
India to Moscow/Moscow to India (Tickets Issued On/After March 17, 2016)	Up to 30 Kilograms	Up to 40 Kilograms
India to Moscow/Moscow to India (Tickets Issued On/After October 1, 2016)	2 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each	2 Pieces, 32 Kilograms Each

Baggage allowances for Europe bound flights are a bit more complicated, as you can see from the table above. Basically, you need to look at your ticket and find out at which date it was issued. From there, look at this table and you would understand what the baggage allowance is for that date, whether you're coming from India, going to Europe, or you're coming from Europe going to India or any other destination. As you can see from the table above as well, those flights coming from Vienna and Madrid have different baggage allowances too.

USA and Canada Flights

Flight	Economy Class	First Class/Business Class	Infants
India to USA	2 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each	2 Pieces, 32 Kilograms Each	1 Piece, 10 Kilograms
USA to UK	2 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each	3 Pieces, 32 Kilograms Each	1 Piece, 10 Kilograms
India to Canada/Canada to India	2 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each	2 Pieces, 32 Kilograms Each	1 Piece, 10 Kilograms

Baggage allowances for USA and Canada are very straightforward. For all flights in Economy Class, whether from India to USA, USA to UK or India to Canada, the baggage allowance is 2 pieces of luggage within 23 kilograms each. First Class or Business Class in flights from India to USA or India to Canada have baggage allowances of up to 2 pieces within 32 kilograms each. For the USA to UK flight of the Business Class, it's at 3 pieces within 32 kilograms each. All infants are entitled to a 1 piece of checked luggage within 10 kilograms.

Gulf and Middle East Flights

Flight	Economy Class	Business Class
India to Middle East	Up to 30 Kilograms	Up to 40 Kilograms
Middle East to India	Up to 30 Kilograms	Up to 40 Kilograms
Dubai to UK	2 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each	3 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each
Dubai to Europe	2 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each	2 Pieces, 32 Kilograms Each
Muscat to UK	2 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each	2 Pieces, 32 Kilograms Each
Muscat to Europe	2 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each	2 Pieces, 32 Kilograms Each
Muscat to USA	2 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each	2 Pieces, 32 Kilograms Each

The cities included above in the flights between India and Middle East and vice versa are the following: Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Dammam, Dubai, Kuwait, Muscat and Sharjah. So for an Economy Class flight, either between India and these cities or between these cities to India, the baggage allowance is up to 30 kilograms per passenger. For a Business Class flight, the baggage allowance is up to 40 kilograms per passenger. Baggage allowances for flights between the Middle East and the UK, Europe or USA are also depicted in the first table.

Flight	Economy Class	Business Class	First Class
India to Riyadh	Up to 30 Kilograms	Up to 40 Kilograms	Up to 50 Kilograms
Riyadh to India	Up to 40 Kilograms	Up to 50 Kilograms	Up to 60 Kilograms
India to Riyadh (Return)	Up to 30 Kilograms	Up to 40 Kilograms	Up to 50 Kilograms
Riyadh to India (Return)	Up to 30 Kilograms	Up to 40 Kilograms	Up to 50 Kilograms
Jeddah to India	Up to 40 Kilograms	Up to 50 Kilograms	Up to 60 Kilograms
Jeddah to India (Return)	Up to 30 Kilograms	Up to 40 Kilograms	Up to 50 Kilograms

The second table highlights the flights between Riyadh to India or vice versa and Jeddah to India. Since these flights have a separate Business Class and First Class, they needed a different table. You can also see that return flights have different baggage allowances for these routes.

Far East and Southeast Asia Flights

Flight	Economy Class	Business Class
India to Bangkok	Up to 20 Kilograms	Up to 30 Kilograms
India to Bangkok (Via Mumbai/Delhi)	Up to 30 Kilograms	Up to 40 Kilograms
Bangkok to India	Up to 30 Kilograms	Up to 40 Kilograms
Bangkok to UK	Up to 30 Kilograms	Up to 40 Kilograms
Bangkok to Europe	Up to 30 Kilograms	Up to 40 Kilograms
Bangkok to Middle East	Up to 30 Kilograms	Up to 40 Kilograms
Bangkok to Kathmandu	Up to 30 Kilograms	Up to 40 Kilograms
Bangkok to USA	2 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each	2 Pieces, 32 Kilograms Each
Shanghai to Europe/UK	Up to 20 Kilograms	Up to 30 Kilograms
Hong Kong to UK/Middle East	Up to 20 Kilograms	Up to 30 Kilograms
Hong Kong to USA	2 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each	2 Pieces, 32 Kilograms Each
Hong Kong to Osaka/Seoul	Up to 30 Kilograms	Up to 40 Kilograms
Seoul to Hong Kong/Delhi (Tickets Issued On/After June 24, 2016)	Up to 25 Kilograms	Up to 50 Kilograms
Seoul to Hong Kong/Delhi (Tickets Issued On/After November 1, 2016)	1 Piece, 23 Kilograms Each	2 Pieces, 32 Kilograms Each
Singapore to India	Up to 30 Kilograms	Up to 40 Kilograms
Singapore to Middle East	Up to 30 Kilograms	Up to 40 Kilograms
Singapore to Europe/UK	Up to 30 Kilograms	Up to 40 Kilograms
Singapore to USA	2 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each	2 Pieces, 32 Kilograms Each
India to Singapore	Up to 30 Kilograms	Up to 40 Kilograms

For flights originating from India and going to the far eastern and southeastern countries, these are the baggage allowances for them. The baggage allowances differ quite a lot so you need to take note properly. For instance, a flight from India (Except Delhi or Mumbai) to Bangkok in an Economy Class has a baggage allowance of up to 20 kilograms and for a Business Class, a baggage allowance of up to 30 kilograms. But from Bangkok to India, the baggage allowance for an Economy Class is at 30 kilograms and for a Business Class is at 40 kilograms. Thus you need to take a close look before packing your baggage as it can be quite confusing.

Flight	Economy Class	Business Class	First Class
India to Far East/South East Asia (Except Japan)	Up to 20 Kilograms	Up to 30 Kilograms	Up to 40 Kilograms
Shanghai to India to Shanghai	Up to 20 Kilograms	Up to 30 Kilograms	Up to 40 Kilograms
Hong Kong to India to Hong Kong	Up to 30 Kilograms	Up to 40 Kilograms	Up to 50 Kilograms

Finally, this second table highlights the flights between India to other Far East or South East Asian countries, Shanghai and Hong Kong. Since these flights have a separate Business Class and First Class, they have to be separated from the rest.

Japan Flights

Flight	Economy Class	Business Class	First Class	Infant
Delhi/Mumbai to Tokyo/Osaka	2 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each	2 Pieces, 32 Kilograms Each	2 Pieces, 32 Kilograms Each	1 Piece, 10 Kilograms
Tokyo/Osaka to Delhi/Mumbai	2 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each	2 Pieces, 32 Kilograms Each	2 Pieces, 32 Kilograms Each	1 Piece, 10 Kilograms
Osaka to Hong Kong to Osaka	Up to 20 Kilograms	Up to 30 Kilograms	Up to 30 Kilograms	Up to 10 Kilograms

Since Japan has different baggage allowances from the Far Eastern and South Eastern countries, it needs a separate table. Flights from India to Japan and vice versa have the same baggage allowances. For the Economy Class, the baggage allowance is up to 2 pieces of luggage, 23 kilograms each while for the Business Class and First Class, the baggage allowance is up to 2 pieces of luggage, 32 kilograms each. Flights from Osaka to Hong Kong and vice versa have up to 20 kilograms of baggage allowance for the Economy Class and up to 30 kilograms of baggage allowance for the Business Class and First Class.

South Asian Sub Continent Flights

Flight	Economy Class	Business Class
Bangalore/Chennai/Cochin/Trivandrum to Male	Up to 20 Kilograms	Up to 30 Kilograms
Male to Bangalore/Chennai/Cochin/Trivandrum	Up to 25 Kilograms	Up to 35 Kilograms
Delhi to Kabul	Up to 30 Kilograms	Up to 30 Kilograms
Kabul to Delhi	Up to 30 Kilograms	Up to 30 Kilograms
Kolkata to Dhaka	Up to 20 Kilograms	Up to 30 Kilograms
Delhi/Kolkata/Varanasi to Kathmandu	Up to 20 Kilograms	Up to 30 Kilograms
India to Yangon or Yangon to India	Up to 20 Kilograms	Up to 30 Kilograms
Delhi to Colombo	Up to 30 Kilograms	Up to 30 Kilograms
Colombo to Delhi	Up to 30 Kilograms	Up to 40 Kilograms
Chennai to Colombo	Up to 20 Kilograms	Up to 30 Kilograms
Colombo to Chennai	Up to 30 Kilograms	Up to 40 Kilograms
Colombo to UK/Europe (Tickets Issued On/Before July 15, 2015)	1 Piece, 30 Kilograms	2 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each
Colombo to UK/Europe (Tickets Issued On/After May 2, 2016)	2 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each	3 Pieces, 23 Kilograms Each

For other South Asian countries, these are the baggage allowances for them. You have cities like Kabul, Dhaka, Male and many more. Each city of a country has separate baggage allowances so it's best to check this table prior to boarding your flight.

Rest of the World Flights

Class	Economy Class
Economy Class	Up to 20 Kilograms
Business Class	Up to 30 Kilograms
First Class	Up to 40 Kilograms
Infants	Up to 10 Kilograms

Last are the countries not mentioned in the tables above, they fall under the general baggage allowance scheme of Air India. For the Economy Class, passengers are entitled to up to 20 kilograms of baggage allowance. For the Business Class, passengers are entitled to up to 30 kilograms of baggage allowance. For the First Class, passengers are entitled to up to 40 kilograms of baggage allowance. And for the infants, they are entitled to a baggage allowance of up to 10 kilograms.

Air India International Flights - Checked Baggage Dimensions

International Destination	Sum of Dimensions (Length + Breadth + Width) Per Luggage
United Kingdom	158 Centimetres
Australia	158 Centimetres
Europe	158 Centimetres
USA and Canada	158 Centimetres (Business), 158 Centimetres (Economy) and 115 Centimetres (Infant)
Gulf and Middle East	158 Centimetres
Far East and South East Asia	158 Centimetres
Japan	158 Centimetres (Business), 158 Centimetres (Economy) and 115 Centimetres (Infant)
South Asian Sub Continent	158 Centimetres
Rest of the World	158 Centimetres

The dimensions allowed for checked baggage in pretty much all destinations are the same, 158 centimetres in total of length + breadth + width. It only differs when it comes to the infant's luggage dimension, which is at 115 centimetres only.

Conclusion

This handy guide would help you when packing for your international Air India flight. Whether you're travelling to Asian destinations or even European destinations, you can find the baggage allowances of these countries for Air India. Make sure you check the dimensions of your luggage too, so that it would fit within the sizes mentioned above. I hope this helps you!