Have you been overcharged for your luggage? Qantas removes outdated scales amid claims they can get the weight of bags WRONG – leaving passengers with unfair $90 fees
- Qantas analog scales could increase hand luggage weight by up to 30 per cent
- Recent tests reportedly reveal a discrepancy with the analog version scales
- A Qantas passenger could be fined up to $90 for overweight carry-on bag
- Airline said it was ‘gradually’ replacing its analog scales with digital ones
Thousands of Australians could have been charged extra for overweight luggage when their baggage was actually within the limit, a new report has claimed.
Qantas’ analog scales are increasing the weight of hand luggage by up to 30 per cent, recent tests have reportedly revealed.
If the findings are correct, passengers flying with the flagship airline could have been handed a $90 excess charge for the wrongly inflated luggage weight.
A piece of hand luggage – known to weight 7kg – weighed as 9kg on one of Qantas’ analog scale and 7.7kg on another, The Herald Sun reported.
Qantas’ analog scales are increasing the weight of hand luggage by up to 30 per cent, recent tests have revealed (File picture)
However, out of all 45 scales subjected to the same test, all digital scales were found to be functioning correctly.
The claims comes as the country’s flagship airline confirmed it was ‘replacing’ the analog versions of the scales with digital devices.
A spokesperson for Qantas told Daily Mail Australia the airline was ‘gradually replacing analog scales with digital scales at major ports’.
It’s not clear as to why the transition is being made.
‘If a passenger is unsure of the weight of their bag they can ask staff to have their bag weighed at a check in counter,’ the spokesperson added.
A spokesperson for Qantas said the airline was ‘gradually replacing analog scales with digital scales at our major ports’ (File picture)
The recent checks were sparked after a number of customers complained their carry-on bags had been over-weighed.
Some passengers said they had weighed their luggage at home in order to ensure it was within the restrictions – only to be told otherwise when they arrived at the airport.
A&D Australasia national sales manager Brian Johnston said the difference in weight could occur because bathroom scales don’t always measure small amounts correctly.
Mr Johnston, who works for the company that supplies and checks portable scales used by Jetstar, advised the best way to get the most accurate reading from a bathroom scale.
He said a person should first stand on the scales and measure their own weight, and then stand on the scales again while holding their hand luggage.
‘That is the most accurate way of doing it with a bathroom scale,’ he said.