KUALA LUMPUR, 25 July 2018: Malaysia Airlines will lop off 10 kg from its free checked baggage allowance on domestic flights, effective 1 August.
The free checked baggage allowance will be cut from 30 to 20kg on all domestic flights in economy class.
In a statement to travel and ticketing agencies, emailed last week, the national airline said the move would make it more competitive in the domestic market.
Its only serious competitor on domestic flights is AirAsia, which allows 7 kg free carry-on luggage and no free allowance for checked luggage. Passengers have to pay for all checked-in baggage at the time of booking.
International travellers on Malaysia Airlines, who need to transfer to a domestic flight, could face a hurdle. They will arrive with 30 kg of checked baggage from their MH long-haul flights.
If they transfer to popular holiday destinations such as Sarawak, Sabah and Langkawi island the rule suggests they would either be charged for the extra 10 kg, or a waiver would apply on the domestic sector.
However, the airline clarified that its ruling on differing baggage allowances between international and domestic flights stated the higher international baggage allowance would apply for passengers transiting from an international to a domestic flight even if travel was on separate tickets.
However, if a break in the journey of more than 24 hours occurred then the lower 20 kg allowance would apply on the domestic flight requiring an additional payment.
It’s not the first time that the airline has tweaked its baggage allowance rules. In May 2017, it switched to a weight-based system for its baggage allowance including flights to and from North America ending the restrictions on the number of bags checked-in to two pieces.
