Australian traveler hit with $75 carry-on fee at airport amid Jetstar policy clash
Excess baggage charges cited as a growing revenue driver for airlines, with travelers across Australia reporting costly fees and the need to discard items to meet limits.
An Australian traveler was charged a $75 on-the-spot excess baggage fee at the airport after her carry-on bag exceeded the seven-kilogram limit on a flight booked through Qantas but operated by Jetstar. Jetstar staff routinely weigh carry-ons at the gate and require immediate payment for any bags that go over the limit. When travellers can’t pay, they are told to leave their heaviest items with airport staff, with those items ultimately surrendered to the airport.
Catherine Cervasio, a self-employed skincare CEO, said her bag was overweight because she carried heavy electronics for work. “It’s seven kilos combined carry-on and my laptop’s five kilos,” she told Yahoo. “I booked through Qantas, but it was a Jetstar flight, so I didn’t realise the baggage was so low.” Cervasio said she has faced the same problem on multiple trips and has had to discard sample products from her company to stay within limits, with some jars costing up to $40 each. She noted that this incident was not unique and described how the pressure to keep weights down has affected her business operations.
She observed that other passengers on her flight also faced the same issue with the seven-kilogram limit, and that Jetstar’s gate enforcement has become a common point of friction for travellers who mix tickets across different carriers in the same booking chain.
Beyond individual cases, the issue of excess baggage fees reflects a broader business dynamic in airlines’ pricing practices. A 2024 study by luggage-delivery service Send My Bag found that 41% of Australians repack their bags or discard personal items at airports, while 37% said they had paid up to $200 in excess baggage fees on a single trip. Of all respondents, 31% reported being forced to leave gifts behind to keep baggage weights down.
Send My Bag CEO Adam Ewart said the charges represent a “major profit driver” for airlines and cautioned that what should be a simple itinerary can devolve into a maze of extra fees, stress, and unwelcome surprises at check-in. He urged travellers to weigh their bags at home to avoid repeating the costly mistakes many people have already encountered.
The practical takeaway for flyers is straightforward: know the carrier’s baggage rules before departure, especially when bookings involve multiple brands within a single itinerary. Weigh bags at home, consider compact or lighter electronics, and be prepared to adjust plans if weights exceed limits. Airline executives say the aim is efficiency and consistency at the gate, but travellers say the result is often surprise charges that can disrupt business travel budgets and weekend getaways alike.
The incident underscores how baggage policies—paired with the revenue model of ancillary fees—continue to shape the economics of domestic air travel in Australia, influencing how travelers plan trips and how carriers price carry-on allowances in a competitive market.