Baggage and Equipment on Group Charter Flights

Charter aircraft have two capacity limits: seats and hold. Groups reliably think about the first and underestimate the second. A squad of thirty with playing kit, medical equipment and analysis gear, or a touring band with backline and cases, can exhaust the hold of an aircraft with plenty of spare seats.

There are two separate constraints inside the hold as well: volume and weight, and either can bind first. Instrument and production cases are bulky but relatively light, so they hit volume limits. Sporting equipment, tooling and battery packs are dense, so they hit weight and sometimes floor-loading limits. The aircraft that suits each is not necessarily the same.

This is why we ask for kilograms and item counts rather than a general description. 'Normal luggage plus some equipment' cannot be sized against a hold; a list can.

There is no fixed charter baggage allowance in the way scheduled airlines publish one. The allowance is whatever the aircraft can carry, given the number of passengers, fuel required for the sector and the aircraft's limits. On a well-matched aircraft that is usually generous compared with a scheduled ticket; on a marginal one it can be tighter.

The allowance is confirmed in writing with the quote, expressed in kilograms per passenger or as a total hold figure with equipment listed separately. Where a group's baggage is close to the limit, we would rather propose a larger aircraft or a second airframe than issue an allowance the group cannot live within.

Long sectors reduce the allowance. Fuel is payload, so an aircraft near its range limit carries less baggage than the same aircraft on a short hop. On some long international sectors this is the difference between one aircraft and two, or a technical stop.

• Allowance is derived from aircraft capacity, passenger count and sector fuel
• Stated in writing with the quote, not assumed from a scheduled-airline norm
• Volume and weight are separate limits; either can be the binding one
• Long sectors reduce available payload for baggage

Sporting groups carry the widest range of awkward items, and most of it is manageable when declared early. Bicycles, rowing shells, pole vault poles, javelins, kayaks, surfboards, hockey and lacrosse kit, weights and rehabilitation equipment, ice and snow gear, and full medical and physiotherapy setups are all routine, provided the aircraft is chosen with them in mind.

Long items are the real test. A hold door aperture and internal hold length set a hard maximum, and some items simply will not enter certain aircraft. Rowing shells and vaulting poles in particular often determine the aircraft type outright rather than being accommodated within it.

Two categories need declaration well ahead: firearms and ammunition for shooting disciplines, which require permits and secure handling arrangements, and anything with lithium batteries, electric bikes, mobility equipment, powered analysis gear, which is dangerous goods and must be assessed before it reaches the aircraft.

• Give item type, dimensions and weight for anything longer than about two metres
• Firearms and ammunition require permits and secure handling; declare at enquiry
• Lithium battery equipment must be declared and assessed as dangerous goods
• Medical and physiotherapy setups counted as equipment, not personal luggage

Touring music and production groups usually travel with equipment that is worth more than the flight and cannot be replaced on arrival. The practical advantages of charter here are that the equipment travels with the group on the same airframe, loading is supervised, and there is no scheduled bag system to lose it in.

Bulky flight cases can often be loaded into the cabin on aircraft configured for it, or a combi arrangement can carry equipment on part of the main deck with passengers in the remainder. Where equipment volume exceeds what a passenger aircraft can absorb, the honest answer is sometimes a separate cargo movement running ahead of the group.

Broadcast and production kit almost always contains lithium batteries and sometimes other dangerous goods. A packing list with battery types and watt-hour ratings lets us handle that properly rather than discovering it at the ramp.

• Cabin loading or combi configuration considered where hold volume is short
• Supervised loading with the group, no public baggage system
• Packing list with dimensions, weights and battery ratings requested up front
• Separate freight movement proposed where equipment exceeds passenger-aircraft capacity

Charter does not exempt a group from dangerous goods rules. Lithium batteries, aerosols, compressed gases, fuel-powered equipment, some medical oxygen arrangements and certain adhesives and paints are all regulated, and some items cannot be carried at all on a passenger aircraft.

The workable approach is disclosure at enquiry. Almost everything can be handled with the right packaging, documentation and operator approval when there is time to arrange it. Very little can be handled at the aircraft door on the day.

• Declare lithium batteries with type and watt-hour rating, including spares
• Declare compressed gases, fuels, aerosols and medical oxygen requirements
• Some items are prohibited on passenger aircraft regardless of packaging
• Operator approval and documentation take time; disclose at enquiry, not at check-in

A short list is enough for us to size the aircraft correctly the first time and issue an allowance the group can actually live within.

• Passenger count and expected personal baggage in kilograms per person
• Equipment list with dimensions and weights, longest and heaviest items flagged
• Anything that may be dangerous goods, including batteries
• Whether equipment must travel with the group or can move separately
• Any handling constraints at either end, such as loading equipment availability