How low can an airline go? No Carry-on allowed

I was on the Latam airlines website last night looking to buy a domestic flight in Chile on LATAM airlines. By the way, they also fly to Australia.

Couldn’t quite believe it when I saw that they are now even selling (domestic) tickets which not only have no checked baggage allowance, (quite common worldwide on LCC), but also have NO carry-on allowance? That’s right, you are not permitted to carry anything on the aircraft no camera, no handbag, no nothing!! Who travels with only the clothes that they are wearing?

How low can you go?

Here is the ticket to prove it: https://files.ozbargain.com.au/upload/150847/71548/f6702fd9-…

Well done LATAM (not)!!

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Comments

  • +13

    For $30 USD you can take an hour flight somewhere with nothing but yourself.
    If I ever wanted a day trip from Hobart to Melbourne I'd be happy to pay $100 to go, see some things and then come back the same day.
    I'm sure in the tabs there that you can pay another $7 and get carry on.

    Not everybody needs to take 20kg of luggage with them everywhere they go. Except my missus obviously.

  • Agreed, yes, You can pay more and get Carryon and checked baggage. But the point of my post was that there are tickets that exist with not only no checked luggage but no carry-on also!! Wow!!

    • +4

      Sounds fair enough to me if the base price is adjusted.

      As someone who always boards last and often finds no space to put my tiny bag because everyone brings the max possible on board, it's a welcome move.

  • +3

    The 'basic' fare, which you have purchased is for domestic flights within Chile, and is the cheapest fare. But it does include a personal item, and as long as it is no larger than 45X35X20cm you can take a bag.

    The Chilean website is quite clear:-

    Basic: Viaja ligero y acumula millas
    Incluye:
    1 artículo personal de 45 x 35 x 20 cm (alto, largo y ancho)

    • -4

      No, you didn’t read it correctly. It explicitly says does NOT include checked luggage and does not include Carry-on.!!

      • +7

        I don't know how else to read it. Whilst it excludes hold luggage and hand luggage, It explicitly says it includes a personal item 45X35X20 cm. i.e. you are allowed a carry on.
        https://www.latam.com/es_cl/informacion-para-tu-viaje/tu-eli…

        on the Latam Chile site, there are four fare rates. basic, lite, plus and top. You voluntarily chose the very chepest fare with the least amount of inclusions.

      • +1

        Carry on and personal item are different. You can have a bag with wallet and keys and passport etc as a personal item (Such as a handbag)

      • +1

        BOGOF is correct.

        Hand luggage is classified as 55x35x25 and 8kg max
        Personal luggage is 45x35x20

  • +7

    People on these flights strap their cargo to their bodies and don't carry suspicious luggage with them.

    Airline is just giving customers the tickets the want.

    • LOL on first comment!!

      As for second comment, well not too sure about that. As I said in the OP, who travels with nothing, even on domestic flights. Yes, there will always be someone, but virtually everybody has SOMETHING in their hands when boarding the plane( except a boarding pass for those being pedantic!!)

      • Also this is very suitable for people who travel to work. Terrible for the environment, but people do travel these distances often for work.

        • Ok, but do those people live in the same clothes every day while working- remember, no checked baggage or carry-on !

      • +2

        Wife and I travel between our properties and the inlaws we have everything we need at each destination so travel with the clothes we are wearing plus our debit card's,licenses,phones, id and a hanky what more do we need?

        • +1 for carrying a hanky.

  • +11

    Must be trying to save on fuel

    Interesting though that a 100kg person is allowed but not a 60kg person plus 20kg luggage. I think 1 day that will change and to get a dirt cheap ticket you'll have to stand on scales before you board

    • That might make sense for for the airline but it's probably not worth the potential backlash on social media.

    • Happens / happened already.
      Samoa Air introduced it a few years ago from memory.
      My opinion is that it is a sensible way to calculate fares, as it is directly related to the cost factors for that flight. Same with inflight meals etc., I would be happy to only partake if pre-ordered for additional $ above the basic fare cost. Again from memory, I thought one of the LCC in UK/Europe toyed with the idea of introducing a fee for toilet use.

      I have previously flown on plenty of flights (small planes) where passengers and luggage were weighed, but the fare was the same. They were more concerned about total weight, fuel usage, etc.

    • +1

      Hah! Fat chance that's going to happen.

      At the rate we're going it is more likely that the bigger you are the cheaper your fare.

      "Think about the additional costs larger people have to bear."

      "Here's a disability concession card."

      (Also, some ethnicities are larger/heavier so there's that too.)

      • I believe in Canada they already have to give extremely fat people two seats for the price of one.

    • +2

      I don't mind tickets being proportional to weight, but it's mainly the cost of fuel that is important, and a 50kg person doesn't use half the fuel of a 100kg person as there is also the massive weight of the aircraft, mail and cargo. The logistical hassle and more ground grew might cost more than the fuel difference. A large 747 can weigh 440 tonnes for about 400 passengers, roughly a tonne per person, so passenger weight difference isn't 1:1.

    • +2

      This is the kind of weight loss motivation I need in my life.

      • +1

        Mine was when kids had to walk around me to get free candy and were like, "that's too much effort".

    • Not so much fuel, but fill the plane with more cargo. That's how companies like RyanAir make their money (and also why they fly to obscure airports).

      Quite a few times I've done day trips (funerals, work) or even overnight trips where I've had only had my phone, wallet & kindle in hand for overnight, undies & a clean shirt in either a green bag or a 15l backpack.

  • I have effectively travelled under these conditions … had my house in Sydney, but a flat in Brisbane for work. On many occasions I would travel between them with no baggage of any description as I had everything I needed at each location.

  • +3

    You're paying $30USD. What exactly did you expect?

    • Simple……the ability to take my camera with me, that’s all. PS. Does not fit on my pocket before you ask!!

      • Use your phone

        • Phone won’t cut it for what I use a camera for!!

      • +1

        Seems like your expectation exceeded the provisions given your budget.

        Time to adjust your expectation and/or your budget.

      • +1

        @GOCAT9
        You can take your camera in your 45 x 35 x 20 cm personal item (your day pack)

  • This is fairly common for LCC's in Europe and the USA, even the "basic economy" fares of some domestic USA carriers won't allow for a carry-on bag. With these tickets, you'll usually find that you'll be allowed to bring on a "personal item" to be stored under the seat rather than going in the overhead bins.

  • +5

    How low can an airline go?

    was going to make a mh370 comment.

  • +2
    • My fav was how ryanair was looking to put pay toilets on their flights

  • +2

    Wow how to create a storm out of nothing.

    It's a one hour flight where you cannot take hand luggage. Nothing there to say you cannot carry things, just not a cabin bag.

    Sounds perfect for a day trip to Sydney, etc.

    • -3

      GaryG: Your not thinking big enough. Your assuming a narrow context. My context is that I will be arriving in SCL with 14kg of allowed carry-on. Ask me how I can legally take on 14kg of carry-on if you don’t know! I was then planning on connecting with that LATAM flight!!

      • +2

        When then clearly this isn't the ticket for you and you need to go one level up. Horses for courses!

      • Well pay for the fare that includes carry-on luggage.

        It doesn't take a genius to come up with the solution to this non-problem.

      • then you should just purchase a ticket with carry-on allowance or pre-purchase that as an add-on

        day trip/ overnight trip is perfectly doable with only a handbag or a small backpack

        • That would be too easy!

      • But I’m a true blue card carrying ozbargainer, I expect everything for nothing, don’t you? :-)

  • Ah LATAM domestic. I took a 55L backpack as my carry on and because it wasn't a suitcase they were fine with it. They do have a cardboard box they merrily go around stabbing on top of wheeled luggage however to catch those over the limit. But backpacks? No worries!

    • -2

      Yes, but a backpack I think would be classed as carry-on. The ticket discussed here does not allow ANY carry-on.

    • Ah, very interesting and useful comment. I was not aware of that. Of course the airline does not explain that you can do this. I will test this some time next year.

      The ticket I ended up buying does have carryon included since I needed a ticket with checked luggage. At least it looks like that if you buy checked luggage then you always get carry on. I wonder why then you can’t get a cheaper ticket which includes checked but no carry on!!

    • It’s very interesting if this is true that there are different “classes” of carry-on. It seems that some things you can literally carry on are not classed as “carry-on”, while other things are-HOW CONFUSING!! Why doesn’t the airline explain this clearly? Hmmmmmm

      I think my mistake was that I was taking the statement “ carry-on” too literally!!

      I’m giving the most useful comment in this thread here to lainey13-well done!!

  • If you put on 5 pairs of undies shorts shirts and a jumper beer hat with 2 bottles of water and electronics camera notebook duct taped to the hat. Sticky Valero for shavers and toiletries to your jumper.
    This would be the ultimate supercheap way to fly for yearly vacations.
    I'm excited!

    • You'd miss your flight stuck at the security screening.

    • Now you’re talk’n!! And no you would not get stuck at security because you “tape up” AFTER security!!

      • Airport would be evacuated and your flight would be cancelled if you are taping up for boarding. :p

        • Theoretically this “should” not happen because you should be assessed as “safe” if you have already passed security. But I see where you are coming from!!

  • Overcoat can carry up to 15 kilos

    https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/2/13/14597928/a…

    They may stop you but if you limit it a bit you should get through

  • I don't think this is common practice in many other countries, but Chile has a huge mining industry. If you were flying between Santiago and Calima (Atacama) a lot of people on those tickets would have been flying out to mining camps. They don't need anything but the clothes on their backs as they will either go up and back in a day (management) or stay in a camp where they likely have uniforms, etc stored.
    As a few have mentioned, it's not very environmentally friendly, but it does free up cargo space and also caters to those who need to fly for work and want to do so as cheaply as possible. It's not a ticket intendedfor average consumers.

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