Shipping Excess Baggage
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Ship Your Excess Baggage Anywhere in the World with Anglo Pacific
Paying airline excess fees for an extra suitcase rarely makes sense. A single 23kg checked bag over your free allowance can cost £60 to £120 per leg, sometimes more on long-haul international routes. Our excess baggage shipping service sends the same suitcase door to door from around £180, with no per-kilogram surcharges and no airline weight limits. Whether you are moving abroad, going to study, taking a long-term trip, retiring overseas or just shipping the items you cannot fit in your check-in allowance, we handle collection, freight, customs and delivery.
Anglo Pacific has shipped excess baggage and unaccompanied luggage internationally for over 40 years, with more than 20,000 consignments handled every year. We collect from any UK address and deliver to any destination address worldwide.
How Much Does Excess Baggage Shipping Cost
Excess baggage shipping is priced by the volume of your shipment, not by the kilogram at check-in. The price is fixed at the time of booking and covers UK collection, freight, destination customs documentation and door-to-door delivery. Larger volumes attract better per-cubic-metre rates, so consolidating suitcases and boxes into one shipment is almost always cheaper than booking separately.
- Single 23kg suitcase by sea freight: from around £180 door to door.
- Single 23kg suitcase by air freight: from around £320 door to door if you need it faster.
- Two cases or a case plus boxes (around 0.5 cubic metres) by sea freight: from around £290.
- A small flat’s worth of contents (around 1 cubic metre) by sea freight: from around £550.
Airline excess fees vs shipping a suitcase
To put the cost in context, here is how shipping a single suitcase typically compares with paying the airline directly at the airport:
- Standard airline excess fee for a single 23kg bag: typically £60 to £120 per leg on European routes, £100 to £200+ on long-haul. Airport-gate fees are higher again.
- Our sea freight rate for a single 23kg suitcase: from around £180 door to door, with no per-kilogram surcharge.
- Saving on a round-trip with one excess bag each way: typically £60 to £200+ on European routes, £200 to £500+ on long-haul.
The saving scales the more you ship: two or three suitcases consolidated into one shipment usually costs less than the equivalent airline excess fees, and you also avoid airline weight limits that can mean leaving items behind at the gate.
Excess baggage shipping runs on two routes: sea freight and air freight. The right choice depends on how soon you need your belongings and how much you are sending.
Sea freight: cheapest for excess baggage
Sea freight is the most cost-effective option for excess baggage shipping. The per-cubic-metre rate drops as your volume increases, so consolidating multiple suitcases or boxes into one shipment is usually cheaper than booking them separately, and almost always cheaper than airline excess fees. Sea freight suits anyone whose timeline allows for a few weeks of transit.
- Transit time: typically 2 to 4 weeks for European destinations, 4 to 8 weeks for the Middle East and Asia, 5 to 9 weeks for North America, and 8 to 12 weeks for Australia and New Zealand. Your destination page sets out exact transit windows.
- Best for: anyone with flexible timing, anyone sending more than a single suitcase, students, retirees moving abroad, anyone shipping personal effects to family.
- Cost: cheapest option for excess baggage shipping.
Air freight: faster, for urgent or smaller shipments
Air freight is the faster option for urgent shipments or where timing is tight. Excess baggage typically arrives within 3 to 10 days door to door, depending on destination. Air freight costs more per kilogram than sea freight but is materially faster.
- Transit time: 3 to 5 days for European destinations, 5 to 10 days for long-haul destinations.
- Best for: last-minute shipments, single suitcase, anyone whose timing is tighter than sea freight allows.
- Cost: more per kilogram than sea freight, but materially faster delivery.
Get your online quotes for cheap excess baggage shipping
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Excess baggage shipping done properly is meaningfully cheaper than the airline alternative, and avoids most of the airport friction. Here is what our full-service excess baggage shipping includes:
- Materially cheaper than airline excess fees: a single 23kg suitcase from around £180 door to door, against typically £60 to £120 per leg in airline excess fees (and often higher for long-haul). The saving scales with volume.
- No per-kilogram surcharges: we charge by total shipment volume, not by the kilogram. Pack a heavy case of books alongside lighter clothing.
- No airline weight limit per bag: you are not forced to leave items behind at the gate because a case is over 23kg.
- Fixed pricing, no surprises: your quote is fixed at the time of booking. No surprise port charges or gate-counter shocks.
- Packing materials available: we supply sturdy double-walled boxes and packing materials with collection if you want them.
- Door-to-door collection and delivery: we collect from any UK address and deliver to any destination address, whether city centre or rural.
- Customs handled for you: excess baggage shipping involves a customs declaration at the destination, which we prepare and submit on your behalf.
- Both directions covered: the same service runs in reverse when you need to ship excess baggage back to the UK.
Popular Destinations for Overseas Luggage Shipping
Anglo Pacific has long been one of Europe’s trailblazers for excess baggage shipping from the UK, our experience proves that no country is too far when sending extra luggage with us.
Our excess baggage services are suitable for people looking to send bags, boxes and suitcases to European and international destinations around the world, right from the Americas, across to Oceania.
Some of our most popular destinations for shipping excess luggage include:
Check out our country guides
Reviews
For your excess baggage shipping quote, book a remote video survey today and a team member will assess your bags to provide you with a no-obligation estimate, online.
- Book a remote video survey
- Show us your items
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Excess baggage shipping is priced by shipment volume, not by the kilogram. As an indicative range, a single 23kg suitcase by sea freight typically starts from around £180 door to door, with air freight from around £320. Two cases or a case plus boxes (around 0.5 cubic metres) by sea freight starts from around £290. Larger volumes attract better per-cubic-metre rates. For an exact quote, send us a quick inventory and we will respond the same working day.
In most cases, yes. Airline excess fees typically run £60 to £120 per extra bag per leg on European routes and £100 to £200+ on long-haul, with airport-gate fees higher again. A single 23kg suitcase shipped by sea freight starts from around £180 door to door, so on a round-trip with one excess bag each way you can typically save £60 to £200+ on European routes and considerably more on long-haul. The saving scales the more you ship: two or three cases consolidated into one shipment beat the equivalent airline excess fees comfortably, and you also avoid the per-bag weight limit that can mean leaving items behind at the gate.
Sea freight is the cheapest excess baggage shipping option for almost everyone. The per-cubic-metre rate drops as your volume increases, so consolidating suitcases and boxes into one shipment is usually cheaper than booking them separately. If your timeline allows a few weeks of transit, sea freight is the right answer for cheap excess baggage shipping. If you need it faster, air freight is more expensive per kilogram but still avoids airline weight limits and gate fees.
Excess baggage is the airline term for anything over your free checked allowance. Unaccompanied baggage is the customs term for belongings you ship without travelling with them. In practice, almost all excess baggage shipping is also unaccompanied baggage (you are shipping the extra cases, not flying with them), so we handle both under one service. If you have searched for either term, our service is what you are looking for.
Transit time depends on the destination and shipping method. As an indicative range, sea freight runs 2 to 4 weeks for European destinations, 4 to 8 weeks for the Middle East and Asia, 5 to 9 weeks for North America, and 8 to 12 weeks for Australia and New Zealand. Air freight runs 3 to 5 days for European destinations and 5 to 10 days for long-haul. Each destination page has the exact transit window for that country.
Yes. Unaccompanied baggage shipping is the same service in practice as excess baggage shipping, and we ship to most major destinations worldwide including Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Egypt, and across Europe, the Middle East, North America, Oceania and Africa. For destinations with dedicated pages, click through above for full transit and customs detail. For destinations without dedicated pages, get in touch and we will quote the most cost-effective service.
Yes, you can send a single suitcase. We have customers who ship one case and customers who ship a flat’s worth of contents. There is no minimum volume, and a single 23kg suitcase by sea freight starts from around £180 door to door, almost always cheaper than the equivalent airline excess fee on a round-trip.
Yes. Excess baggage shipping involves a customs declaration at the destination, and the rules differ by country. We prepare and submit all destination customs paperwork on your behalf, including the personal effects inventory and any declarations required for restricted items. You do not need to deal with the customs authority directly.
Yes. Our excess baggage shipping service runs in both directions. We coordinate with partner agents at the overseas end to collect your suitcases or boxes, handle the freight, and deliver to your UK address. Returning UK residents may qualify for Transfer of Residence (ToR) relief from UK customs duty and VAT if they have owned and used the items overseas for at least 6 months.
The same restrictions apply to excess baggage as to any international shipment. Prohibited items in most destinations include narcotics, weapons, certain plant and animal products, perishable food, live plants and seeds. Australia and New Zealand have strict biosecurity rules on used outdoor kit. Thailand prohibits e-cigarettes and vape products. Singapore restricts chewing gum and vape products. Your destination page has the specifics, and you can always check with us in advance about anything unusual.
In practice, almost all excess baggage shipping is also unaccompanied baggage (you are shipping the extra cases, not flying with them), and almost all unaccompanied baggage shipments include items that would have been over your airline allowance. We handle both under one service, with the same pricing, the same modes (sea or air freight), and the same door-to-door collection and delivery.