PT Garuda Indonesia (Persero) Tbk announced a significant change in its checked baggage policy for all passengers. Starting September 1, 2026, the state-owned airline is transitioning from a weight-based system (weight concept) to a piece-based system (piece concept) for tickets issued on or after that date.
This change brings good news for service users, with baggage allocations in various flight classes seeing an increase. For domestic flights, business class and first class passengers are now allowed to bring two pieces of baggage, each with a maximum weight of 32 kilograms, totaling up to 64 kilograms. Meanwhile, domestic economy class passengers are allocated one piece with a maximum weight of 23 kilograms.
A similar scheme applies to international routes. Economy class passengers are now entitled to bring two pieces of baggage with a total weight of 46 kilograms, while business class and first class passengers are allocated two pieces with a total weight of 64 kilograms. Garuda Indonesia stated that this increase aims to provide certainty and convenience for passengers in preparing their luggage before traveling.
Garuda Indonesia's Transformation Director, Neil Raymond Mills, explained that the adoption of the 'piece concept' system is a step toward service modernization to align with international airline standards. This move is expected to create consistency in baggage handling, especially for customers continuing their journeys through a wider international flight network.
Nevertheless, the management emphasized that this new rule is not retroactive. Tickets issued before September 1, 2026, will still follow the old baggage regulations indicated on each travel document, even if the departure date is after the implementation date of the new policy.
