Qantas baggage allowance: weight-based vs piece-based
Updated September 2026
Qantas runs two different checked-baggage systems side by side, and which one applies to you depends on your route, not your fare. Get this wrong and you'll either underpack or get an unpleasant surprise at check-in.
Carry-on: 7 kg in Economy, 14 kg up front
International Economy gets one cabin bag up to 7 kg (max 115 cm total dimensions) plus one small personal item. Business and First get two bags totalling 14 kg. Domestic flights allow 2 pieces (or 1 piece plus a garment bag) up to 14 kg total, and regional Dash 8 aircraft are stricter still — just one 7 kg bag, 105 cm max. Check your specific bag against this and 52 other airlines with our carry-on checker.
Checked baggage: it depends which system your route uses
On domestic flights and routes to/from the Americas, Qantas counts pieces — you get a set number of bags, each capped at 32 kg. On other international routes (Asia, Europe, elsewhere), Qantas counts total weight instead — one shared kilogram allowance across however many bags you check, as long as no single piece exceeds 32 kg.
| Cabin | Domestic (piece-based) | International, non-Americas (weight-based) | To/from the Americas (piece-based) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Economy | 1 piece, 23 kg | 30 kg total (weight-based) | 2 pieces, 32 kg combined |
| Premium Economy | 1 piece, 23 kg | 40 kg total | 2 pieces, 32 kg combined |
| Business | 1 piece, 32 kg | 40 kg total | 3 pieces, 32 kg combined |
| First | 1 piece, 32 kg | 50 kg total | 3 pieces, 32 kg combined |
If your itinerary combines a domestic leg with an international one on the same ticket, the international checked allowance applies to the whole journey — worth knowing if you're connecting through an Australian city on the way overseas.
Excess baggage fees (2026)
Domestic: roughly A$150 per extra piece, or A$60 per piece over 23 kg. International (non-Americas): around A$300 per extra piece. To/from the Americas: around US$200 per extra piece. Booking extra baggage online in advance is consistently cheaper — often close to half the per-kilogram price — than paying at the airport. The combined total per person is capped at 65 kg regardless of how it's split across pieces.
Watch for zero-baggage promotional fares
Some discounted Qantas fares include no checked baggage at all. Always check your booking confirmation rather than assuming a checked bag is included just because you're flying a full-service carrier — see our checked luggage guide once you know your weight budget.
Bottom line
Figure out which baggage system applies to your specific route before you pack — piece-based (domestic, Americas) rewards packing fewer, fuller bags; weight-based (other international routes) rewards keeping the combined total down, however you split it across pieces.
Sources
LuggageSearch is reader-supported. This page may contain affiliate links — see our disclosure. Airline policies change: always confirm on the airline's own site before flying.
