I flew from London Heathrow to Delhi via Bahrin in Nov’08. When I checked in on the counter I was told that the weight of my suitcase was 36 kg. In fact, I have a handwritten note from the check-in clerk who gave a good smile possibly knowing what was to come up. I had previously checked the weight at home and was quite careful not to exceed 30 kg limit. So naturally I was surprised.
I went over to the supervisor who advised to pay up the excess charges. I then went to the nearby weighing scale available on airport. When I checked, it turned out to be 29 kg! I again went over to the supervisor to complain but she was simple unapologetic. When I asked for a complaint form to stop such scams, I was told the Gulf Air do not have a complaint or feedback form!
When the suitcase was checked again, it turned out to be 32 kg on the same counter. When supervisor was called in again, she said that every check-in counter will give, hold your breadth, a different weight. So it depends on the luck which counter one goes. In fact it’s a good strategy to keep changing the queue if one is found overweight.
My overall experience was quite poor and will never fly by this airline and keep discouraging people to use this airline. My recommended airline is Jet Air which is quite professional on this sector.