Excess Baggage to Kenya? Ship Your Extra Bags Instead.

Should you pay the airline — or ship it separately?

If you're reading this, you're probably staring at a set of bags you already know is over the limit. Maybe it's gifts for family, shopping you couldn't resist, a student's whole life in suitcases, or stock for a business back home.

Here's the honest answer up front: the airline is sometimes the right choice, and shipping is sometimes the right choice. It depends on what you're carrying, how much of it there is, and whether it needs to land the same hour you do.

And this isn't just a summer problem. Christmas and Easter travel, December holidays, weddings, students starting or finishing the academic year, expats relocating and returning residents moving home for good — every travel season hits the same baggage wall at check-in. Whenever you're flying, the maths below is the same.

What follows is the comparison nobody else publishes for this route: what each major airline actually charges for excess baggage between the UK and Kenya, the traps in the fine print, what happens at JKIA customs when you land with new items — and exactly when shipping your extra bags separately works out simpler and better value.

Airline baggage rules change frequently. Always confirm your allowance in your airline's Manage Booking before travel. This guide is for comparison and planning only. Triple A Global Logistics is not affiliated with Kenya Airways, British Airways, Qatar Airways or Emirates.

When the airline is actually fine — and when shipping wins

We'd rather tell you the truth than win every comparison.

Pay the airline when: you're only 1–2kg over on a single bag (repack, or pay the overweight fee — BA's £65 is hard to beat if the bag must fly with you), you need the items the moment you land, or it's all used personal effects well under the customs threshold.

Ship with Triple A when:

You have multiple extra bags. A third and fourth piece compound brutally: two extra pieces on Emirates can run ~$500 at the airport; the same 46kg with Triple A is £321.54, with clearance included.

You're a few kilos over on more than one bag. Airlines charge overweight per bag — 5kg over on two bags is two £65–£75 fees (£130–£150). With us, 10kg is £69.90.

Anything weighs over 32kg. The airlines will refuse it outright. Freight is the only option — and it's ours by design, not as a fallback.

You're carrying gifts, new items, or anything for someone else. The airline fee is only half the cost — JKIA duty is the other half. Our rate includes clearance.

It's stock or commercial goods. BA's own policy says this belongs in cargo, not checked baggage.

You want a known price before travel day. Message us on WhatsApp a week before you fly. No check-in roulette.

How it works — Southall to Nairobi

What travellers send with us: suitcases and holdalls, boxed gifts, clothes and shoes, wedding and event items, baby items, phones and electronics, students' belongings, shopping hauls, church and community goods, small business stock.

Shopping before you fly? Use our Southall warehouse as your UK delivery address when shopping from any retailer — whether you're buying everyday essentials, online shopping from Amazon, eBay, or ASOS, or ordering for Christmas, Eid, Black Friday, Boxing Day, Ramadan, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Valentine's Day, or back-to-school season. It all consolidates into the same Friday dispatch.

Moving home for good? Returning residents may qualify for KRA duty exemptions on household goods — see our Returning Resident guide before you ship.

Before you pack: vapes/e-cigarettes cannot be shipped. Sending commercial quantities or special-category goods? Tell us on WhatsApp first — these are confirmed and quoted before dispatch. Unsure about a restricted item? Ask us — it takes a minute and saves a headache.