Airlines refuse TVs, large screens, oversized boxes, and out-of-gauge items as hold baggage. Excess Luggage Co. ships all of these as personal effects from the UK to 185 countries. We collect from your door. Since 1998.
British Airways, Emirates, and most UK airlines explicitly refuse flat-screen TVs, computer monitors, gaming screens, and other large fragile electronics as hold baggage — regardless of weight or dimensions. These must go as cargo. We ship them as personal effects.
Bikes, golf clubs, ski equipment, surfboards, kayaks, and other large sports gear are classified as out-of-gauge by most airlines. They may be accepted as hold baggage at significant extra cost — or refused entirely. We ship all sports equipment as standard.
Boxes exceeding 90 x 75 x 43cm (BA standard limit) are classified as oversized. Many removal boxes, furniture items, and large household goods fall into this category. We ship all standard removal and personal effects box sizes.
Instruments larger than 140cm must be checked as cargo by most airlines and cannot travel as hold baggage. Cellos, double basses, harps, and large keyboards all fall into this category. We handle musical instrument shipping with appropriate care.
We collect from your UK home address — no airport cargo terminal trips. We assess each oversized shipment at booking and advise on packaging requirements. We prepare all UK export documentation and customs paperwork. We ship by air freight (4-10 working days) or sea freight (8-12 weeks) to 185 countries worldwide, subject to space and flight availability with the carriers. These sea transit times are approximate — the actual time depends on when your LCL container finishes loading and consolidating, the vessel’s sailing date and route, any transhipment hub before the final destination, and customs clearance, so please allow a week or two either side.
Our minimum chargeable weight is 25kg. Oversized items are typically charged on volumetric weight rather than actual weight — we calculate this accurately at booking so your quote is accurate.
Air freight charges are based on chargeable weight — whichever is greater between actual weight and volumetric weight.
Formula: Length × Width × Height (cm) ÷ 6,000 = volumetric weight (kg)
Example: A 55-inch TV box at 140 × 90 × 20cm = 140×90×20÷6000 = 42kg volumetric weight — even if the actual TV weighs only 25kg.
Get a quote in minutes, or call our UK-based team on 0800 096 38 39.