23 kg is 50.7 lb, and 50 lb is 22.7 kg. The baggage limit is not the same in both
· 3 min read
A checked bag limit of 23 kg is 50.7 lb. A limit of 50 lb is 22.7 kg. They are treated as the same allowance, and they are a third of a kilo apart. If your scale reads in one unit and the airline writes in the other, that gap is where an overweight charge comes from.
23 kg and 50 lb are not the same weight
One kilogram is 2.2046 pounds. So:
- 23 kg is 50.71 lb.
- 50 lb is 22.68 kg.
A bag packed to 23 kg on a kitchen scale is 0.7 lb over a 50 lb limit. Pack to the limit in the unit the airline uses, not the nearest round number in your own.
The weight converter turns any figure between kilograms and pounds.
Limits you will often see, in both units
These figures come up often on airline baggage pages. They are examples, not any airline’s rule. Allowances differ by airline, route and fare, and yours is on your booking.
Size limits have the same problem
Checked bags are often limited by the sum of length, width and height. Two figures that get used for the same limit are 158 cm and 62 inches. 62 inches is 157.5 cm, so again they are close and not equal. The length converter handles centimetres and inches.
Leave room for the scale
A bathroom scale and an airport scale will not agree exactly. If yours reads half a kilo light, a bag you weighed at 23.0 kg is 23.5 kg at the desk. How much margin to leave is your call, and the only way to know your scale is to weigh something of known weight on it.
What this leaves out
- Your airline’s actual allowance. It is on your booking and the airline’s baggage page.
- What going over costs. Charges differ widely and are set by the airline.
- Limits by piece. Some fares allow a number of bags, others a total weight.
The conversions are exact. The limits are examples.
