Cabin crew are always jetting away somewhere, be it for work, a well-earned break or just the commute. Are there any extra allowances for crew or are they still bound by airline regulations? Do they have any advantage over the passengers?
Uniform guidelines
In general, as part of the uniform and grooming guidelines, appropriate baggage is often provided by the airline. If not they will still stipulate what baggage is necessary and the correct size, color, and sometimes brand of suitcase. This is partly for crew image purposes, as they want the crew to all look the same at the airport. Delsey and Samsonite are probably some of the most used brands for their durability. Usually, crew have one crew bag, one small ‘wheelie bag’ or trolley bag, and one larger suitcase for layovers.
Identifiable
Also, the crew baggage has to be easily identifiable as, on long-haul flights, the crew baggage is loaded in a separate container from the passenger baggage. When offloaded, the crew baggage does not go on the baggage carousel at the airport but is kept nearby, all together. Crew tags are often provided too by the airline to help identify crew bags. At the airport, when checking in down route, crew bags are checked in all together but, again, kept separately from the passengers’ bags.
Shopping
In general, most cabin crew will leave their base with less baggage weight than when they return from a trip! This is because they know the best and cheapest places to shop at the destination, so will prepare accordingly. Sometimes, the odd extra item bought back from a trip will pass unnoticed and crew baggage is not always weighed as individual pieces. For personal convenience, most crew will not pack more than they comfortably walk with through the airport.
Exceptions
New joining cabin crew may be allowed an extra allowance when moving countries for work. This is arranged along with the airline ticket and the airport staff will be aware of it. On returning from a position abroad, the allowance is usually more restrictive, but sometimes you can send items as cargo. Commuting cabin crew going to and from a duty, or ‘positioning’ crew, follow the same guidelines as the passengers for the airline.
Personal travel
When it comes to personal travel, there are no exceptions for cabin crew. The regulations are similar to that of most international airlines. Cabin crew will only be allowed one crew bag/laptop bag, one small trolley bag of less than 5kg, and one suitcase of 20kg. Low-cost carriers are obviously much more restrictive with a limit of 10kg for a trolley bag onboard the aircraft and a small item that can fit under the seat. If traveling standby, cabin crew will usually have to wait until the last minute to find out if they have a seat. Therefore, they also risk their checked baggage not arriving with them, so they generally pack light.
Source: simpleflying.com