Cathay Pacific Treating All Rimowa Luggage As Fragile??

by Zac George
a close up of a suitcase

This post won’t be too long, but this is definitely an ‘interesting’ story coming from Cathay Pacific. I was scrolling through some threads on Flyertalk tonight and I came across a thread called ”Special Handling for all Rimowa brand check-in baggage” now at first I thought what a load of rubbish, but then I started to read some of the comments on the thread, and it made me even more surprised to see what Cathay are now doing with check-in Rimowa bags.

CX/KA are now giving special handling to all Rimowa brand check-in baggage, including mandatory fragile tags and special loading.

Now, Cathay hasn’t publicly announced that they are doing it, but from what I’ve seen and heard from some reliable sources this is in fact, true.

Bags are having separate fragile tags and even being put in the luggage cages where strollers usually go.

a close up of a suitcase

Rimowa Luggage (Image – Rimowa)

Why is the airline doing this?

I think this is where most people are confused. Rimowa is definitely a massive brand and you can recognize it quite easily. The brand is soo popular and Asia and the airline maybe prioritizing it maybe because of the price? maybe because of the build quality? who knows.

The bags are anywhere from $400-1400USD so they are quite pricey.

I myself am a big Tumi fan so not sure of the build quality of the bags so I can’t comment on that.

Do you think the policy is good or just plain crazy?

 

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4 comments

jnrfalcon March 21, 2017 - 4:13 am

LMAO!!! Rimowa is seriously a joke. Yes, it’s strength is a bit higher than polymer or cloth against bending but as long as it bends, it’s more in a very permanent way. After all, nothing is resilient enough against the airport handling

Rodney March 21, 2017 - 7:11 am

I’m thinking that fixing Rimowa bags (when CX is liable) is expensive. Thus it’s easier and cheaper for CX to treat them as fragile. Makes me wanna buy a Rimowa next time it shows up in Taipei Costco.

Bean March 23, 2017 - 5:44 pm

I only have a Rimowa attache because it is really light and I can look after it well. The aluminium is so thin with Rimowa that it is a joke, especially for the price. I have been using Zero Halliburton, still got 5, of different sizes, around the house. They last forever and are so strong that I can stand on top of even its smallest make-up case. Rimowa check-in luggage are durable? Welcome to the world of make-believe and vanity – wait until you get large and small dents and a hammered look all over it and then you can tell your friends how much you have traveled and well-off you are to be afford to spend US$900 on a case that will be bashed up like a aluminium softdrink can!

Sang April 9, 2017 - 6:22 pm

I use the cheapest Salsa check in and an aluminium Classic Flight cabin case when Rimowa was not as well known and BEFORE it was snapped up by the LVMH group!!!! The Salsa can withstand a lot of abuse and once the corner was bent (buckled?) in, so I opened it and pushed the dent out! It left a ‘scar’ but as they say it adds character.
I think the comment is fair re repair costs – however, the airlines have to contend with less resilient brands too. So don’t singe out CX.

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