last update: 26.06.2007
count of users: 4308

On most airlines which provide service to and from the USA, US Territories and Canada, an adult passanger in Travel Class C (Business) has the right to transport up to two pieces of checked luggage without a fee if the total of all three dimensions does not exceed 158 cm and the  weight of each piece does not exceed 32 kg.  In Travel Class Y (Coach) an adult passenger has the right to transport two pieces of checked luggage without a fee, if the total of all three dimensions of one piece does not exceed 158 cm and at the same time the total of all three dimensions of both does not exceed 273 cm and the weight of each does not exceed 32 kg.  Passengers who pay the 10% tariff (children up to 2 years of age) have the right to transport 1 piece of luggage (the total of the three dimensions not exceeding 115 cm) and a folded stroller, but does not entitled to a seat.  A child from the age of 2 to 12 is entitled to its own seat and has the right to transport luggage of the same size as an adult passenger.  Passengers pay special tariffs for exceeding the dimensions or the weight of their luggage.  You can receive specific information about these tariffs in all sales outlets.
On other airlines an adult passenger has the right to transport luggage without a fee, in Travel Class C (Business) of up to 30kg and in Travel Class Y (Coach) of up to 23 kg.  Passengers paying the 10% tariff (children of up to 2 years of age) are not entitled to their own seat nor to transport any luggage, except for a folded stroller.  Children from the age of 2 to 12 are entitled to their own seat and to transport checked luggage of the same dimensions and weight as those of adult passengers.  In the case that the weight of all checked  luggage exceeds the limit up to which the luggage can be transported without a fee, the airlines charge 1 – 1,5% of the highest, one-way tariff to the specific destination per each kilogram above this limit.
Furthermore, all passengers have the right to bring one piece of unchecked (carry-on) luggage into the cabin.  The maximum dimensions of the carry-on luggage is 55 cm x 40 cm x 20 cm and the weight cannot exceed 5 kg.
Aside from this carry-on piece, a passenger can also carry-on a purse, a coat, a scarf or a blanket, an umbrella or a walking stick, a small camera, a video-camera or binoculars, reading material for the duration of the flight, a basinet for a child, food for a child for the duration of the flight, a foldable wheelchair for the handicapped, or crutches or special-aid apparatus, if the passenger relies on them.
Excessive luggage is only transported in the same plane only if the space for it is reserved ahead of time, or in case of extra room in the airplane.
Each passenger is responsible for the luggage and items he brings with him into the airplane cabin (unchecked luggage). 
Passengers can only bring valuables, important papers, jewelry and items made of precious materials, cameras, videocameras or fragile objects in limited quantities in their carry-on luggage.  The airline does not hold any responsibility for their loss or damage.
For luggage that the passenger checks with the air carrier (checked luggage), the passenger receives a piece of the luggage tag as proof of the airlines+ receipt of the luggage. The passenger is responsible in case of complaint.  Each piece of luggage must have a name tag with the name and either the permanent or current address attached, inside and outside the piece of luggage, before it is handed over.  The name of the passenger, which is listed on the tag must match the name on the ticket.  Luggage, including luggage with zippers, must be locked so that they cannot open during the transport.  Air carriers are not responsible for the luggage that is not immediately picked up upon arrival.
According to effective international guidelines, a passenger cannot have on his body any weapons, arsenal, knives, toys which look like weapons (guns or grenades) and all other things of a sharp or slashing nature that could endanger the safety of  passengers.  If a passenger wishes to transport these types of objects, he must place them in his registered luggage, which he will hand over before the flight.

Transport of live animal to/from the Czech Republic
Generally
It is possible to send live animals only to those countries, where guidelines of that country allow it and under that country’s conditions.  Passengers must show a veterinarian’s certificate, which must be approved by a state (bureau) veterinarian no longer than 72 hours before the trip; this approval must be in English, German, French, Russian or Spanish. An import permit issued by the State veterinary board of the Czech Republic (Tesnov 17, 117 05 Prague 1) is required of all animals which remain in the Czech Republic longer than 3 months.  Transport of animals into the Czech Republic can be refused, if the animal is in poor health or in case of a contagion in the country of origin.  Animals can only be transported in a carrier case with adequate breathing holes and with a firm and impermeable bottom.  The transporter has the right to require the approval of a veterinary service for the transport, or the approval of a carrier case to be used, if he deems it necessary.  The passenger is always required to make a reservation for the transport of live animals.

Dogs and Cats
Dogs and Cats older than 3 months must be vaccinated against rabies no less than 30 days and no more than 12 months prior to the journey.  A valid international vaccination record with a veterinary certificate (as a component, amendment, or a separate document) must be presented at the Czech veterinary border inspection. 

Other animals
A veterinary certificate is required in all cases.

Transport of live animals in the cabin
Passengers can transport live animals in the cabin under the following conditions: only 1 animal per passenger, the animal must be placed under the seat of the passenger in Travel Class Y and the weight of the animal, including the carrier case, cannot exceed 8 kg.  The fee for the transport of animals in the cabin will be measured at the appropriate rate for the transport of additional luggage.  Animals on the endangered species list, who require special control (CITES), must be accompanied by the appropriate documents.

Train luggage
It is possible to transport luggage according to the following:
carry-on luggage – are carried along with the passenger directly in the passenger car
oversized luggage – are transported in the passenger car and placed in designated places and in designated cars in the passenger’s view, or in a luggage car
registered luggage – are transported separately from the passenger in luggage cars
mobile locker – a place to put a bicycle in a mobile locker on designated trains

What is carry-on luggage?
A piece of carry-on luggage is meant to be an item that can be placed above and under the seat in which the passenger sits.  Luggage, which is not possible to place above and under the seat, in which the passenger sits, and does not exceed 900 x 600 x 400mm, is also considered to be carry-on luggage.  If the passenger cannot place the hand luggage above or under his seat, it must be placed appropriately so as not to be in the way of other passengers; he or she may follow the instructions of a LD (Czech Railways) employee.  The passenger is responsible for the safe handling and guarding of his carry-on luggage.  He is also responsible for any damage that results in his bringing the luggage with him.  Even a pair of skiis with poles, snowboard, sled, small live animals in carrier cases with an impermeable bottom (see Live Animals) or a folded stroller are all considered appropriate carry-on luggage.  In certain types of train cars, it is possible to use additional spaces for storing carry-on luggage.  It is not allowed to store carry-on luggage in the bathroom facilities.

What is not allowed to be carry-on luggage?
Items which could ruin the train car, or endanger the lives or the health of passengers or their property or bulky items cannot be considered carry-on luggage.  Items such as loaded weapons, explosives, poisonous, radioactive, volatile or corrosive items, and items that arouse disgust or things that could cause infection or things weighing more than 50kg.  A LD employer will collect a 100 Crown fine from any passenger who breaks this rule.  If the passenger refuses to pay this fee, he is required to give his personal information to the LD employee.

What is allowed to be carry-on luggage?
A steel container with home liquid fuel gas weighing up to 10kg, a safely closed container with fuel oil up to 20 l (these passengers cannot remain in the smoking car) or an accumulator filled with electrolyte, insured against short circuiting and containing secure ventilation for the gas fumes, are all considered to be safe to be carried by a passenger as carry-on luggage.

What is oversized luggage?
An item that is bigger than the dimensions of carry-on luggage is considered to be oversized luggage.  It is possible to transport these kinds of items on a train, which is marked with a small bicycle on the train schedule.  The passenger is responsible for the safe transport of the oversized luggage.  He is responsible for any possible damage that may result from such transport.  No transport agreement is necessary for the transport of oversized luggage, but the passenger pays a fee according to TR 10 for their transport.
It is only possible to transport oversized luggage as far as the final destination of the passenger.

What items are not allowed to be oversized luggage?
Oversized luggage cannot be items, which could cause damage to the train car, or endanger the lives or health of persons or their property.  Things like loaded weapons, explosives, poisonous, radioactive, volatile or corrosive items, and items which cannot be stored in the designated storing area or items which could cause infection or items weighing more than 50kg are all considered inappropriate as oversized luggage.  A LD employee will collect a CZK100 fine from any passenger who breaks this rule.  If the passenger refuses to pay this fine, he is required to provide LD with his personal data.

What is considered to be oversized luggage?
It is possible to transport items (bicycles, scooters, children’s tricycles, strollers and items which are larger than 900 x 600 x 400 mm), which are required to be stored somewhere else than in the passenger areas of the train.  The transport of oversized luggage is only possible until the free capacity of the train or car is used up.  In the case that this capacity runs out, the transport can be refused.  A LD employee is the designated person to make the capacity decision.  A passenger can only transport one of the above-mentioned items.

Price list
A stroller for an accompanying child    6,-
Bicycle, stroller without a child and other oversized luggage   20,-

What is registered luggage?
Registered luggage is understood to be a passenger’s luggage, which is accepted for transport after the passenger presents his valid ticket for the station, to which the passenger requires the item be transported.  Trains, where the transport of registered luggage is allowed, are marked on the train schedule.  If the passenger travels on a different train, LD will transport his luggage to the station on the next available train. 
If the passenger does not designate a route, which should be used for the transport of his luggage, LD will designate this route according to the train ticket, the shortest travel time, and the minimum number of transfers.
CD are allowed to limit or stop accepting registered luggage because of limited or halted train traffic.  LD are required to make these changes public.  A passenger can designate up to three items to be transported in this manner, and the weight of each piece must not exceed 15kg.  One piece is considered to be made up of parts so closely connected, that it is possible to move them as one.

What is not possible to be transported as registered luggage?
Registered luggage cannot be items that could cause damage to the train car, or endanger the lives or health of people or their property, as well as bulky items, if not noted otherwise.  Especially items such as loaded weapons, explosives, poisonous, radioactive, volatile or corrosive items, items that arouse disgust or items that could cause infections, or an item which is not possible to store in the designate registered luggage area, or an item exceeding the weight of 50kg, unless noted otherwise.  A LD employee will collect a CZK100 fine from any passenger who breaks this rule.  If the passenger refuses to pay this fine, he is required to provide the LD employee with his personal data.

Price list for the transport of registered luggage (with the exception of bicycles)
Fare for 1 piece/CZK
Stroller for an accompanying child for a distance of up to 50 km 6,-
For every 15 kg of each piece (including other strollers, or a stroller for an accompanying child 51 km and farther)      40,-
Upon request, LD will provide the passenger with a receipt of the above payments.
A passenger may report a maximum price of CZ30,000  when he hands the registered luggage over.  This price is used as a set price of the registered luggage in case of damage or loss of the luggage while the transport agreement is valid.  The price is noted on the luggage ticket only if the passenger pays for this notification in the form of an agreement, 5% of the noted price of the item, but at least CZK50.
The transport of strollers and bicycles is mentioned in individual sections.

Terms of delivery of the registered luggage
Terms of delivery are kept if:
a. the passenger takes a direct train from the starting station to his destination, in which the transport of the registered luggage is allowed and the luggage is delivered to the destination station on that train, the same train as the passenger, or another before-agreed direct train, marked on the luggage ticket;
b. the passenger uses a transfer other than is noted in writing a) the luggage is delivered to the station on the next available train leaving the original station, which allows the transport of registered luggage, during which at least 30 minutes must be allowed between the arrival of the first and the departure of the next train;
The registered luggage is prepared to be issued in the designated station in a period necessary for the preparation, but 30 minutes after the train’s arrival at the latest.

Issuing of registered luggage
The issuing of registered luggage can be carried out in the delivery or a station en route after the presentation of the luggage ticket and the payment of possible fees pending on the luggage.
In case of noticeable damage or incompletion of the luggage, the passenger can file a report with a LD employee, at the latest during the issue of the luggage.
After the terms of issue pass, LD will mark, upon request, the date and time when the passenger requested the luggage on the luggage ticket, and if necessary will issue a certificate about the delayed release.  If the passenger provides his contact data, LD will contact him immediately upon the arrival of the luggage at the designated station.
The luggage  can be stored at the designation station without a fee for one day; this period begins after the expiry of the 24th hour of the day on which the luggage arrived at the designated station.  After this period passes, the passenger is required to pay for each piece of luggage stored per day.

The loss of the transported registered luggage
The luggage is considered to be lost, if it cannot be released to the passenger or prepared to be released to the passenger within 15 calendar days after the expiry of the terms of issue; in the case of luggage containing perishables, 48 hours from the day, after the train, on which the luggage reached the designated station.
If the luggage is found, after it was marked as lost, LD will contact the passenger.  Up to 30 days after this contact is made, the passenger can request that the item be handed over to him somewhere along the transport route.

Combination of the transport of oversized luggage and registered luggage
If a passenger transfers to a train where oversized luggage is not allowed, the documentation for the transport of this oversized luggage is only valid up to this point.  The passenger must then hand over the oversized luggage to be transported as registered luggage and pay the difference between the arrival and departure payment for the destination station, and the already paid amount of the previous transport.  If the transport of registered luggage is allowed on the train to which the passenger is switching, he can hand over the luggage directly on the train, if he shows the document about the previous journey.  The passenger does not pay a handling fee for handing over the luggage on the platform by the train, even though the transport luggage office is open:
If the time allotted for the transfer is less than 30 minutes
If the bicycle or the stroller is equipped with a certificate for transporting strollers or bicycles
If the passenger can vouch for the transport of the oversized luggage with a coupon bought prior to the trip
If the registered luggage is transported as oversized luggage from the transfer station, the 4th section of the luggage ticket serves as a document of payment for the transport of this piece of luggage.
 
What is a mobile locker?
CD introduced a trial of mobile locker service on selected trains beginning 10th June 2001.  Trains, which provide this service, are marked in the train schedule by the letter K in a circle.  The same symbol is used on trains with this adjustment.

The delivery of the items to the locker
The passenger hands over the items to be stored in the mobile locker to a LD employee directly in the marked train car.  Entrance to the mobile locker is only permitted when urged by a LD employee who has the mobile locker under their care.  The passenger should detach all easily removable parts of the bicycle before storing it in the mobile locker.  A storage ticket is the document containing information about the delivery of the item in the mobile locker.  The passenger is responsible for checking that all information listed on the storage ticket is correct.  Later complaints will not be taken into consideration.  It is in the passenger’s interest to prevent the storage ticket from getting lost or damaged.  The fee for the loss of the storage ticket from the mobile locker is CZK30.
The storage fee for the mobile locker is paid when the items are stored in the locker (contrary to railway station lockers)!  PRICE LIST FOR STORAGE………….CZK30/piece (a piece = bicycle + backpack)
A storage ticket is valid only on the train on which it is issued and only up to the destination station listed on it.  
 
The receipt of stored items
A CD mobile locker  employee will hand over the stored objects after he is shown the storage ticket.  It is not the mobile locker employee’s responsibility to check whether the person presenting the storage ticket has the right to pick up the stored item.
The passenger has the right to change the pick-up station of the stored item but he must announce this change well in advance to the locker employee so that he can make the correction of the railway station on the storage ticket, at the latest, however, at the original agreed pick-up destination.
Uncollected items will always be driven to the final destination of the train and given over to be stored in the station according to the set conditions.  Because of the legal relationship between the passenger and LD during the use of the mobile locker, general social conduct laws apply.  Details about the conditions of the mobile locker are made in public on fliers, on all notice boards in the station and in the text section of the train schedule.  From the 8th June 2002 until the 29th September 2002, new conditions may be announced.
 
What to do when you lose your luggage?
Keep your document of storage or delivery of luggage to the locker (not necessary in case of theft).

• Call the customer hotline of your travel insurance company and they will tell you how to proceed
• Write out a list of items in the missing luggage
• Pay attention to the insurance company policy; they do not pay out the complete amount, only the set limit for each piece of luggage and the limit on the total luggage
• Be careful on exceptions set by the insurance company.  In the insurance conditions, insurance companies list which items are not part of the insurance package (money, credit cards, computer, camera, valuables, etc.).  Each insurance company has their own list of insurance exemptions.
• If your knowledge of foreign languages is not sufficient, choose a travel insurance company that provides assistance service in Czech, or at least find out in which countries you can communicate in their branches in Czech.  It may prove useful to call an assistance service in Prague or a neighboring country.
•  We also advise that you bring along a card with the telephone number and address, which the insurance company will provide you with when you sign the agreement.
•  We advise you to sign an insurance agreement, but in this case it is also necessary to close an additional insurance policy called “lost luggage,” otherwise the insurance company will not compensate you.
• In case you lose your luggage at the airport, you can request compensation for the lost luggage directly from the airline.  You can use your insurance company as a mediator and they will help you negotiate the transaction.
• The assistance service often offers financial aid, so that you can finish out your stay

Source: http://www.czech.cz/