I think all of us have been there at one point or another where we are worried that our bags are going to be too heavy and we are going to get charged something ludicrous for overweight baggage. Personally, I feel like it is a new level of idiocy that your bags have to be 20kg each (or whatever the limit is) but if you have one bag that is 8kg and one that is 21kg, they are definitely going to charge you for the 1kg over on the 2nd bag.
I have been at the front of a line frantically moving things from one bag to another in front of other waiting customers while I made both bags less than the weight limit but changed absolutely nothing about the overall weight. I would understand if they had an upper limit that was there to protect the backs of baggage handlers but this is not what is going on here. It is a money maker for the airlines and they charge rather insane prices per kilo should you go over.
One thing that a lot of people are concerned about is that it is going to cost an absolute fortune to transport their golf-clubs, surfboards, kiteboards, or any other sporting goods that you can imagine but I'm here to tell you that you do not need to be worried about this because for some reason, these items are exempt from the tyrannical baggage rules that most airlines have.
src
With most full-service airlines - meaning not a discount carrier - sport baggage despite not complying with the normal baggage dimension allowances, are given a pass on these restrictions. Some airlines will count this as your total baggage allowance but waive the dimensions because obviously a golf bag or a surfboard is oddly shaped compared to a normal suitcase.
The best airlines will allow this extra baggage for free and not even count it towards your overall weight limit. This was my experience when AeroMexico didn't charge me a single dollar for my bag with my surfboards in it. I had intentionally packed my clothing bag light in order to accommodate the weight of the boards but was delighted to find out that they always allow a "reasonable" amount of free sports luggage for each customer.
How is this possible in an industry as protected and greedy as airlines? I have no idea but I suspect it probably has something to do with backroom deals that were made between golfing buddies. Not so much surfers.
All airlines are different though and it is very important that you check beforehand and reserve this space for your equipment before booking. It could be a real disaster to arrive at the check-in counter only to have your baggage refused due to "lack of space" which is something I do not believe when airlines claim this.
Even one of my least favorite airlines, American Airlines changed their sports equipment luggage rules so that all sports equipment is handles just like any luggage and do not charge for the extra dimensions. Of course, there are still limits on this sort of thing so if you are transporting something very large like a bicycle, you better break it down before you ship it.
It is extremely important to check everything before you head to the airport because if it doesn't meet the requirements it will be sent on a different "cargo" flight and you will end up paying through the nose for this. Cargo, for some reason, is much more expensive than the cargo space on a passenger airline and is a total ripoff.
So if you are considering traveling with your sporting equipment like I do with my surfboards you can rest easy because for some reason, this is one of the ONLY things that airline are actually "cool" about. I don't know how this happened or when it happened, but they are extremely accommodating towards people traveling with sporting goods.
Check before you fly. You might be surprised how easy it is to get your golf clubs or surfboards to the other side of the planet for less than $100 or so.