I was attending Cape Town Univ as an exchange student & found a cheap one-way fare CPT to Paris ($570) to meet my parents for a few leisure days before returning home with them to the USA on a separate ticket. Unfortunately I became a victim of Emirates’ strict checked baggage allowance. I am used to checking bags & paying “by piece” with a flat overweight fee, but since my USA destination was not on my Emirates ticket, I was subjected to their “by weight” policy. Emirates’ policy is 30 kg maximum for all checked bags & their excess baggage rate is ZAR600/kg. I had 1 bag at 30 kg and a second bag at 28 kg, so the fee was close to $2,400! I was horrified since my fare was only a fourth of the cost. To Emirates’ credit, they took pity on me & made an exception & only charged $800, which is still excessive in my opinion. I hope someone can learn from my experience. When choosing an airline, read all of the fine print & determine upfront all of the fees that may be added to see what you’re ultimately paying for, because sometimes that cheap fare doesn’t end up so cheap after all.