Cardboard box as checked luggage with Air France?

When flying to settle in Tahiti, I wanted to bring the large 27″ computer monitor I had bought a few months earlier. I still had the original box, which ensured good protection.

The box measured 81 x 51 x 21 cm.

On the Air France website, it states that checked luggage can measure up to 158 cm (height + length + width).

In my case, that’s 81 + 51 + 21 cm = 153 cm. Normally, it fits, with 5 cm to spare!

Since I couldn’t find any specific mention of cardboard boxes vs. regular suitcases, I was still a bit worried, and I had no desire to find out at the last minute that I couldn’t check in my box.

I tried to contact Air France for confirmation. Unfortunately, they are increasingly hard to reach. I managed to get confirmation… from an AI robot that responded to me on WhatsApp. I still wasn’t completely reassured.

My worry increased when, at the airport, the staff grimaced at my box and told me to go to the oversized baggage counter.

In the end, it went without a hitch, without even having to pull out a measuring tape to measure the box.

Upon arrival in Tahiti, I picked up my box at… the oversized baggage carousel! But I didn’t have to pay any extra fees.

The monitor arrived in perfect condition, and I’m really happy to use it every day for work.