Virgin Australia's new checked luggage rules, recently introduced alongside the airline's move to the Sabre booking system, could catch a few travellers unawares.

But on the whole, passengers on most fares and Velocity Frequent Flyers will find themselves no worse off, and in some cases they'll be able to bring an extra bag at no extra cost.

We've broken those down into before-and-after snapshots, laid out by your Velocity Frequent Flyer status and including the new Saver/Saver Lite split, so you don't get a nasty surprise at check-in.

Velocity Platinum

The big change here is the economy allowance: a reduction when flying on the cheapest tickets, and needing to spread weight over more bags when on Saver or Flexi fares.

Velocity Gold

Gold members should also focus on economy fares: again, you have less weight when buying the cheapest fares, but two smaller bags instead of one large bag on Saver or Flexi tickets.

Velocity Silver

Good news for Silvers: you get an extra bag when on a Saver or Flexi fare.

Velocity Red and non-Velocity members

There's no real change for Red members: the only difference is that Saver Lite is the new fare without bags, while Saver is the new cheaper fare with a bag.

Passengers without Velocity Frequent Flyer status have the same allowances as Velocity Red members.

What's your take on Virgin's new checked luggage allowances? Sound off with a comment below.

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