Luggage size is counted in full-size checked cases. A business sedan takes three passengers and three bags, a business SUV five and five, an executive SUV or luxury minivan six and six, and a Sprinter up to fourteen. Skis and boards ride inside an SUV, van or Sprinter, not a sedan trunk. List every case, club bag and stroller at booking and dispatch will choose the class.
What does luggage size mean when you book a car?
Every seat count on our Barrie limo fleet page comes with a bag count, and the bag count assumes a full-size checked suitcase: the kind an airline will accept in the hold, not a carry-on and not a duffel. A car has a fixed cargo space and a fixed number of seats, and the two interact. Fill every seat with a passenger and the space for bags is the trunk or the rear cargo area; leave a seat empty and a small bag can take its place.
The problem is that people count people and forget cases. A party of three arrives with six items, two of which are not suitcases, and a vehicle that was right for three people is wrong for three people with luggage. The cure is to count items before you pick the class.
How many bags fit in each class?
| Class | Passengers / full-size bags | One way to Pearson (97 km, 60–85 min) |
|---|---|---|
| Business sedan | 3 / 3 | $380–440 |
| First-class sedan | 3 / 3 | $910–1,045 |
| Business SUV | 5 / 5 | $490–565 |
| Executive SUV | 6 / 6 | $580–665 |
| Luxury minivan | 6 / 6 | quoted by the engine |
| Sprinter | up to 14 / 14 | $1,390–1,600 |
| Jet Sprinter | 7 / 5 | $1,920–2,210 |
| Stretch limousine (partner) | 8 to 14 / 4 | stretch sedan $1,050–1,210; stretch SUV $1,310–1,505 |
| Rolls-Royce or Maybach (partner) | 3 / 2 | $1,660–1,910 |
Fares are one-way planning figures from downtown Barrie, all-in plus HST, with tolls on the planned route, airport fees and gratuity included. The reservation engine quotes the exact fare. The party bus and coach classes are partner vehicles priced differently, and a coordinator confirms them.
What counts as a full-size case?
Use the airline's own rule as the yardstick. At the time of writing, Air Canada and WestJet both publish an economy checked-bag limit of 23 kg (50 lb) and a maximum size of about 158 cm and 157 cm respectively when length, width and height are added together, and carry-on sizes are smaller, about 55 by 40 by 23 cm on Air Canada. Fares differ: some basic fares include only a personal item, so what a traveller carries depends on the ticket.
Check your fare on the Air Canada or WestJet site rather than relying on our paraphrase. For our purposes: a bag at or near the airline maximum is one full-size case; a carry-on is smaller but is not free, because it still needs a place to sit.
How do you count bags for a real party?
Worked examples beat theory. Fares below are one way to Pearson, from the table above.
| Party | What they carry | Class to book | Pearson, one way |
|---|---|---|---|
| Couple, long trip | 2 large cases, 2 carry-ons | Business sedan | $380–440 |
| Three colleagues | 3 cabin bags, 3 laptop bags | Business sedan | $380–440 |
| Family of four | 4 large cases, 2 carry-ons, 2 car seats | Business SUV | $490–565 |
| Family of five | 5 large cases, 1 stroller, 1 car seat | Executive SUV or luxury minivan | $580–665 or quoted |
| Foursome, golf trip | 4 club bags, 4 suitcases | Sprinter, or two vehicles | $1,390–1,600 |
The family of four is where people get caught. Four passengers use four of a business SUV's five seats, with the child seats installed in two of those positions. The four large cases fill four of the five bag places, and the two carry-ons then compete for the last place and some lap space. It is tight, so tell us all of it and dispatch will say whether the SUV or an executive SUV is the better fit.
What do golf clubs, skis and hockey bags do to the count?
Treat a set of golf clubs as one large case. A hockey bag is rather more than one. Skis and snowboards travel inside a business SUV, executive SUV, luxury minivan or Sprinter; they do not fit in a sedan trunk, and a sedan is the wrong class for any ski trip. Ski boots in their own bag count as an extra item.
For a ski group heading to Blue Mountain, Horseshoe, Snow Valley or Mount St. Louis Moonstone, the Sprinter carries people and equipment together. Our ski season post covers the resorts, and our golf outing post explains how a foursome with clubs travels.
How do strollers and child seats change the answer?
Child seats take seats, not cargo space. Infant, toddler and booster seats are added at booking from $25 each, and Ontario's guidance on choosing a child car seat explains which stage fits which child. A rear-facing infant seat uses a seat position and often limits the legroom of the seat in front; three child seats across a row is a luxury minivan job, with its sliding doors, low step and flat floor.
A folded stroller is usually a bulky item, not a flat one. Mention it, and the make or type if it is large; the chauffeur arrives with the cargo area prepared. Our child seats and family airport transfers post covers the details.
What about mobility aids, instruments and fragile items?
Tell us. A wheelchair-accessible vehicle is available if you book in advance and describe the wheelchair or scooter, and we do not quote a model or a ramp specification. A cello, a crate, a framed painting or a box of samples is a bag with an awkward shape, and dispatch needs to know. A folding wheelchair, a walker or a scooter that has to travel in a different vehicle from the passenger is a plan we make at booking, not at the curb.
Pets need prior approval in writing, and service animals are welcome and should be mentioned at booking. Ask early rather than late, because a different vehicle is easy to arrange three days ahead and hard to arrange at the curb. The same goes for anything that has to be loaded in a particular order, such as a wheelchair that folds and a suitcase that does not.
Which class suits which luggage problem?
If the bags are the issue, the class choice follows a short ladder. Up to three people and three cases: sedan. Skis, four or five people, or snow: business SUV. Five or six with lots of luggage: executive SUV. A family with car seats and a week of bags: luxury minivan. Seven to fourteen with luggage, or a ski group: Sprinter. A leadership group of up to seven that needs to talk and carry five bags: Jet Sprinter.
Our post on sedan versus SUV for a Simcoe County winter adds the winter angle, because in January the bags include boots and coats.
What do the Sprinter and Jet Sprinter carry?
The executive Sprinter seats up to fourteen with luggage behind the last row, and is the vehicle for crews, wedding parties and ski groups. At $475–550 an hour with a 3-hour minimum, all-in plus HST, it is the only class where the bag count equals the passenger count. The Jet Sprinter takes the same body and fits it for seven in lounge chairs, with room for five bags, at $650–750 an hour. For group airport runs see group airport transfers by Sprinter.
Do bags change how long an airport pickup takes?
Yes, in two ways. Loading a family's luggage takes longer than loading a carry-on, and at an arrivals hall the bags themselves take time to reach the carousel. Our waiting allowance is built for this: 30 minutes on Canadian domestic and US flights and 60 minutes on all other international arrivals, counted from actual landing, then 15-minute blocks. Flights are tracked, so a late aircraft moves the pickup. Curbside pickup at the terminal's commercial pickup area is included; a name-board meet and greet inside arrivals is an optional add-on that helps a visitor with heavy luggage and no local knowledge.
Is there a smart way to pack for a chauffeured trip?
Soft bags are easier to fit around than hard shells, and one large case is easier than two medium ones of the same total volume. Put the items you need in the car, such as a laptop, medication and a charger, in a bag you carry on your lap, not in the cargo area. Label every bag, and keep ski boots and wet gear in their own bags so that a winter day does not soak a suitcase.
For arrivals from abroad, remember that you will leave the terminal with whatever you checked and whatever you bought, and that a car sized for the outbound trip may be wrong for the return. Check the count when you book the second leg.
What about shopping and coming home with more?
Luggage is not a one-way number. A weekend at the outlets, a wedding with gifts, or an arrival from a trip where everyone shopped can turn three bags into six. If you are heading to Tanger Outlets Cookstown with the intention to buy, book for the return load. Our outlet shopping post covers how a shopping day works.
Cottage weekends are the same story in reverse: groceries, coolers and bedding on opening weekend. See our cottage weekends page for how those arrivals are planned, and our travel desk for flights and hotels if the trip starts in the air.
What happens if the bags do not fit on the day?
The honest answer is that nobody wins. A chauffeur cannot make a trunk bigger, and a sedan with a fifth bag is a safety and comfort problem, not a skill problem. The right fix is a second vehicle on the same file, arranged in advance, with one dispatch desk and one fare for each car. Tell us any change to the headcount or the luggage by the time you would normally confirm.
How do I put the count in the booking?
The booking form asks for passengers and bags. Fill in every item, including the awkward ones, and use the notes field for skis, clubs, strollers, car seats and mobility aids. Cancellation is measured from the scheduled pickup, so changing the class early is free: more than 72 hours before, no charge; 72 hours or less, 10 per cent; 48 hours or less, 50 per cent; 24 hours or less or a no-show, 100 per cent. Book here.
