Virgin Atlantic DIY Check In

So I'm flying tomorrow. I'm trying to do Virgin's DIY check in because they suggest that etc etc. Well one of the questions you have to fill in under the check-in form is "residency." Would I technically have residency in the UK on a spousal visa, according to their terms of residency (not sure what they are). Also they ask for "permentant resident card number" I'm assuming for ppl with either a ILR or a US green card? Do I just put my spousal visa number on there?  I'm thinking I'll just deal with it at the airport tomorrow 

You are not a resident of the UK yet.  You have to get there first.

You are a resident of the United States right now.

Right, I thought as much really. I didn't do DIY checkin in the end though.

Word of warning though: weigh your baggage before you get to checkin - because on VA they won't let you even pay extra to have luggage over 50 lbs (by a considerable amount). If its over that you'll have to put it in an extra case...because of this I ended up not bringing one of my cases. I didn't have room in the others (because they were to the weight limit) so I would have had to buy another case and then check that in. After waiting an hour to check in I decided not to do that lol.

Yes, most carriers have a limit of 50 or 75lbs for a single piece of luggage.  This is because of limitations of humans and people to be able to lift safely such luggage.  So no matter how much you pay, you would not likely be able to send it on a commercial airliner.  Think of the poor ramp workers backs!!!!!

I think almost every airline is down to a 50 lbs per piece allowance now, but just a year and a half ago it was 70 lbs for international flights across the board.  I seriously doubt that change had to do with saving the airline workers' backs and had much more to do with making more $$ on extra baggage fees...

(I think most airlines have a number between 70-100 lbs as the absolute limit, though, even with extra baggage charges.  I definitely think that one's for safety reasons.)

A lot of it has to do with the baggage handlers Unions.  They make certain concessions on what is safe and acceptable baggage, as well as you pointed out, airlines can often make their own rules.  Also, international carriage is governed by a certain set of rules (VERY outdated) that outline carrier liabilities, etc.  These often very quite dramatically from domestic flights.