BA - Baggage changes.. again

A snowHead

If they say you booked after the date where the allowances changed, just tell them that BA changed your flight or cancelled your original=free baggage. It has been tried with success recently Wink

I don't think I have ever flown BA where they have actually cared about how much my ski bag weighs or what is in it.

A snowHead

Wags, So the upshot is, there's absolutely no point in cramming all your stuff in one bag, you may as well take a ski / board bag and a 'standard bag'. When you read the BA link above a few times pay attention to the detail it's quite clear...? 'There is no additional allowance for sporting equipment, and a ski-bag ain't a standard bag'.
.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

allanm, Yes, my conclusion from reading the website is unfortunately the same as yours. As I don't plan to chop my skis in half I may look elsewhere for a flight. However, using Tesco clubcard vouchers to buy Airmiles might still make BA a good option.

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Wags, not for the baggage reason, but I am driving down this year (twice) - will cost me more - but I do get some pleasure in putting two fingers up at the airlines. So up Yr's BA.. the ski friendly airline... NOT

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

arv, I tend to agree with you...they never seem to check!

Again the website it confusing in its wording....On one page it says:

"We will accept all skis and snowboards as the majority of skis comply with maximum dimensions." and carries on to say that this can be taken as part of you free allowance, but looking through the free allowances for all flights, none of them allow you to take any other than "standard size" bags....

Just called BA to confirm,they say that you can take your skis or board in place of your suitcase as long as its in a recognised ski or board bag and its under 23Kgs, they also said it doesn't matter what you but in there ( 2 boards, clothes whatever), just as long as its under 23kg, it will be classed as your free allowance.

....so i was right! NehNeh

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Anyone who booked a holiday prior to the changes in free / charged skis can just ask their TO for a voucher from BA. They can be downloaded from the BA trade site. If the person at the TO cant do it then ask for someone higher up. We have obtained then for all our BA clients. Its not hard to do. But some call center staff may not know about the download options or may not be high enough up to have a BA password.
Anyone who booked after the changes will just have to pay the new charges.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

joydivision, Very Happy

excellent

After all it is free

joydivision, Good news indeed, for once I'm delighted to be proved wrong Very Happy

I emailed BA about this yesterday but haven't yet had a reply.

Wags, For once I'm delighted to be right!!haha.

It's still a shame that BA have done away with the Free ski carriage on top of the normal checked baggage as it put them ahead of the budget airlines IMO. Judging by the conversation I had with the girl at BA, they've had a lot of complaints regarding this issue and I think this is why she was happy to say that we could stick anything in the ski and board bags. It still good value for a weekend away, but I don't think I could take a weeks worth of gear away in my hand luggage...although I might be able to squeeze it in if i leave my pants at home!

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Just a quick update, not sure if anything has actually changed but as I am flying in a few weeks with my board bag I had a quick check of the website to see the latest information

Hand baggae - The standard-sized bag is no more than 56cm x 45cm x 25cm (22ins x 18ins x 10ins), including the handle, pockets and wheels. The bag must be able to be: fitted into the gauge available in the check-in area lifted into the aircraft's overhead lockers unaided

Sporting equipment
..... should be packed where possible within your free checked and hand baggage allowance - there is no additional allowance. If your sporting equipment causes you to exceed the free baggage allowance, you will have to pay an extra bag fee. We will only accept sporting equipment if it is packed appropriately to avoid damage and meets the dimension and weight restrictions.

We will accept all skis and snowboards as the majority of skis comply with maximum dimensions. Preparing skis and snowboards for travel:
skis and snowboards must be packed in a recognised ski or snowboard bag
ski boots should be packed in your checked baggage where possible to avoid additional cost
Note: Remember each bag that exceeds your free checked baggage allowance will incur an excess baggage fee.

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I did eventually get a reply from BA to the following question :

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How big are typical snowboard bags?

rob@rar, Not that big!!!! That is a big bag 6' x 2 1/2' x 2' !

You know it makes sense.

Rob, I have a 163 cm board and that is bigger than most, you will not see too many boards on the mountain bigger than 170 cm

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Might investigate whether I can get everything into a board bag and still come under the 23kg. Alternatively I might abandon flying with BA as Swiss have recently said they will re-start their LHR-GVA route and as they don't charge for sporting equipment so I suspect they will be cheaper than BA.

A snowHead

Rob, skis are probably a bit heavier than a board but 23 kg and heavy stuff in hand luggage is not a bad allowance, but if Swiss start up again even better.

A snowHead

rob@rar, Just flew out with BA at the weekend, we had 2 boards, 2 sets of bindings 2 sets of boots plus 2 jackets, 2 trousers and loads of pants and socks.....came in at 22.8KG!!! I reckon I could fit a weeks worth of clothes easily between my hand luggage and board bag. My boardbag is around 165cms.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Flew BA to Zurich last week. 1.75 meter board bag with one board, boots, waxing iron etc with 7 days worth of clobber in it, was under 23 kg (bindings in hand luggage) and was free. So 23 kg checked in board bag plus hand luggage plus lap top bag is free on BA Europe flights - not too bad really - as long as they are not on strike wink

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alex_heney, fixed it !

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I agree the info on their website is misleading because whilst it says they accept ski's/boards for carriage and that you can take them free if its within your checked baggage allowance it also states your checked baggage allowance is 2 standard sized bags.

So, I wrote to BA to clarify the postion for my USA trip later this year and just got the following back :

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Unbeleiveable, just received this reply.

After all it is free

Gazzza, skis count as one of your checked bags even though they are bigger than the usual dimensions. simple

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Gazzza, I asked BA a specific question about taking a large snowboard bag as my one and only peice of checked-in baggage. This was the reply....

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Thanks Wags,

What date did you book ? Was it after the change to the sporting equipment policy at the end of July 2009 ?

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Gazzza, their response is poorly written but the policy is as stated - i know because i have tried it

You know it makes sense.

Gazzza, If you are really worried just give them a bell. The email thing is useless, they are scripted responses, the young lady I spoke to was very helpful (it was a UK call Centre too). It sounded like they'd been asked many times about it. She basically said you can take a snowboard bag instead of a suitcase and you stick whatever you like in it as long as it doesn't exceed 23KGs. We did exactly this in november, as did rayscoops and Arno.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

joydivision, Let's hope you've put this one to bed.

My guess is that BA deliberately write vague policy to catch non snowHead

s with paying for their ski carriage. But now we know better!

A snowHead

A snowHead

I work for BA and can't believe Willie Walsh has now changed to charging for skis and, meanwhile, Lufthansa has stopped charging, I know who I'll fly with. He wants BA to be the next Ryanair...madness!!!

Apart from that though, I've got all my kit at my brother's place in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, but my boyfriend needs to take skis and boots out when we fly out next month. Do any of you know if you can take your boots on as hand luggage. Size wise it shouldn't be a problem, but I remember reading a thread on here a couple of years ago about certain airlines/airports objecting to it. Anybody know anything for sure please?

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I was most amused last week to be asked by a member of BA check-in staff at San Francisco what was in these bags, while gesturing to two board bags. As far as we could tell, she was not asking from a security perspective, but genuinely didn't know what would be in these heavy strange shaped bags!

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nicmk65, oh no! not again!!!!!

Welcome to snowHeads anyway.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

The charges are really quite simple
British Airways changed their ski carriage policy on 31st July 2009.
But BA (for some reason) seem to have forgotten to inform their check-in staff that many people can still take their skis and boots for free.

If you booked your flight before 31st July 2009, you can still take your skis and boots for free. If you booked after this then you will need to either pay on line or (the absolutely worst option) at the check-in desk.

If you booked via a TO (<31/07/09)
Ensure they give you a voucher for ski carriage. If they don’t have these you can tell them they available as a free download from BA trade. The voucher MUST have the correct PRN code on it so the check-in staff can enter it into the check-in system.

If you booked direct with BA (<31/07/09)
Take your “Original” booking confirmation with you, as this will have the date of the booking at the top of the page.

Of course there are many ways to get round the new charges (as many people have pointed out) like putting all your gear in certain sized bags, etc. But the basics are that BA now charge for skis and boots carriage so if you want to take your own then you’ll need to pay for them as it will save you loads of grief at the check-in desk.

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Wayne, No that's not correct. You only need to pay for skis if you're taking tham in addition to your normal allowance. You can take a board or ski bag in place of your checked allowance for no extra charge.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

23 kg checked-in board bag, plus hand luggage, plus lap top bag is free on BA Europe flights - I have already done this !!! . Basically one checked hold bag is free, be it a ski bag or suite case and if you want another bag in the hold then you need to pay.

After all it is free

Wayne, You are completely wrong in your last sentence- as joydivision and rayscoops point out. Can you edit your post to avoid further confusion?

this email from BA may be of help to the confused (like myself) after an exaustive attempt to get this in writing. rolling eyes

NOTE: booking was made AFTER July 31st but before October 7th. (economy class to USA)

That is correct. You are allowed 2 pieces of luggage, one of which can be your ski equipment.

This has also been noted in your reservation.

Regards

British Airways

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BA - Baggage changes.. again

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