 Poster: A snowHead
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Yeah, I think the collective experience over this is pack everything in one bag and get over it. They really aren't bothered. As you're experiencing, customer services don't have any knowledge on the front line at check-in. You've read a thread of comments from people who have travelled with that rule in place and never had an issue.
If you're letting it "tarnish" a holiday then... I don't have any advice for you other than listen to advice from those who have experience and take that as reassurance.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Coincidentally, I was actually asked at check-in a couple of weeks ago.
Q What's in this bag?
A Ski equipment.
Q Just skis?
A And poles. And (crossing all my fingers) 'padding' (aka all my worldly goods.)
'Oh, OK then. It's a couple of kilos overweight, but we can live with that. Have a nice holiday.'
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Think I'll take my boots on as hand baggage then, or pack them in Main hold bag and take out rucksack from main hold bag , use that as the carry on hand bag and fill that with the heavier items, cameras, helmet, Euro plug adapters, electric razor etc.......
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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This what their website says wrt Ski snowboards:-
Skis, poles, snowboards and ski boots
We will accept ski and snowboard equipment up to 190cm (75in) in length provided it is packed correctly.
Please ensure that you:
pack your skis and snowboards in a recognised ski or snowboard bag
pack your ski poles with your skis
pack your boots separately from your skis or snowboard — either within another checked bag or in a bag of their own (which will be subject to an additional charge)
So they WILL charge you for the Boots if not packed in Hold bag then..............
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| call me dave wrote: |
Yeah, I think the collective experience over this is pack everything in one bag and get over it. They really aren't bothered. As you're experiencing, customer services don't have any knowledge on the front line at check-in. You've read a thread of comments from people who have travelled with that rule in place and never had an issue.
If you're letting it "tarnish" a holiday then... I don't have any advice for you other than listen to advice from those who have experience and take that as reassurance. |
It's easy enough to say this, Dave, but the point is that an airline customer's peace of mind should be achieved via a fair policy and knowledgable staff who can articulate and clarify that policy well in advance of travel. Peace of mind shouldn't be reliant upon advice from strangers on an internet forum. Being Aussie myself, I can sympathise with jaksbak. It's an uncomfortable enough flight, without the worry about whether you meet baggage requirements.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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I'm not saying the concern isn't valid, and the scary baggage fee potential on long haul flights is, well, scary, but if there's anything the countless threads about multiple airlines across multiple snowsports forums tell you it's that no airline really has a clear policy on snowsports stuff. You have to go by the experiences of others.
Travel and airline specific forums will give you even more reassurance if you still don't feel comfortable. Or if you're STILL worried and the airport you'll be departing from is in your city of residence, or you pass through it in the meantime, how about going to the counter and asking the check-in staff directly?
FWIW, the first time I flew with a snowboard I contacted BA during UK office hours and spoke to some very helpful British call centre staff. I believe they direct all calls through the centre that's open at the time now so if you try during UK office hours you may find them to be more helpful.
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Had a strange experience coming back from S10BB when checking into BA desk at Marco Polo airport ,
Had a Head roller double skibag with skis & clothes & a large cabin bag with boots in as did not want to lose boots .
Had no trouble at LGW going out so was susprised when told that my skibag was 2 kg over weight & also that I should repack
taking stuff out of skibag & into cabin bag or just a carrier bag as you are allowed two bags in cabin.
When I started to open the skibag realised it was not my bag but was another snowheads behind me in queue , we had accidently picked up wrong bags as they were identical !
so we swopped bags & I checked in with no more problems!
But when I asked the other snowhead , after he had checked in luggage , if he had any problems he said the same check-in women did not even mention the overweight bag & he had never had any problems with skibag slightly overweight or with skiboots in .
All I could think of was why the hell did she pick on me ? but then if she had not we would have both gone home with the wrong bags !
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Thanks for the replies. I hope the concern is just a storm in a teacup and all goes well when I fly. I think I will take one large ski bag (under 23Kg of course) and take boots on as hand luggage - then hope for the best. It seems Snowhead's haven't been charged silly money for extra baggage, otherwise we are likely to have heard about it on this forum.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I know this thread was from last season, but its just as confusing as it was then.
I've just booked a flight with BA to Calgary, and I was hoping to be able to take the big ski bag and enough spare undies for a 10 day trip an a separate hold baggage.
(I'm not famous for travelling light ... I think the bag with just the skis in it come to 13kg)
But I've just checked the price on an extra bag ... it £54.60 each way!!!!
Thats far too much ?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@DrLawn, about the same as Ryanair and it's a much longer flight
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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This is what I got from BA when I tried asking the question a few years ago - I don't think it answers the question I asked, so I ended up buying a double roller bag.
| Quote: |
Thank you for writing to us about carrying skis and ski boots.
We will accept skis free of charge provided it is packed as part of your free checked baggage allowance. If it is in addition to your free checked allowance, you will need to pay extra bag charges. Details on our excess baggage charges can be found at:
http://www.britishairways.com/travel/bagchk/public/en_
Skis must be packed in a recognised ski bag in one of the following ways:
- Pack your skis and ski boots separately.
- Pack your ski boots within your ski bag.
- Pack your ski boots within your checked baggage.
For any further assistance, please contact your dedicated Service Centre on 0844 493 0 747 (from the UK) or +44 191 490 7901 (outside the UK). Opening times are Monday - Sunday between 0730 - 2000 hours.
I hope the above information is useful to you.
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It sounded to me like "yes of course you can pack your skis and boots separately" ...and most likely ... "but we will probably charge you extra if you do".
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You know it makes sense.
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I just put boots in ski bag the other week. They didn't say anything.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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We've flown with 2 snowboards + 2 sets of boots in one coffin bag with BA multiple times with no problems. As long as the bag is under 23kg they really don't mind. I've done the same with a bike in the summer - one road bike with shoes, helmets, clothes etc stuffed round it. Again never had to pay extra (only taking one checked in bag = bike)
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Poster: A snowHead
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I think if I could pack all I needed in the ski bag it would be great.
But its not going to happen.
I've just been ringing up ski shops in Banff to see if they have any ex rental stuff that I can buy of them ...
Then I don't need to take the skis at all, much less hassle.
It makes you want to scheme![/b]
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| braddo111 wrote: |
Thanks for the replies mate, but really they don't clarify anything. In fact, they illustrate just how muddy the policy is. It unequivocally states that boots must be packed separately from skis or snowboard. I like how they mention "an additional over size bag charge". That they currently waive. - Um, then don't call it a charge on your website!
Don't worry. It's not just you who can't explain it! I just sat for 20 minutes on the 0844 BA hotline, and got nowhere. The guy basically repeated the policy word for word to me. Asked him to explain rationale. He came back 7 minutes later and said he doesn't know. Then the convo went something like this.
BA guy: you can try taking just one bag to the airport and they may let you fly with it.
Me: May? How does that help me? What happens if I get to airport and they won't allow my boots to be carried in my snowboard bag?
BA guy: Then you may have to pay
Me: Pay for what?
BA guy: To carry the boots
Me: Ok. Happy to pay, but carry them in what?
BA guy: A bag
Me: But I'll only have the one snowboard bag with me, remember?!
BA guy: Oh. I don't know. I'll try find you a customer service line for Heathrow. Takes 4 minutes to find an 0870 number that I can call.....
HELPFUL! |
I know this is old but a line that seems to apply here "they're not paid to think" 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I ended up travelling 4 flights with BA and 2 with Qantas without any problem. I had my skis, stocks and majority of clothes packed in a ski bag (snowboard bag actually) and then purchased a cabin bag specifically designed as carry-on baggage from a baggage shop. The ski boots fitted in snugly with room for a few other small items. You are also allowed a small backpack or laptop case as carry-on, so that was sufficient for anything that didn't fit into the other two bags. The snowboard bag had backpack-style straps to carry on my back and the carry-on bag (with boots) had wheels. It was relatively easy to move about with all three bags in the end. None of the bags were even close to the weight limit as everything was spread across 3 items of luggage.
At check-in, I didn't get so much as a sideways glance because the snowboard bag is classified as "oversize" (though not overweight which is the big no. no). It is therefore checked-in quite separately at the "Oversize Baggage" area within the terminal. Once back at the normal check-in counter, I didn't have to check-in any more baggage. It was without any drama in the end, despite BA being completely useless and totally unhelpful prior to the trip.
Consequently, I would now consider flying with BA again as there was nothing wrong with the quality of the flights and I can work my way around the ambiguous luggage rules.
Hope this helps - enjoy your trips. Great to see so much snow in the Dolomites already - making me edgy!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Does a couple of kg over generally cause BA to freak out?
Myself and girlfriend are flying BA LHR-Haneda - the board bag with both boards/boots/bindings/snow clothes is 25kg. The other hold bag is about 8kg. Are BA likely to be sniffy about a couple of kg in the board bag, when the other bag is so light?
(also thanks to braddo111 for really ferreting out the difficult answer to the main question)
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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If the combined weight is within your total allowance, in my experience there's not normally an issue* as long as the heavy bag is under the maximum permissible weight allowance for one piece of luggage (normally around 32kg)
*unless you get some jobsworth on the desk... then all bets are off.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Combined weights mean nothing. The weight of individual bags is critical. Occupational Health and Safety laws prevent people from lifting bags over a certain weight. Weights of smaller, overhead luggage bags are also critical as they become very dangerous objects if they fall from overhead lockers during turbulence. Airlines are therefore quite stringent. Keep the weights of each bag within the limits to avoid the hassles. Most check-in conveyors have scales, so airline staff will see the weights immediately.
Take something heavy out of one bag and put it in another (eg: laptop bag, small backpack).
Good luck.
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Max weight for hold bags is usually 32 kg. Over that and they won't let you take it, under and you're normally fine. I'm almost certain I've flown from Haneda with a ski bag > 23kg before (we normally take a bag with two pairs of skis and two pairs of boots in...I can barely lift it!).
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Thanks for the peace of mind. BA took the bag with no issues, think it clocked in around 26KG in the end (2xboots,2xboards,2xclothes,2xbindings,2xhelments++), though the other checked bag was indeed only 8kg...
Now hoping that JAL ABC shipping from Haneda can get it to Niseko in time... 
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