 Poster: A snowHead
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has anyone flown international to/from Japan with JAL and checked-in your ski bag? did you have to pay the excess baggage fees?
JAL gives 2 free check-in baggage allowance but JAL's customer service said the max total dimensions (L+W+H) is 200cm for ski bags, which is stupid as all ski bags will definitely exceed this size. hence i need to pay excess baggage fees
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Mon 4-12-23 9:51; edited 1 time in total
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@ski9, I cannot comment on JAL but BA had a similar rule and we had no problem with a change to JAL at haneda. Non of our skis exceeded 2m, however, and we had two pairs in a tube that came to almost 20kg. Not sure if the same rules apply this year.
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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 assume the total dimensions (L+W+H) of your ski bag exceeded 200cm?
How do you @ a user?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Quote: |
| JAL gives 2 free check-in baggage allowance but JAL's customer service said the max total dimensions (L+W+H) is 200cm for ski bags, which is stupid as all ski bags will definitely exceed this size. hence i need to pay excess baggage fees |
Having skied in Japan last winter for the first time, I can confirm that the nation appears to be fanatical in terms of following rules and maxing out on seemingly unnecessary bureaucracy. I'd say that the ski bag will indeed be 100% chargeable, with zero chance of any flexibility on the issue. Good luck with it all!
We encountered over zealous at best and complete jobsworth at worst, airport staff, hotel staff, serving staff in bars and restaurants, ski resort staff and (unfortunately as my wife got injured) mountain rescue and hospital staff. Expect all procedures, petty processes, forms etc to be followed to the letter (with associated frustration on your part) and you really won't go too far wrong.
A few examples:
- My wife (who had a broken leg) was practically wrestled out of a wheelchair at Sapporo Airport as she inadvertently got in to one that belonged to the wrong airline. We'd actually been using it for about half a day when we were rumbled by an eagle eyed airline employee. Until I intervened, the employee was actually expecting my wife to hobble alongside the empty wheelchair (pushed by the employee) on crutches until we reached an area of wheelchairs that she was authorised to sit in.
- At a hotel that served breakfast (& displayed a price for it) it was absolutely impossible to add this to a previous room-only booking. Turns out it just wasn't permitted.
- We weren't allowed to leave a hospital with crutches that cost a £30 deposit to use, without practically swearing on oath that the crutches would be returned. That was problematic as they were needed to board the plane home and to get off it back in Blighty. When I asked 'What if we do not return the crutches?' (they had our credit card details after all) staff were most puzzled as 'This has never happened before.' Being fearful that we'd be somwhow blacklisted by the authorities from ever setting foot in Japan again (this definitely could not be ruled out), we actually sent the crutches back from the UK by parcel post. I'm pleased to say they then refunded our £30 deposit  (Of course they did - rules are rules!)
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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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The only time I’ve had a ski bag measured for length was checking-in for a JAL flight at Haneda. Mine was under 200cm so was OK, but a friend’s bag was over 200cm and he was duly sent to the customer service desk to pay an excess charge. Sticklers for rules…
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Not JAL but Finnair had recently changed their sport equipment / ski bag policy. You now have to pay extra
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When I flew BA to Japan and JAL internally (5 times), my ski bag was well over the 200cm rule, as it’s over 190cm long. BA don’t check and as it was a code share, JAL didn’t measure, ask or charge any extra. I did feel sorry for the minuscule JAL check in staff trying to move a bag that size though.
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They're all taking the wee wee now IMHO
Flight prices are ridiculous
Baggage rules are cowdoo considering how long most people travel to Japan for
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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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We got free ski carriage (x1 double bag) last February as part of our Lufthansa economy baggage allowance to Sapporo. We encountered no problems re ski bag size for the (codeshare) onward leg from Tokyo with ANA.
However, in advance of the trip, Lufthansa informed us that they couldn't book the ski bag onto the ANA flight. I emailed ANA but was told that I needed to call them (in Japan!) I tried a number of times but gave up after being on permanent hold. Fortunately it wasn't an issue at all when we just turned up at the bag drop at Tokyo Haneda.
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| Quote: |
Fortunately it wasn't an issue at all when we just turned up at the bag drop at Tokyo Haneda.
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the flight from tokyo - sapporo was a separate flight booking from the lufthansa flight?
i assume the total L+W+H of your ski bag exceeds 203cm?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Quote: |
| The flight from tokyo - sapporo was a separate flight booking from the lufthansa flight? |
No. It was a single booking, via the Lufthansa website. That's why I was surprised to receive an email from Lufthansa saying they couldn't book the skis all the way through to Sapporo and advising me to contact ANA directly. It was just as well we'd booked a through ticket - as we missed our original Tokyo to Sapporo flight due to it taking so long to clear immigration and then customs with our luggage. ANA just put us on a later flight, no problem at all.
| Quote: |
| I assume the total L+W+H of your ski bag exceeds 203cm? |
Yes, it does.
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