 Poster: A snowHead
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| Sage wrote: |
snowhunter
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Sage, I spoke to BA's press office yesterday and they said the allowance was 32KG if you take skis, rather than the standard allowance of 23KG.
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That's interesting to know although it would be helpful if they actually said this on their web site - www.britishairways.com/travel/bagchk/public/en_gb
Helen Beaumont Below taken from BA.com - item 2 seems to contradict what you were told
Connecting journeys
You will receive the most generous allowance on connecting journeys where:
1-Different allowances apply across international flights
2-For journeys where there is a connection to/from a UK domestic service the International allowance will apply
3-Flights are British Airways only, or British Airways and oneworld partners
4-Connecting flights are shown on the same booking reference |
Yes, it could certainly be clearer as is often the case, I contacted them to try to get clarification on what it said on the website.
RyanAir don't say if they have a weight limit for skis which is unusual as they have the lowest hold baggage weight limit of any airline I've looked at so far (15kg) and charge up to £7 per bag, per leg, to check regular bags in, let alone skis (Theyt'rte not clear if they charge the bag fee on top of the ski fee on skis either). As they seem so keen on getting a payment for every kg they carry you'd think they would. They only mention the 32KG general baggage limit for health and safety that is standard across the industry. I do hope they're not missing a trick there, they could set a ski bag weight limit of 5KG for example and charge exccess baggage fee per KG over. Oh dear, I'm probably tempting fate...
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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In the old days (I remember my Dad doing this) ski shops in the Alps used to store your skis and despatch them to your next resort on request.
That kind of service might warrant a revival.
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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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Booked with Inhams this year for a holiday to Canada.
The airlilne operator is Monarch (NO I don't want to hear any horror stories!)
Anyway, I've recently queried what I've booked and paid for.
It's cost us £17 per snowboard.
They now tell me there can be nothing else in the Snowboard bag apart from the one Snowboard. Boots are included in the 23kg we are allowed as out in hold luggage.
I daren't ask what their hand luggage policy is yet!
I would normally pack a far ammount in the snowboard bag - partly so I can take more and also partly to protect to bindings. I still plan on doing this, but may not pack as much as normal in it!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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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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Sage, when we travelled, the international allowance was 32kg, (in 2 pieces of luggage, skis and boots counting as one piece), our domestice allowance was only one piece of 23 kg.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Helen Beaumont wrote: |
| Sage, when we travelled, the international allowance was 32kg, (in 2 pieces of luggage, skis and boots counting as one piece), our domestice allowance was only one piece of 23 kg. |
USA, Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, Brazil, Nigeria, Caribbean and Central America routes all still have that allowance but all other International routes (unless you are First or Club) have a limit of 23Kg. The domestic is now 32Kg with one piece of luggage. So now, if you travel domestic and then on to the "other international", going by clause 2 your limit is only 23Kg.
And BA are going to change it all again in October - can it get any worse 
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GrahamN,
Quite so - what items can really ruin your trip if the airline lose your checked baggage? So wearing them is eminently sensible. I've often packed mine in my daypack as handluggage (pre restrictions).
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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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| David Goldsmith wrote: |
In the old days (I remember my Dad doing this) ski shops in the Alps used to store your skis and despatch them to your next resort on request.
That kind of service might warrant a revival. |
Sounds interesting, any idea of what they charged for the service?
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Hoppo, probably about 50 Swiss Francs, in the days when a pound would buy you ten, and a loaf of bread cost a ... I've forgotten what a loaf of bread cost, but we didn't starve. I had lots of ski adventures with my Dad, mainly in Switzerland and Austria in the 1960s. The one and only resort in France I recall skiing with him was Les Arcs, just after the initial buildings went up in Arc 1600 in the late 1960s.
I don't think he had his skis despatched there. The shops mainly sent your skis around the railway networks of Switzerland and Austria, probably using the postbuses too.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Last year we got royally screwed by bmi. We turned up at Leeds Bradford for a transfer to Heathrow, en route to Vancouver (BA) and they (i) refused to check our luggage right through to Vancouver, causing us to have to lug it all the way from T1 to T4 at LHR (ii) charged us £15 per ski bag for carriage, claiming that they'd changed their charging system SINCE we'd booked the flight.
When we returned, the BA people at Vancouver were happy to book all our bags right through to LBA, with no additional charges.
Mind you, when we arrived at LHR we discovered that bmi had changed all their flight schedules without telling us (or several other passengers, judging by the large crowd of angry people clustered round the bmi desk in T1), meaning that we had to hang about at Heathrow for another 7 hours before getting the next available flight home. (Just what you need when you've had a 10-hour overnight flight and no sleep, and you've got to get to work first thing the next morning.)
bmi. doncha love em.
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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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Acacia, BMI were fine went we flew to Calgary from Heathrow via Teeside, and I was worried cos I'd booked the flights separately. OTOH, BA at Vancouver actually booked us on the wrong flight from Heathrow back to Newcastle, and cos the flight was full by the time we found out in Heathrow, we had to wait over 5 hours.
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I have no objection to paying an additional charge for transportation of skis/boards, aqnd accept that these can be baulky/awkward to handle, Especially my SXB5 Atomics which proberly require their own undercarriage.
However my irritation is the following policy of Ryanair, and maybe other cheap and cheerful carriers to;
"BAGGAGE ALLOWANCE POLICY FOR ALL NEW FLIGHTS BOOKED FROM THE 16TH MARCH 2006 ONWARDS
*******************************************************************************
The checked baggage allowance is 20kg per person (15Kg per person for all passengers travelling from 1st November 2006 onwards). Please note - there is no baggage allowance for infants, although a pram/buggy will be carried free of charge. No pooling/sharing of baggage allowance is permitted, even when passengers are travelling together on the same reservation."
Given that winter sports clothing is bulkier and weighs more that summer clothing (especialy if you include ski boots), this is clearly Ryanair policy to screw the skier/boarder community. Are they doing this because their perception is that winter sports are still somewhat elitest, and therfore participants have greater disposable income?
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You know it makes sense.
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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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| David Goldsmith wrote: |
In the old days (I remember my Dad doing this) ski shops in the Alps used to store your skis and despatch them to your next resort on request.
That kind of service might warrant a revival. |
Good idea.
I once stayed at a B&B at St Anton, and chatted to a regular skier there. She explained that she always stayed at the same b&b - and always left all her ski kit there for next season when she left for home - as she always came back to the same place. I rather liked the way the landlady looked after a regular client.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Sage, I bought skis in france and found there is no charge to bring them into the uk but with the same holiday company (Thomson) a £25 charge to take them out. I must admit the Thomson charter plane seemed a bit odd to charge for skis as its a ski charter plane
Lufthansa never charge me out of Edinburgh or back but same old long wait at Geneva - but they always turn up
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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 ski mostly in Val d'Isere and the holiday company lets me leave skis and a boot bag in their basement. They keep their own non-ski stuff in the basement over the summer but as other companies or other people use the building during the summer I am not keen to leave my skis there. I know a local with a cave so my kit has its summer holidays there.
There are companies who store skis etc between holidays. A couple of years ago I found a brochure for a company in, or near, Borg St Maurice who would collect bags from your accomodation and deliver them for the start of another holiday. I thought their prices were high but they probably reflected the actual operational costs plus a bit of profit.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Sage, Very useful summary.
Anyone think that Ryanair would stop and think again if they thought a couple of thousand snowsports enthusiasts would boycote them?
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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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I have been for the past couple of years, skiing or not, but it's yet to make a difference! Obviously need a bit more help.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Helen Beaumont,
I've never had any trouble using BMI to transfer me to a Calgary flight, but that's because I'va always taken the AC851, and Air Canada and bmi are Star Alliance partners.
BMI just don't like to talk to BA.
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The last time I tried to take skis on Ryanair, the thing that really ticked me off was the fact that you couldn't pay for the ski carriage online. You had to call a premium rate phone line to set it up. No idea whether they have kept this practice up.
snowball, if you can't get your touring kit within the weight allowance, you've got too much! 
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I keep telling you numbnuts next time you watch a Ryanair flight being loaded, ask yourself what's all the stuff going into the holds? Ryanair makes more money shuttling air-freight around Europe than it ever will with us moaning meatsacks. Why do you think that they want us to have carry-on only and charge so much for your hold bags? That's the primary reason O'*wat was screaming about lost income from the terror farce . . . it was lost freight income from the hold space being used for the passenger's crap.
Those airports he flies to are all freight hubs, pasengers are just cash cows for Ryanair
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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 once heard somebody say that Ryanair regard their passengers as "self loading freight".
Whether that was a leaked comment from the big man himself or just someone's observation I am not sure.
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Having spent over 25 years in the aviation industry, I can confirm that all, repeat all, airlines refer to passengers as SLC (self loading cargo)...at one time or another.
Fact:
Ryan Air are no differant to any other airline, although they would like you to think they are. It is just that they make no pretence as to being a caring sharing warm and fluffy outfit to fly with.
Fact:
if it costs an airline x per seat kilometer to fly a route and they can sell it to joe public for x*2 then they will!
What joe public don't know is what it actually costs to operate the flight (actual cost of seat Km). If you get sold a seat for 1p + taxes and then get charged for every bag and awkward sized packages (Ski bags etc) you really have no room to moan and groan. (always assuming the taxes are true government taxes and not some scam charge!)
Fact:
You can also assume that the flight is going to make money one way or another.
Either through passenger tickets and associated charges or through freight charges....it is worth recognising that modern Boeing 737-800 aircraft have a belly hold freight capacity almost as large as the very first 737-200 freighter/combi (in terms of weight) Short haul passengers don't usually have much baggage (unless they are on a charter holiday flight) therefore the airline can use empty baggage holds for additional freight. This is why Joe public is discouraged from lots of bags and heavy kit.
Fact:
Freight charges plus airport/local authority incentive payments etc, can off set the true costs of a passenger seat....The Low Fares airline model has been well known for decades....Oh, those obvious things are coupled with a very strict control of all other costs of business including very tough supplier contracts for third party support (maintenace of the fleet etc) rent of buildings and terminal space etc. It is important to realise that airlines are not run by philanthropists! A summer flight seat to Geneva will be cheaper than a winter one if for no other reason the winter one has skiers with skis on board and less freight than the summer flight.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Bryan, I thought that a key aspect of Ryanair's revenue was the subsidy paid to the airline by some destination cities which appreciate new tourists.
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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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David Goldsmith, That would be "local authority incentive payments etc" mentioned above?
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I don't think anyone can dispute that Ryanair do not have the best reputation for customer service. The thing that grates is the way they claim to be the best and how they are serving the skier by all the destinations they fly to.
Compare them to Easyjet - there is no comparison when it comes to carrying your skis. That's all well and good if with Ryanair you get a really cheap ticket and after all the extra charges (bag fee, excess baggage fee) it is still cheaper than the competition.
But, if you are carrying say, 25Kg, including a ski bag (like I was in March this year travelling with BA), Ryanair would cost you £62 extra each way compared to Easyjets £15 each way.
£124 return for extra baggage on Ryanair - that's more expensive than flying BA, Glasgow to Geneva next March.
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You know it makes sense.
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Sage,wrote "£124 return for extra baggage on Ryanair - that's more expensive than flying BA, Glasgow to Geneva next March."
And they did not take you to Geneva. GVA charges too much and wont pay the hello money.
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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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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Masque, ... but the REALLY big players have their own dedicated fleets ... and I'm struggling to think of an airline that doesn't carry freight/cargo/mail 
Stansted has traditionally been a longhaul to Europe freight Gateway as prior to Ryanair/Buzz/Go the place was a white elephant of a graveyard with great facilities but no passengers ... landing charges cheap and you could fly in at any time of the night ... cue the freight boyz.
I'm no fan of the Paddy but I do respect and admire what he has achieved ... and imho his CS is better than Sleazy now , who would appear to have problems and challenges in spades.
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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eEvans, Hence my preference for train, bus and last resort car. I agree O'*wat is very clever, but he took customer service down to a level that others saw they to could get away with 
NorthWestFace, in our dreams . . . though I'm working on it.
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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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| NorthWestFace wrote: |
| If you like a specific ski I am sure it's not too hard to find it or it's latest version (new graphics) year after year!!!! |
maybe you can help me. where can i hire some dynastar legend pros with fritschi freeride bindings in vaujany?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| NorthWestFace wrote: |
So the question is - if it costs £30 to take your old skis (2x£15) and say 20 Euros for a full service then why not rent the latest pair each year????
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Well, not everyone charges to carry skis, and not everyone pays to have their skis serviced, and not everyone enjoys hanging round in hire shops when you could be on the slopes on quality gear that is properly set up for you.
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| Bryan wrote: |
| (always assuming the taxes are true government taxes and not some scam charge!) |
Since different airlines charge different amounts of 'tax' for flights between the same airports, then clearly the charges made are the latter.
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RobW, While I would agree that 'scam' comes to mind. There are actually real reasons why charges ( and taxes) can be and are different ( but then I would be starting on the daft route - - and of course they are not 'specific to you' - moral ? TOTAL COST is the only damn thing that matters
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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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| eEvans wrote: |
| There are actually real reasons why charges ( and taxes) can be and are different |
Can you explain Surely if they are a tax imposed by the government or a charge imposed by the airport, they'd be the same for all passengers??
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TOTAL COST is the only damn thing that matters |
Totally agree. But when you get R*a*a*r and E*s*j*t both quoting £1 (+tax) for the same route, it should be logical to assume to total cost is the same - which IME is rarely the case.
Quoting without the tax IMO should be illegal. Tesco don't/can't do it, so why do/can the airlines?
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Quick tip, which seems to work (so far)
I have a double ski tube (hard type with wheels) which as the name suggests holds two pairs of skis
HOWEVER
majority of airlines see one box and charge for one pair of skis only
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FAQ
