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Short of not wearing my salopettes.....

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
.....and ski jacket, possibly boots too on budget airlines to keep within the almost absurd weight limits for suitcases, what can one do to ensure they don't get caught with an excess baggage charge?

I think Ryan air are the worse! If you happen to be skiing at a particularly cold time of year requiring more/warmer ski attire, you're almost buggered!

Luc
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Fly with BA or wear lots of heavy gear on the flight, like boots, wooly jumpers and jackets !
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Luc, welcome to snowHeads.

You get what you pay for - you can either use a cheap airline like Ryan Air and pay to carry your gear, or pay more for a BA flight and don't.
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Has anyone actually tried walking to check-in with all there gear on? I'm just interested what would happen if you were told that your baggage was to heavy and you then went away, only to return wearing your salopettes, jacket and boots (and possibly helmet). Can the airlines actually do anything about this?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
stevec, Only on issues of safety.

No ski boots because you might not be able to evacuate or impede other passengers from evacuating the aircraft quickly.
They might refuse the helmet by saying you wouldn't be able to hear instructions given out over the PA system.
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Luc, welcome to snowHeads snowHead

You do have 25kg total with Ryanair - 15 in the hold and 10 in the overhead locker.
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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
I once saw someone wearing touring boots, but never regular ski boots. Seen lots of people wearing ski jacket and salopettes though.
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After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Quote:

No ski boots because you might not be able to evacuate or impede other passengers from evacuating the aircraft quickly.

You could boot them out of the way easily if they impeded you, though. Seriously, I would not object if airlines charged a basic ticket price for a passenger with strictly controlled quantities of hand baggage then charged pro rata for everything, whether skis, baby buggies, bicycles, dinner jackets, straw donkeys or anything else they wanted to put on the plane. It would be fairer and more transparent and would discourage the absurd amount of tat people insist on lugging around with them. Ski gear is heavy, but how many people could honestly say that they have never taken more stuff than they really need? I object much more to the policy of not allowing families to amalgamate their allowances and to rules which revolve round the number of pieces you have, rather than their combined weight. Packing for a ski holiday is bad enough without doing simultaneous equations to decide how to distribute items between four bags so that they all weigh the same amount.
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Snowboard boots would be ok ?? quite fetching at time !

once watched that Easyjet TV programme (only once, honest) and one guy was over his weight limit so he just put on as many items as he could, and they accepted it !! so put on thos sals and jackets !
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Salopettes aren't heavy though, just bulky. I bet your jeans weigh more. I've never been anywhere near the weight limit. If you're taking skis, wrap them in binliners, then bulk out the bag with the salopettes. Protects the bindings. Ski boots included in ski charge.
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Drive - we've given up on flying after it took us 3 hours to get out of Lyon airport and pick up our hire car last year! Also since we acquired boots, skis, helmets etc lugging all that stuff around is just too much hassle...
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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.
nuttyprofessor, I quite agree, so much more civilised.
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So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
I manage and im a girl! You have no excuse!
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
I wear my ski jacket, but then it has been snowing here the last 2 years, and I go to airport via tram+bus.

Last year I did the sad thing, and weighed my kit before I left. What was 19.9kg then magically turned into 21kg+ at the airport. So I'd like to see the calibration certificate if they claim I'm overweight. Would not be at all surprised if they purposefully calibrate the scales to read high.

I also pack 1 complete set of ski socks, gloves, base layer, hat, goggles etc. in my hand baggage so that (a) I can be on the slopes for the half day without needing to unpack everything, and/or (b) so that I can also be on the slopes on day 1 with minimal hassle if/when the airline loses the baggage (and let chalet/hotel staff collect bags in the unlikely event that they arrive during the vacation).
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Luc, and your problem is...? wink

stevec wrote:
Has anyone actually tried walking to check-in with all there[sic] gear on?
I did so about three times last year - admittedly with touring boots (which have a "normal" sole) rather than downhill boots. I do this primarily to avoid the huge hassle if the luggage gets lost (particularly if you are just about to head out into the back-country for a week - I really don't want to be on hire boots then). BA had no problem at all, and cabin crew and immigration officials were quite amused. On Easyjet I was required to take the boots off as a company policy (safety?) matter on the way out - they were quite happy for them to be in the overhead locker. Fortunately I didn't have to try the same on the way back, as the health and safety argument may have worked the other way around, wearing three day old skiing socks!
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Tomsk, It's fairly ommon practice to wear plastic mountaineering boots on a flight to save on baggage weight. They're just as chunky as ski boots.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Look...you probably paid about booger-all for the flight.
Just pay the price of a couple of drinks in resort and do your luggage properly.

If you can afford to go skiing then you can afford the luggage too.
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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?
Thanks for the welcome snowHead

rungsp, perhaps you're right, but I do think that so called cheap airlines make up for it somewhere along the line. Thieving so and so's Twisted Evil

Helen Beaumont, my jeans do weigh more, which is why I don't wear my salopettes on board wink

Given the restrictions on hand luggage, will boot bags be accepted?
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Luc, ........ welcome to snowHeads ..... snowHead

hyweljenkins, is about spot-on with this. Ryanairs focus is really on the passenger with hand luggage only - and this type of passenger could legimately argue why their ticket price should subsidise a passenger with say 30kg of hold luggage. BA, Aer Lingus, etc, dare I say are more traditional airlines & adopt a completely different focus. Each have certain attributes and it contributes to a a healthy competitive market situation really - I certainly remember what air fares were before the Ryanairs appeared!

........... also note the lofty world standing of the Irish & Munster rugby teams since Ryanair adopted a 'free-seating' policy some years ago ....

..... boarding Ryanair flights is now regarded as basic scrummage training ........ Toofy Grin
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
I paid 1 cent each way this year for most of my ski trip with Ryanair so can't really complain about baggage charges. To be fair we no longer have to carry skiis etc as they live in France. However we only end up with about 10kg of baggage each. When we did carry skiis we never wnet over 25 kgs per person. New hanluggage restrictions mean we will have to think carefully about how we pacjk this season but to be fair to Ryanair 25 kg is a hell of a lot luggage - and a hell of a lot of laundry when you get back
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Luc wrote:


Given the restrictions on hand luggage, will boot bags be accepted?

No, Easyjet and Ryanair do not accept boot bags as hand luggage - they have a hand luggage size limit of 55 x 40 x 20cm which they are quite strict about.
However you can put ski boots one inverted over the other in a medium back-pack and you'll find that that fits the size limit.
Or if you take skis you can use a double bag and put your boots in there plus a few other things.
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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Quote:

Has anyone actually tried walking to check-in with all there gear on?

We watched (with amusement) a chap wandering round Geneva airport at the beginning of April on his way home with full ski kit on - boots, salopettes, jacket, even his gloves! He'd checked in his luggage and was looking relaxed so I assume they were going to allow him to fly home like that. We're going with BA for New Year so hopefully I won't have to do that! Mind you, I still haven't looked at the weight/luggage allowances.......
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
vanderstel, not me, I wasn't there, you can't prove a thing! snowHead Laughing
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Quote:

Mind you, I still haven't looked at the weight/luggage allowances.......


For BA they are 23Kg hold luggage, skis and boots free as long as each bag is under 23Kg. Just watch check in staff - reports on another thread highlighted the problem that some check in staff were not aware that ski equipment was free.

snowHead
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GrahamN,......CCTV........will be on Utube anyday soon........... Toofy Grin
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my BA flight from heathrow to geneva next week was £47 return inc taxes around £30 cheaper than easyjet or any other 'low cost' carrier
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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.
Sage,

Thanks - I might print off the info from ba.com and have it in my pocket, just in case....
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
andy, I am sad too and weigh my bags before I go, Use to use the scales at work which are calibrationed and checked monthly so I know they were right, funny how the check in always said they were heavier than they were and never lighter.

Also I think your body weight should be taken into account, this came to me when returning from the USA they started to moan at me for been a few lb's over when the guy infront of me was about 5 stone heavier than me. But before I could kick up a fuss they let me through.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
CEM, glad someone finally brought that up! Over the past couple of seasons (especially last season and this one coming), I have noticed that unless you book your tickets with Ryanair or EasyJet within about five minutes of them going on sale (slight exaggeration wink ), bA often work out a LOT cheaper. Even when the flights first come out, once you've added the taxes onto the 1p price there's only about £20 return in it (remember, BA include these taxes in the fare you see now - good idea, garnered my loyalty by taking that transparent step). Once the silly prices have gone, it's definitely BA that are cheaper. I would suggest that anyone with their own equipment doesn't even bother looking at the 'low cost' airlines, because as soon as you add on the ski carriage charge you're looking at more than BA, even for a 'free' flight with Ryanair.
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Oh yes, and welcome to the party Luc! snowHead
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skisimon, I would also add the better customer service (they have some of the best cabin crew in the business) and facilities with BA. I will never forget the one time I flew with Ryanair, we had arrived at the airport and waited over half an hour sitting on the plane for a parking spot to be free. During this time a BA flight arrived and taxied straight to a spot - do doubt Ryanair paid the economy fees to the airport.

I have also found BA, on occasion, to be cheaper than the budgets, and to be honest even if BA was a bit more expensive I think they are better value for money - plus they fly to the airports you actually want to go to.

snowHead
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Sage, despite never having flown with them, I seem to have some loyalty to BA. Good stories about their service and (as I mentioned before) the transparency of their prices all tick the right boxes. My first experience with them is when I fly out to Vancouver on Thursday (another occassion when BA - Transatlantic airline of the year - were cheaper than the budget alternative, Zoom).

On the budget front, I find it astonishing the difference between EasyJet and Ryanair, let alone them and the traditional carriers. When I flew EasyJet the flight was quite enjoyable, the cabin crew friendly and it generally felt okay. When I flew with Ryanair (never again) I felt like I was being herded everywhere and then crammed into a plane that had a cabin crew made up entirely of non-English speakers. It felt very cheap, which I can't truthfully say about EasyJet - still, on the cost/ease balance, it'd still be BA for me if I ever booked my own flights to Europe.
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