 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi all
just had a very interesting call to flybe - I had booked southampton to geneva flights and had to call to book a snowboard on board - whereupon I was informed that the longets they could take was 128cm! and for skis teh limit is 167cm (why teh differnce I don't know!) - and they only take them on a standby basis anyway - ie you turnb up to the airport and if they have room they'll take them and charge you on the spot - £22.50 each way - what happens if you get them out but can't bring them back was not clear!
So after kicking up a stink I got a full refund but now need to find alternative flights!
Thanks a bundle flybe!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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lib-banana, Maybe sleazyjet from Bournemouth to Geneva ?
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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 find that a bit surprising, as that hasn't been my experience out fo Southampton with FlyBe.
Last year a group of us flew from So'ton to Salzburg. 4 of pre-booked with skis, and we were all told that our bags had to be less than 167cms. My friend did get told the 128cm thing for snowboards, but he just told them he was taking skis instead.
My skibag is just under 2m, so I borrowed a mate's 170cm bag and crammed my stuff into that (luckily my skis are reasonably short). However, one my friends didn't have a smaller bag so took the risk with his 2m bag; no problems at all! I don't even think the check-in staff were aware of this rule.
Not too sure about the "standby" basis. What they had told us was that they could only fit 10 ski bags in the hold, but that the first 10 bags pre-booked would be accepted, and as ours were the first ones booked we would be fine. As it was, there were only 7 bags pre-booked on our flight so we had no worrries, perhaps would have been interesting to see what would have happened if more were booked in
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D G Orf, yeah I am looking at that - but we are joining up with friends coming from edinburgh - southampton slights meant only an hour wait - bournemouth is 3pm so about 4 hours between flights - and with kids!
What I am wondering upon reflection is if Flybe operate a kind of first served operation - so if you check in early enough - you are ok - but they impose a limit on numbers on each flight - so they can't guarantee carriage but if you box clever it should be fine? But then why the stupid limit on snowboard size they quoted to me?!? Grrrrrr
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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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Dav, yeah that sort of confirms my suspicions on reflection - maybe I just got an overly jobs worth on th ephone who made it sound worse than it actually is - I reckon if we book in early - say 2 hours before flight we should be ok - is that your experience?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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lib-banana, to clarify my post. When we checked in, the staff had a separate sheet with all pre-booked ski bags listed by passenger. I got the feeling that they would pre-book 10 sets of skis, then following that would close the list so any further requests for ski carriage would be denied. Just my impression of course though.....
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Skis and boards are always bottom of the luggage priority I think - if it's a very full flight there's a chance they won't be on it, even if you've paid for ski carriage.
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lib-banana, and yes, we got to the airport 2 hours beforehand just to be sure.
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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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beanie1, yeah that is the worry the way flybe operate isn't it - most other operators take your money and guarantee carriage don't they?
Dav, Yeah, maybe I am overreacting to the 'official' line - not such a problem on the way out - if they reject you then you can just leave them in the car and no harm done - but on the way home - imagine getting to the airport to be told you had to leave your skis/board in Geneva! with kids and irrate wife in tow!
I think I'll have alook at the options but if nothing else suits I might have to re-book the flights and make sure w eget there early enought to guarantee carriage. Still seems liek a pretty crazy way to run a ski flight to me - what really got me was when the operator I spoke to tried to tell me that it wasn't a problem because most people just hire their boards or skis anyway these days!!
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lib-banana, sorry no I meant that most airlines have this policy of only taking skis if there's space.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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beanie1, hmm I guess that might be true but I have never had a problem before having paid on-line for board carriage during the booking process - with sleazy, ryan, BA etc, its the Flybe system that confused th ehell out of me - let you book th eflight - no online ski booking bit and then tell you they might not take your skis because they are too big etc
mind you I am easily confused 
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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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lib-banana, no nor have I, i just remember reading it in the small print before.
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Flybe do fly with mostly small (Q400) planes so a closed list in this case is understandable.
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You know it makes sense.
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Ok update on this debacle!
after checking out other options and discussing with the boss I have rebooked the southampton flights and decided to take the chance - when I rang again to book the board on (or skis!) I had a much friendlier operator who basically confirmed what I thought based on the responses here - they have a list; they have a max of 10 pairs of skis; its first come first served on the day (i.e. you have to be on the list but the list doesn't guarantee your get carriage); they may still not carry them if the flight was super full and the hold is full, if they have lots of wheelchairs, buggies etc - i.e. skis/boards could be left out - they are lowest priority; if they do leave them off, they try to forward them on the next flight .
so I hope its not going to be an issue - but it does make me a bit nervous - just hoping the flight is not too busy and there is room in the hold! oh and they re-confirmed a length limit of 128cm for boards! 170cm for skis! I still don't understand that - but I am ignoring it on principle and presuming the check in folks are a bit more sensible!
thanks for useful feedback everyone!
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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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| lib-banana wrote: |
beanie1, yeah that is the worry the way flybe operate isn't it - most other operators take your money and guarantee carriage don't they?
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No.
Very few, if any will guarantee carriage.
But it is very rare to actually be denied carriage if you have pre-booked.
[edit] And most do say they will normally be forwarded within 24 hours if they can't get them on the flight you booked[/edit]
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Poster: A snowHead
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lib-banana, I'm not sure why the restriction on snowboards vs ski length, but the overal lengths are apparently caused by a very short loading bay for long luggage on their smaller aircraft, might be worth finding out if you will be flying in a Q400 or one of their BAE jets, teh jets have less restrictions on luggage length
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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When I looked at the website a few weeks ago I noticed the ski restrictions (I was checking baggage allowances for a non-ski flight). The length limit is dependent on which aircraft they are using on that flight. IIRC 165cm was the limit for smaller turboprop planes and 185cm for the Embraer jets.
Last year we flew from Southampton to Chambery on an Embraer jet, with our skis (175cm) with no problems.
Airlines (and railway companies) seem to be getting stricter in their small print regarding skis this year. I don't know if there is a genuine change in attitude or if they are just covering themselves legally.
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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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D G Orf, they told me its a Q400 - hence the tighter restrictions I think and there lesse ncouraging attitude! I still don't understand teh difefrence between boards and skis though - same hold - ok boards are a bit wider but not much in it - and they tend to weight a bit less too!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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When XL went bust last year my TO chartered a FlyBe plane to Geneva. It was only a little prop thing they use mostly for internal flights and I was told we had to pre book ski carriage and it was limited places, first come first served. My skis arrived on the outward leg but didn't get loaded on the return flight as the hold is apparently tiny.... They did arrive eventually and being the return leg I wasn't that bothered, but I guess it's just a fact to bear in mind if u use them...
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