 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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Wayne, No you don't have to find a 'shed-load' of cash .... all you have to do change your Ts and Cs (for next season) to back-to-back your costs. Your choice as to whether customer pays based upon what and how luggage is carried or you prefer to manage the risk within your own pricing policy and Ts and Cs.
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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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Wayne, I have sympathy for the position of your company and your clients, however you run the risk of confusing people with your statements. BA now charge for more than one hold bag (in europe). If that one bag happens to contain skis or a board you will not pay. You cannot accurately claim that BA now charge for ski carriage.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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are we being pedantic ? 
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Judging by the really useful tables now in the formally nice and tidy Terminal Five entrance hall designed for repacking its not just snowheads being caught!
In my recent experience (Christmas) the check -in (sorry fast drop (sorry fairly slow drop!)) desk staff did want to see my original receipt pre July at Heathrow, but not at Geneva. I have already queried the size of a laptop bag (I use a rucksack to transport mine into London), and that was no problem - although it did need to be inside normal cabin luggage sizes. So with my laptop and half my clothes in my laptop rucksack, and my ski boots and other half of clothes in my cabin bag (I have always taken my boots cabin when going for weekends LHR - Zurich and never had a problem), I will have plenty of allowance for skis etc in normal hold.
Could have done it this time but just to be an awkward sod to register my annoyance at the change of rules managed to get 11 hold bags and loads of hand luggage between the 6 of us to Zermatt - wished we hadn't every time we changed trains though!
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Well, I contacted BA again, this time using the "contact us to make a complaint" link from their contact us page, and got this better response:
| BA Customer Relations wrote: |
Thank you for contacting us about the free baggage allowance for your flights to and from Denver.
As per our new baggage policy sporting equipment is included as part of your free checked baggage allowance in all cabins.
I can confirm that if your snowboard is within the maximum allowed weight and dimension and is packed in a recognised snowboard bag, you can carry it as your free checked baggage allowance.
For more details about our baggage policy, please visit the link given below:
http://www.britishairways.com/travel/bagsport/public/en_gb
Thank you for contacting us and giving me an opportunity to respond to your concerns. I hope you will have pleasant flights with us.
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Gazzza, and your free checked in baggage allowance is one hold bag iirc
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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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| rayscoops wrote: |
| are we being pedantic ? |
yes...
a very large number of people, will not and/or cannot put all their stuff in one snowboard/ski bag.
So except for the Alex_heneys of this world, for all intent and purposes, BA now charges for ski carriage..
In line with the low-costs, so no surprise there...
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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rayscoops,
back to being pedantic then..
You seem to roughly describe what a lot of people have learnt to already do regularly (except pooling allowances, granted), including yourself I believe, when using low cost airlines (to lower bagage costs).
Without lookking at the exact wording of T&Cs, would say such low cost alternatives offer free ski carriage?
If you end up using the same "tricks" as when using ezy/ryanair and forgetting exact T&C wording, to quote myself, "for all intent and purposes" you now have to pay for ski carriage..
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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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Kruisler, er slight difference is that low cost carriers charge separately for every bag - there is no free allowance for hold baggage
BA have changed their allowance for free hold luggage - they have not got rid of free ski carriage
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Arno, Spot on- it's an important difference. Me and the missus for one week = one big 23kg with all the clothes in it and a Dakine coffin with two sets of skis (rest of quiver already out there  ) and two sets of boots, shovels etc. Plus a rucksack each. No charge. Simples
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You know it makes sense.
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Arno,
refer to the pedantic bit...
before: free = one 23kg bag + ski equipment
after: free = one 23kg bag which may contain skis/boots...so flyer now has to limit clothing and other things and pack everything in one hold bag.
With the low costs you can pay for "ski carriage" but skip on the hold bagage so you end up with the same configuration except maybe an even higher (32kg?) weight allowance
| Kruisler wrote: |
| If you end up using the same "tricks" as when using ezy/ryanair and forgetting exact T&C wording, "for all intent and purposes" you now have to pay for ski carriage.. |
Considering that so often EZY and Ryanair are cheaper than BA, I think BA are shooting themselves in the foot slowly but surely. The only plus with BA at this point is seat allocation and bagage pooling.
Certainly when you consider that e.g. Lufthanse and Swiss offer quite a few routes at £99 with one bag PLUS ski equipment...
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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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Kruisler, the point is that when I book with Easyjet I have to click the 'ski carriage' button and I get charged, and if I turn up at the airport with a ski bag I get charged, no matter how many bags I have, and on that basis there is absolutely no way I can avoid paying for ski carriage. I pay for ski carraige on Easyjet as my one and only hold bag, when I fly in a similar circumstance with BA I pay nothing, so from my point of view BA still do not charge for ski carriage. BA have reduced the hold baggage allowance but it is still free if you play the game
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Kruisler wrote: |
| Considering that so often EZY and Ryanair are cheaper than BA, |
I really do not think this is the case that much when you factor in an extra £30 / £ 40 for ski carriage
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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rayscoops,
all your posts make my point though...you're being pedantic...yes you hit a "ski carriage" with ezy/ryanair and you don't with BA. BA includes the "free" bagage in the price yet is more expensive that ezy/ryanair even with the extra charge for the not free bagage. Now with BA you have to juggle your bagages, limit what you take in the same way we have been for years with Ezy/Ryanair...
Ultimately carrying your ski gear used to be a free extra with BA, now you have to make a choice between that and other items to comply with bagage policy,
You can delude yourself all day long by playing with technicalities and wording , the truth is BA is now charging more for the same service, or is offering a lessened service for the same charge... i.e. carrying your skis with BA now costs you either pounds sterling or a reduced service/offer on standard bagage... In practical terms that means ski carriage ain't free anymore...
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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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| rayscoops wrote: |
| Kruisler wrote: |
| Considering that so often EZY and Ryanair are cheaper than BA, |
I really do not think this is the case that much when you factor in an extra £30 / £ 40 for ski carriage |
EZY in particular has been much cheaper than BA everytime I quoted... not a proof of anything obviously, only my experience. And that is with 2 bags (and 32kg max) on EZY , i.e. case + boardbag..
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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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| Kruisler wrote: |
| rayscoops, Now with BA you have to juggle your bagages, limit what you take in the same way we have been for years with Ezy/Ryanair... |
agreed but you juggle the bags to get 'free' ski carriage with BA, and with the budgets you juggle the bags to limit the amount you pay for the ski carriage, so BA = Free carriage (with a bit of juggling), Budgets = paid for ski carriage (with a bit of juggling). Until such time as BA specificly charge for you to take a set of skis on the plane (irrespective of the other bags you might have) and there is no way to avoid it then you can not say, as a blanket statement, that they charge for ski carriage.
There is an argument that you pay for the BA ski carriage in the overall price but that is a different (pedantic) issue and whether or not BA is cheaper is very much a subjective view that depends upon a number of factors.
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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 like a bargain as much as the next man but I always thought that BA's sports luggage policy was a bit over-generous. As well as skis in the winter I sometimes take a bike to the Alps in the summer. It always felt like I was getting away with something to take one bag with 23kg plus a bike bag (or ski bag) free of charge, especially when some one taking the same "weight" of luggage in the hold but with no sports equipment would be charged excess baggage.
If I was taking 40kg of clothes in those circumstances and paying excess baggage I would have been
1. A bit of a ponce.
2. Pretty hacked off.
Its sounds like I work for BA but really I don't. It just seems fair that everyone gets the same luggage allowance and if you want to take more you have to pay more.
Too reasonable for my own good!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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A while ago I bought a very natty board bag at a knock-down price and was hoping to take it as my single piece of hold luggage when flying with BA next month. I've just discovered that the combined weight of my bag, skis and boots is about 14-15 kilos, leaving me an allowance of 8 kilos for the rest of my hold luggage. I think I'll have to pay for ski carriage after all. Barstewards.
There again, I suppose I could take my boots as hand luggage...shouldn't be problem either at Heathrow or in Vancouver, should it?
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Hurtle, don't forget BA also let you take a weekend case and a laptop bag in the cabin. I got all my non ski clothes into these.
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beanie1, yeah, I was thinking about the boots in the weekend case. Don't really want to take a laptop bag as well, three pieces of kit are too much for a pixie like me to faff about with.
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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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Hurtle, I think I'd pay for ease on a long haul flight as no doubt you'll want to take more in the way of books etc. for entertainment on board than you would for a short haul jaunt.
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scotia, nope, that's why I've bought a Kindle. 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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the 23 kg rule has been in place for a while now, but with hand luggage you can probably get up to 30kg plus in total ! I would max out the 23kg board bag and pack as much as I can in hand luggagae and even check how much excess baggge is in comparison to paying with the ski carriage fee.
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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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We've never had a problem with boots in hand luggage on BA Heathrow to Canada.
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rayscoops,
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even check how much excess baggge is in comparison to paying with the ski carriage fee.
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Done that.
saskew, thanks.
I really do want to use my smart new tartan board bag.
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You know it makes sense.
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Put your boots in your hold luggage.
I don't know what the fuss is about. I'm a 30 yr old female so hardly expected to travel light!
Last year I took one large board bag with skis, boots, poles, helmet, back protector, shovel, probe etc, ski jacket and salopettes, wash bag and hair dryer all within 23 kg weight limit of my hold baggage. I took a small weekend case in the cabin that took all the clothese I needed for the evenings, plus my laptop bag.
Unless you're taking 2 sets of skis I'm sure most people shoud be able to keep within this limit. It saved me about 150 quid in ski carriage charges!
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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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beanie1,
| Quote: |
one large board bag with skis, boots, poles, helmet, back protector, shovel, probe etc, ski jacket and salopettes, wash bag and hair dryer all within 23 kg weight limit of my hold baggage.
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I'm amazed, my bag, boots and skis alone having just weighed in at about 15, or maybe a tad less. Anyway, no worries, some combination or other will work for me, so long as the fall-back is the ability to put boots in cabin luggage without being hassled.
Thank you, everybody.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Anyone have experience traveling on BA with a ski bag longer than 190CM? I have a Dakine Double ski bag that is 200CM long. Have used it on a trip to South America on LAN. No one batted an eye at LAN but all the taxis and bell hops in Chile and Argentian would scratch their heads when they saw the bag, wanting to know what could possibly be inside.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Toadman, mine is that big and i have travelled on BA a number of times with it and it has not been checked
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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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| Arno wrote: |
| Toadman, mine is that big and i have travelled on BA a number of times with it and it has not been checked |
Thanks Arno. Will be flying out of Seattle, so hopefully the BA folks will see a ski bag and not get all anal about measurements.
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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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Hurtle, your boots and skis are the heaviest part though aren't they - that leaves another 8 kilos for the rest!
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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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| Crazy Climber wrote: |
Appologies if this is already somewhere deep in one of the baggage topics but thought it might be of use to a few people...
I phone BA yesterday and they specifically said to me that as long as the bag is within their max dimensions you CAN take ski boots on board as hand luggage...
Unfortunatly they cannot email this to you so you have proof in writing (they "don't have email facilities in the UK office..." how for such a big company I will never understand, but thats another rant I feel)
They can however put a note with your booking ref. so if you have any dramas at checkin they can look it up and the phone call will have been recorded...
This may relieve any worries people have (such as me) of getting to the airport and haveing to rearange such precision packing...
If anyone is interested their number is 08444930787 if you look it up on saynoto0870 you can probably find the 01/02 number that wont cost as much to listen to classical music while on hold...
Hope thats of some use to people!!
Have a good day!! |
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Toadman wrote: |
| Anyone have experience traveling on BA with a ski bag longer than 190CM? I have a Dakine Double ski bag that is 200CM long. Have used it on a trip to South America on LAN. No one batted an eye at LAN but all the taxis and bell hops in Chile and Argentian would scratch their heads when they saw the bag, wanting to know what could possibly be inside. |
We have flown BA 3 trips with the same bag as yours, no probs at all.
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Need to double check the bathroom scales but my first test got mine and the kids skis (169cm, 135cm and 105cm), all our poles, the kids boots and the kids ski clothes in my huge wheeled ski bag and it weighed 22kg. Looking good for our BA trip next month!
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FAQ
