BA are brilliant compared to the others... if you only had a board bag and it was under 23kg they won't charge you...

However if you booked before 31 July 2009 then they don't charge.

Another reason why i'm flying with Swiss air

Damn right! Swiis is so much easier

They are the only carrier that do not charge for boards.

Air Canada never charge for carrying boards either.

I got shafted for £50 by British Airways to take my single bag, a 165cm bag (under 23kg) on holiday to Innsbruck. Thankfully the Austrians didn't feel a need to charge me on the return journey...

BA told me they'd recently changed the allowance limits for over-sized baggage and I should have checked their website (which incidentally makes it purposefully vague whether there's a charge or not).

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.

You can't pre book ski/board bags with Thomas Cook any more, there was no option on the web when booking so I called up and asked andn you just turn up with it and pay at the airport, it's just a pain in the ass becasue in the call centre they knew nothing about weight of the bag but if you get an extra 10kilo thats cool
I want to know why you can still pre book bikes, canoes and all that kind of stuff but not boards hmmm

Does your £15 include any extra weight?

I just rung the call centre after I had booked and they were like nope. There is also a notice on the website saying pre booking of board bags is not available. Stupid I think. But no I haven't been in a shop, perhaps I will try....but the point is I shouldn't have to! Grrr airlines...and to think I want to go back to work for one!

10kg i think
will check later
sounds abit strange how i can pre book in shop but you cant over phone/internet

I just went into the Thomas Cook shop on my lunch break and was told that I had to just pay for it at check-in but there was no weight limit for the bag....hmmm I do not believe that for a second.

I think going by what you all say keep it to 10kg and I should be OK

I just went into the Thomas Cook shop on my lunch break and was told that I had to just pay for it at check-in but there was no weight limit for the bag....hmmm I do not believe that for a second.

I think going by what you all say keep it to 10kg and I should be OK

I think its fair for airlines to make a charge if you're over the weight limit as more weight = more fuel.

Why should I pay as much the same price as someone who weighs 15 stone when I weigh 8 stone then? Should I be charged less?

Payment of the additional fee increases your checked-in hold baggage allowance (including additional item) to a maximum weight of 32kgs.

Yeah, that section is what made me wonder when I read it on EasyJet's site.



Makes me think they mean that I have to pay £18 for the 20kg hold allowance and then £18.50 each way ontop, for the extra 12kg weight, making your total paid for weight 32kg.

Or if I pay £18 for the hold bag and £18.50 each way for board bag, does it mean I can have up to 20kg in hold bag and up to 32kg in the board bag, but both combined can't exceed 50kg?

I know what they say....

However I was wondering if anyone had flown with them and if they were fussy...ie are they likely to check the contents of my board bag or am I likely to get away with it hehe

This topic gets rolled out every year. It pays to read the carriers terms and conditions and in most cases its clear and succinct, you don't need to be a rocket scientist to work it out.

Easyjet have been getting a panning here but I for one have had no problem with them over the years because I stick to the weight rules.

You pay for a suitcase so you get 20kg. If you want to take a piece of sporting equipment that is outsized baggae you have to pay the extra charge. Easyjet say, and I quote from their website...

'Payment of the additional fee increases your checked-in hold baggage allowance (including additional item) to a maximum weight of 32kg'

So your allowance should not exceed 32kg and you can take at most one suitcase and one board bag. If you choose to take just the board bag then it should not exceed 32kg on its own.

If you get through with more weight than that then its just luck as they are perfectly within their rights to enfore their terms and conditions if they want to.

Generally Geneva check in staff are more relaxed and its the british end that enforce the rules but they are not 'robbing you', the terms are there for you to see and adhere to, if you don't then you take your chance and have to pay up so don't complain when it happens.

As for Easyjet - RAGE!!! I phoned them recently to clarify their policy and three separate people over an hour and a half of telephone calls told me I could take only my board with its bindings attached and my boots in my board bag. I then emailed to confirm this in writing and they changed their mind. I can have anything in my board bag up to 12kg. They don't seem to know themselves what can and can't be taken in which bag. Fools.

Jon1976 - I wasn’t giving you the 3rd degree mate but my point was you’ve obviously travelled a few times with Easyjet so I would have thought you would have read the baggage allowance conditions a few times so if you turn up at the airport with 2 suitcases and a board bag weighing a total of 72 kg surely you would have expected to have to pay some sort of excess charge? Plus Easyjet charge £10 for every kg over the limit so it could have cost you £200, I guess £90 was a bargain.

Yes its frustrating when you get a right wee Hitler at check in who does everything by the book, been there myself and I agree that its unfair that there was more than likely a dozen people or so on that flight who would have got away with extra baggage which you were asked to pay for.

Chaski – No offence taken, I understand people can interpret things different ways but I don’t see whats unclear about under the sporting equipment section…

‘Payment of the additional fee increases your checked-in hold baggage allowance (including additional item) to a maximum weight of 32kgs.’

I can’t really see whats ambiguous about that? You have their one allocated hold bag and the additional bag (in this case board bag) to weight no more than a total of 32kg combined.

Also you said ‘By not always checking, they encourage people to take a chance and end up profiting from it’. If an individual chooses to ignore the weight limits and take a chance its purely a personal choice, theres no conspiracy surely? I’ve done it myself and got away with it and also been stung but that’s the chance you take.

Most do need to improve their customer service and its frustrating when members of staff say different things but if you take the chance and get caught out the airline is perfectly entitled to charge you within the confines of their terms and conditions which are there for all to see so I was just stating I don’t think its fair to say you are being robbed.

BA have a flaw in their system, my dad is a platinum card holder and booked our flights to canada for us

Have flown with Swiss to Geneva and that was a breeze, although you're supposed to only have board, boots and bindings in the bag. BA charge too much nowadays, that was their only saving grace to Europe before.

Hold bag is 20kg (£18 return), Sports bag is 12kg (£18.50 each way). You can have both of them as two separate bags with their individual weight limits, or combine the two as one bag (e.g. board bag) of up to 32kg, for the same cost as having them individually.

If you need extra weight, an additional 20kg hold bag is £18 but all of your hold & sports equipment bags must not exceed 50kg per person - If you're bag sharing then this isn't a problem.

If asked, just say there's 1 board + bindings, 1 set of boots and all of your clothes, they never seem to check.