Airline baggage fees what a effin rip off

[powhunter]

Yeah just talked to the airlines...as long as you dont have anything extra than the allowed equiptment your ok..Thanks everyone!! I still stand by my initial rant that paying for checked bags is a effin rip!!!

steveo

 

[RootDKJ]

What the hell kind of sourvenirs did you buy? For a trip to Florida my bag would weigh about 8 pounds..could probably just carry-on as it's all warm weather stuff which hardly weighs anything..

Smuggled a few bottles of wine from a Florida vineyard back. Can't get it in NJ, and it's illegal to ship wine from FL to NJ...something about taxes...craziness.

 

[drjeff]

Smuggled a few bottles of wine from a Florida vineyard back. Can't get it in NJ, and it's illegal to ship wine from FL to NJ...something about taxes...craziness.

I've found that if I'm over with a bag that a healthy tip of maybe 1/3rd to 1/2 of what the overweight charge would be, offered up EARLY to a skycap tends to get that heavy bag of mine onto the plane without any problems and/or additional fees

 

[dmc]

When we flew back from India - a few people had empty ski bags cause they donated some gear in Kashmir... Used the ski bags for rugs and a tabla drum... Didnt have to pay...

 

[RootDKJ]

I've found that if I'm over with a bag that a healthy tip of maybe 1/3rd to 1/2 of what the overweight charge would be, offered up EARLY to a skycap tends to get that heavy bag of mine onto the plane without any problems and/or additional fees

Been there, done that as well. I've never cut it so close before. Good wine though http://www.lakeridgewinery.com/ I like the Southern Red.

 

[SkiDork]

Yeah just talked to the airlines...as long as you dont have anything extra than the allowed equiptment your ok..Thanks everyone!! I still stand by my initial rant that paying for checked bags is a effin rip!!!

steveo

thats what they're supposed to say on the phone. In reality, if you put clothes in there they;ll let it through as long as the weight is OK and it doesn't change the general shape of the bag. Sorta like padding the skis.

 

[andyzee]

thats what they're supposed to say on the phone. In reality, if you put clothes in there they;ll let it through as long as the weight is OK and it doesn't change the general shape of the bag. Sorta like padding the skis.

Agreed, I pack other things with my skis all the time.

 

[dmc]

I pack light... Usually carry on...
Unless I'm skiing...
Kashmir was just a medium size duffle and board bag... and carry on...

 

[dmc]

thats what they're supposed to say on the phone. In reality, if you put clothes in there they;ll let it through as long as the weight is OK and it doesn't change the general shape of the bag. Sorta like padding the skis.

I stuff the ski bag on the way back...

 

[jaytrem]

If you really want to save money get yourself a Continental credit card. Then your first bag is free, along with the first bag of your travel companions. They'll also give you 25,000 miles which will get you a free flight. Annual fee is $85. If you know you won't be flying again for a while, cancel the card a try to get your $85 back. Or just cancel it anyway and reapply in a year or two and MAYBE get another 25,000 miles. There are also better deals that show up in mail (snail mail). Sometimes an extra 5,000 mile, sometimes no fee for the first year. If you fly with the same people every trip, rotate who has the card so you can all get the 25,000 miles.

I haven't paid a baggage fee yet and I usually bring 1 pair of tele skis and a snowboard. Skis, board, boots and some accesories all go in the ski bag and come in at under 50lbs (tele skis help keep the weight down). Could put some in a boot bag, but the key is to keep it under 50lbs combined. So there's no point in carrying and extra bag. Rest of the stuff goes in a carry on and laptop bag and in the jacket if neccessary. Haven't had to wear any boots on the plane yet.

Continental credit card....

http://www.continental.com/web/en-US/content/products/chase/continental.aspx?offer=WL25&mkid=62R4

Good luck and have a great trip!!!

 

[Philpug]

I am able to get 4 pr of skis and 2 pr of poles in ONE bag and be just 50 lb..

179 K2 PRB w/ Jesters
174 Blizzard Magnum 8.7 w/o bindings
159 Blizzard Eos w/o Bindings
156 Blizzard Viva w/o bindings

I then pack my 514TT and my wife's 412TT (one pair is all she needs) in our luggage where clothing is lighter.

 

[Trekchick]

They all say that... but the ski equipment is still able to stand in for one bag. You're welcome to use my Sportube if you'd like. I'll probably never use it again.

Bite your tongue, young lady!!! You'll be using that again if I have anything to say about it!!!

I am able to get 4 pr of skis and 2 pr of poles in ONE bag and be just 50 lb..

179 K2 PRB w/ Jesters
174 Blizzard Magnum 8.7 w/o bindings
159 Blizzard Eos w/o Bindings
156 Blizzard Viva w/o bindings

I then pack my 514TT and my wife's 412TT (one pair is all she needs) in our luggage where clothing is lighter.

We have been known to pack similarly. Easier to get what you need if you can remove the bindings and cut back on bags.

With a NWA Platinum card baggage fees are waived.

 

[severine]

Bite your tongue, young lady!!! You'll be using that again if I have anything to say about it!!!

I meant more like if the cost of checking baggage keeps going up, I won't pay to bring my skis--I'll demo instead. I WILL get out to CO again!

 

[Geoff]

thats what they're supposed to say on the phone. In reality, if you put clothes in there they;ll let it through as long as the weight is OK and it doesn't change the general shape of the bag. Sorta like padding the skis.

It's completely up to the customer service agent when you check your bags. The airline rule is "a bag with one pair of skis and one pair of poles". The boot bag is the same way. "One pair of ski boots". If they're in a bad mood or if you somehow piss them off, you'll be paying the bag fee and you'll end up with the dreaded SSSSS on your bording card to get the anal probe from the TSA.

Since the TSA started unzipping all ski bags to visually inspect the skis, I stopped putting anything but skis & poles in the bag.

 

[mondeo]

I still stand by my initial rant that paying for checked bags is a effin rip!!!

steveo

It's either the bags or paying more for the ticket. There are serious issues in the airline industry with excess capacity, which has made it very hard for airlines to turn a profit. By charging more for bags they're able to push people to use less of the cargo space at the same ticket cost and then use the cargo space they gain for cargo shipments, generating revenue that way. The other thing is that for a 3000 mile flight, a 50 lb bag may burn 3-4 gallons of fuel. So they either eliminate a portion of that fuel burn or get the customer to pay for it.

People gripe about it, but air travel is too cheap to be sustainable with the operating costs carriers have. The fees the airlines have been tacking on are ways to generate revenue on items that aren't in the basic value proposition of air travel, which is getting a person from point A to point B.

 

[hammer]

It's either the bags or paying more for the ticket. There are serious issues in the airline industry with excess capacity, which has made it very hard for airlines to turn a profit. By charging more for bags they're able to push people to use less of the cargo space at the same ticket cost and then use the cargo space they gain for cargo shipments, generating revenue that way. The other thing is that for a 3000 mile flight, a 50 lb bag may burn 3-4 gallons of fuel. So they either eliminate a portion of that fuel burn or get the customer to pay for it.

People gripe about it, but air travel is too cheap to be sustainable with the operating costs carriers have. The fees the airlines have been tacking on are ways to generate revenue on items that aren't in the basic value proposition of air travel, which is getting a person from point A to point B.

The problem that I see is that it gets difficult to really know what your true cost of travel is (and to make reasonable comparisons) when portions of your travel end up being a la carte. For example, a round-trip airfare from MHT->BWI (that's Manchester NH to Baltimore) of $100 isn't so great when you get hit up with $50 of baggage fees...but you don't necessarily think about the fees when you purchase your tickets.

 

[Trekchick]

Speaking of this, have you ever had your baggage off loaded because the weight on the plane was too much?

I have been on two different flights where they begged for passengers to take another flight because of being overweight.

Both of those occasions they announced that if passengers didn't volunteer to take an alternate flight they would need to off load luggage randomly.

Both of those occasions, I witnessed them taking my skis off the plane.
Both of those occasions, I made calls to friends at my destination and had demo skis lined up before I landed.

 

[mondeo]

The problem that I see is that it gets difficult to really know what your true cost of travel is (and to make reasonable comparisons) when portions of your travel end up being a la carte. For example, a round-trip airfare from MHT->BWI (that's Manchester NH to Baltimore) of $100 isn't so great when you get hit up with $50 of baggage fees...but you don't necessarily think about the fees when you purchase your tickets.

I wouldn't say it's difficult. It adds another layer of thought, but the baggage policies are fairly easy to find and read into on any airline website. Just another thing to be aware of.

 

[RootDKJ]

Speaking of this, have you ever had your baggage off loaded because the weight on the plane was too much?

I have been on two different flights where they begged for passengers to take another flight because of being overweight.

Both of those occasions they announced that if passengers didn't volunteer to take an alternate flight they would need to off load luggage randomly.

Both of those occasions, I witnessed them taking my skis off the plane.
Both of those occasions, I made calls to friends at my destination and had demo skis lined up before I landed.

I thought there was a (new) rule that made sure your baggage was on the same plane you are on?

 

[drjeff]

The problem that I see is that it gets difficult to really know what your true cost of travel is (and to make reasonable comparisons) when portions of your travel end up being a la carte. For example, a round-trip airfare from MHT->BWI (that's Manchester NH to Baltimore) of $100 isn't so great when you get hit up with $50 of baggage fees...but you don't necessarily think about the fees when you purchase your tickets.

From MHT to BWI, it's easy, just fly Southwest, who still (atleast for the time being) doesn't charge for the 1st 2 bags