From KiteForum... first they only allow you one bag (two if you have sport equipment) and now they are going to exclude sporting equipment...
BA is really going short term profit to annoy as many people as possible if this turns out to be fully enforced... (Note they seem to include surfboards regardless of size)kiteforum.com/phpbb/viewforum.php?f=1
BRITISH AIRWAYS TO BAN WINDSURFING KIT
BA has made an announcement on its website that from 6 November 2007 they will no longer carry certain items of sporting equipment - including windsurfers.
Here's what they say:
Sporting equipment we do not carry (effective from 6 November 2007)
Due to the large size and handling complexities, some sporting equipment cannot be accommodated through the airport baggage system or within the aircraft hold. Therefore we no longer accept the following equipment at check-in as part of your sporting equipment allowance.
Due to the large size and handling complexities, some sporting equipment cannot be accommodated through the airport baggage system or within the aircraft hold. Therefore we no longer accept the following equipment at check-in as part of your sporting equipment allowance.
* hang gliders
* windsurfing boards and sails
* surfboards
* kayaks or canoes
* pole vaults
* javelins
Please contact your local freight company to arrange carriage for any items that exceed the permitted weight and size.
(See:
www.britishairways.com/en-gb/information/baggage-essentials/sporting-goods-and-musical-instruments)
**********************************************
This is serious stuff, as if other airlines follow suit we could be in for trouble.
So, what can we do? Well, the first thing to do is make our voices heard and let BA know what we think by dropping them a line.
To make life easy there's a ready made complaint letter that the Student Windsurfing Association have thoughtfully posted on their website, so click on the link and start firing those letters off:
www.studentwindsurfing.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=356
Another classic post from the angry one... Mr Nads you really need to seek help...
or call Benny Cuz for some Valium to help you chill a little.
the only thing i need from benny is that blue pill. with 12in meat it gets fatiguing after a while.
Just buy a fake golf bag and use that, there is no way BA will ban golf equipment as they will loose 99% of business class.
Or just use Virgin!
quote:
Originally posted by GranG
This is serious stuff, as if other airlines follow suit we could be in for trouble.
quote:
Originally posted by Dawn Patrol
I dont see the problem.
Where on the list does it say no kite gear?
I flew Virgin Blue to Tonga with my kite gear and had no problems. Virgin is the only company that I've seen let you take a bag of sports equipment with out charging.
The other thing to know that when you fly to the states you're allowed 2 bags that are 23kg each but if you fly to Europe via the states your only allowed to take one bag weighing 23kg unless you spend more than one day in the Continental US (not including transit times) then you get two bags.
Biggest thing is to always read the terms and conditions on your ticket or read through there web site (if they have one) regarding baggage because they seem to be changing every 6 months.
just fly buisness class everywhere. I used to fly around the world for a living buisness class and had no probs blagging 30-40 kgs on luggage with some friendly banter and a smile.
when i moved to aus i brought approx 85kgs of luggage, the overweight fee was going to be 2200+ POUNDS (read that right) and I sweet talked the chick down to 300 quid! and that was a normal BA flight and seat.
I hate to say it, you want cheap $50 flights all around oz, all the airline money goes on fuel they have to give up something! Get a normal cost flight and you won't get stung with all these restrictions and they will let stuff slide - but then you'll be bitching about the cost of the flight!
I remember when they even insured your stuff against damage, now you have to sign the waiver saying that if its busted you can't claim against them!
pnut
quote:
Originally posted by peanuticus
just fly buisness class everywhere. I used to fly around the world for a living buisness class and had no probs blagging 30-40 kgs on luggage with some friendly banter and a smile.
when i moved to aus i brought approx 85kgs of luggage, the overweight fee was going to be 2200+ POUNDS (read that right) and I sweet talked the chick down to 300 quid! and that was a normal BA flight and seat.
I hate to say it, you want cheap $50 flights all around oz, all the airline money goes on fuel they have to give up something! Get a normal cost flight and you won't get stung with all these restrictions and they will let stuff slide - but then you'll be bitching about the cost of the flight!
I remember when they even insured your stuff against damage, now you have to sign the waiver saying that if its busted you can't claim against them!
pnut
quote:
Originally posted by Saffer
..Is it because people are overweight? if so, we do we get charged extra so some guy can stuff his face with junk food and be an extra load on the health system while we pay the premium for not weighing 40kg's more than we should?
.
.
You're hardly overweight. I'm talking about the 140kg bastards that hang over into your seat
I recon the fat ones should have to pay for two seats. Its unfair for anyone near them. On the last plane i was on, i saw some fat prick walking down the isle, and was thinking "not next to me, not next to me, not next to me". He sat on the row opposite to me. half his body in the isle, adn other half in the person next to hims lap. that bull****, and i would be severly pissed off if that happened to me.
Yeah, i see no difference between extra baggage and extra fat fees.
meh who cares it says they wont allow windsurfing gear so what I kitesurf and its not like i have the money to fly anywhere anyway haha
Tom
what really gets me is I can't go on holiday with my pole vault anymore.
I notice there is no mention of golf bags, they are heaveir than many kiter's quiver. Too many people would be p!ssed off i recon.
The fat guys shouldn't be allowed to sit next to other full fair payers ect.
[i have this dislike for fat people since sitting next to one for 3 hours on the 5 hour plane trip; he smelt bad, his arms were way over the arm rest, he made lots of noise when breathing and farted a lot. I went to the toilet and found an empty seat on the way back and had to explain my new found dislike of fat people to the person in the one next to my new seat.]
Speaking of which, I love how people can hassle someone for smoking in public or tell them smoking is bad for their health but you can't hassle a fat person for eating junk food in public or saying its bad for their health because thats unkind.
here here D.P. Saffa and the others who are fatists... i could not agree more and for many yrs have had a problem with over weight people...
Many of them claim it not their fault... or that they're naturally big boned... BULL S#!T... i even have such a problem that i have had to leave restaurants due to watching fat people scoff food, makes me feel ill...
I had come to accept that this was my problem and not theirs as they have no problem being fat, eating in grotesque manner and continuing to cost the tax payers millions each yr treating diabetes, heart conditions and the likes...
i have even raised this problem at the airline check in desk when the woman before me who was clearly 130+kg was not charged extra for her weight but they were willing to make me pay for 2 kg extra yes 2 kg... i weigh in at a massive 72kg so that i believe gives me an added 50+kg to put toward my luggage...
F^(k i hate fat people!!!
maybe we should make a fat suit and stuff it with our kites and wetties so we can get our gear on the planes free...
Dont fly BA!I know that Virgin Airlines offer a special service to surfers etc. If this becomes an issue we may have to use a foldable kiteboard.
check this out:
www.baliwind.co.il/
click on the middle. under the N.
and then you will see at the bottom left corner what you are looking for...
quote:
Originally posted by posko
maybe we should make a fat suit and stuff it with our kites and wetties so we can get our gear on the planes free...
quote:
Originally posted by posko
here here D.P. Saffa and the others who are fatists... i could not agree more and for many yrs have had a problem with over weight people...
Many of them claim it not their fault... or that they're naturally big boned... BULL S#!T... i even have such a problem that i have had to leave restaurants due to watching fat people scoff food, makes me feel ill...
I had come to accept that this was my problem and not theirs as they have no problem being fat, eating in grotesque manner and continuing to cost the tax payers millions each yr treating diabetes, heart conditions and the likes...
i have even raised this problem at the airline check in desk when the woman before me who was clearly 130+kg was not charged extra for her weight but they were willing to make me pay for 2 kg extra yes 2 kg... i weigh in at a massive 72kg so that i believe gives me an added 50+kg to put toward my luggage...
F^(k i hate fat people!!!
maybe we should make a fat suit and stuff it with our kites and wetties so we can get our gear on the planes free...
fat people should have to walk through a frame to test their size prior to boarding, (like the one you put your hand luggage in to check if its ok), and if they don't fit they should have to upgrade to business class or be seated next to other obese passengers.
Yeah, i like the idea of seating them next to each other so they can see what it feels like.
guess we're gonna hafta leave the jousting poles at home in the pool room too 
have flown back and forth across australia with surfboards on Qantas & Virgin for the last 14 years and only been charged extra for a surfboard once !
Saf. I'm using the buisness class as an example.
everyone hunts down the cheapest ass flights to reduce prices of holidays etc, saves maybe $200 of a flight and then moans about the extra $50 in the excess luggage for stuff.
and I would never PAY for a buisness class flight, you just get what you pay for! and yes, I still hunt the cheapest flights and I still bitch if i have to pay the fee.. its life, its sux, just another b**l** tax.
however the surfboard thing sucks ass, odd as I've flown UK <-> aus with heaps of boards on quantas and BA never had a prob. they prob have an issue with 9' mal's!
Well i won't be flying British Airways or mybe Ill tell them it's my golfing gear and I'm in the British Open....arse wipes
just because i can I'm asking my mate who works at quantas what the deal is. seeing as you could check onto a quantas flight / BA codeshare and still technically get shafted at the other end and vice versa.
As reported in todays Sydney Morning Herald...
Surfing in exotic locations around the world will become a thing of the past for many surfers if a British Airways decision to ban surfboards from all flights is mimicked by other airlines, local surfers say.
British Airways has said surfboards will no longer be accepted at check-in from November 6, due to their "large size and handling complexities".
The airline has instructed surfers to transport their boards using freight instead.
Eugene Tan, avid surfer and editor of Aquabumps, a daily surfing newsletter read by over 20,000 surfers, said the ban was a "huge deal", especially if other airlines followed suit.
"Surfers are travellers," he said.
"In the '70s surfers were guys that smoked dope and hung out in their Holdens and didn't work, but nowadays they are educated, professional people and they've got money and want to travel to exotic locations.
"I don't know what I'd do (if I couldn't travel with my board) - I'd have to stack boards all over the world."
The ban could hurt UK holiday makers keen on an Australian surfing holiday, he said.
"A lot of people come here, especially from the UK, to live the dream, the Home and Away dream," he said.
Veteran surfer and Association of Surfing Professionals president Wayne 'Rabbit' Bartholomew said British Airway's decision would have a severe effect on competitive surfers.
"From our perspective, running global tours, it's going to affect all those surfers that use oneworld (a global airline alliance of 10 major airlines, including British Airways and Qantas)."
British surfers are likely to be most affected by their national carrier's decision.
British Surfing Association national director Karen Walton said the association was "extremely shocked".
"Although every surfboard, piece of sporting equipment and musical instrument is different in shape and size, we'd find it extremely hard to believe that the average mini mal would be more difficult to handle when compared to a double bass and a full bag of golf clubs," she said.
It was unreasonable to expect surfers to transport surfboards via freight , Mr Bartholomew said.
"For one it's expensive," he said.
"Secondly, surfers like to arrive at a destination with their equipment.
"Arriving without surfing equipment takes away from what you're going there to do ... if you don't have your surfing equipment, you're not going to become a body surfer for a few days."
Global surfing tours also had tight itineraries that made it crucial for surfers to travel with their boards at all times," he said.
"For a professional surfer, I couldn't think of a bigger disturbance to their program (than waiting for boards to arrive via freight)."
Hiring a surfboard on location was not an option, Mr Bartholomew said.
"Surfboards are very customised pieces of equipment, they're not generic," he said.
This was equally true for recreational surfers, Mr Tan said.
"Boards are finely made pieces of equipment now," he said.
"I ride a specialised type of board, with a specialised thickness ... for me to have to ride someone else's board would kill my holiday."
The ban by British Airways also applies to hang gliders, windsurfing boards and sails, kayaks or canoes, pole vaults, javelins
The airline did not immediately respond to questions about why the restrictions had been brought in.
Qantas currently accepts surfboards at check-in provided they are enclosed in a surfboard bag and do not exceed 277 centimetres in length or 32 kilograms in weight, according to the company's website.
"We have no plans to change our current arrangements," a Qantas spokesman said.
