be warned, rules have changed.

Yer what ever your on........ I am just letting other fellow sailboarders know that previous allowances for windsurfers are gone and you pay every kg over 23kg. What are you? A chess player?

Yeh... chess

Scotty Mac said...

The rules have always been similar for many years. In the past they gave dispenstation on a regular basis, I have never been charged excess in the past and this occurred on many occasions when I trevelled with windsurfing gear.

I am just letting others know that they are sticking to their own rules now.

Sorry if I have not worked this out in the last 18 months........

Sorry mate, but from what I have seen, Qantas and VB had rules where it was cheap to use them, but they changed them about a year and a half ago (funnily enough at the same time I think...). It is good to see a reminder about this though, so I understand your point.

Qantas used to charge $22 per piece, so any extra baggage under 32kgs was charged $22 each, and VB used to count any of your sporting gear as 5kgs against your overall luggage allowance.

I agree they used to vary the rules sometimes and often be generous, but the problem now is that the underlying policy is written in black and white so they enforce it. Having said that, I was not charged anything when flying back with VB after they changed the rules as the lady checking me in thought it was unfair to start charging so soon after the rules changed. (The person at Sydney before I left wanted to charge me extra, but couldn't as I booked the fare before the rules changed.)

I agree, letting others know is a good idea and gives them a chance to try and avoid the charges.

I check this stuff before I book because I hate giving them more money. I feel sorry for the people that turn up to a JetStar flight and find they either won't carry the gear at all or want an arm and a leg for transporting it.

He biggest change I've found in the last year is you can't talk your way out of it any more. I've been done on 3 out of 4 last flights. Agree about virgin though. Last time I flew with qantas the downsized the plane and told me the gear wouldn't fit on the plane any more. Also on the way to Maui they told me I couldn't take my gear as it was too long to fit on the conveyor belt! Don't fly qantas any more.

Full coverage here from a while back

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=58122&SearchTerms=qantas

Search function can be found in the drop down menu at the top of the page within seabreaze !

robbo1111 said...

dan berry said...

Also on the way to Maui they told me I couldn't take my gear as it was too long to fit on the conveyor belt! Don't fly qantas any more.

Your other point about the conveyor belt is fiction - from Qantas not you.

Perhaps the flight was switched to JetStar. From what I can gather they only ship luggage in container carts to speed up the loading process. Hence a maximum length for what fits into the container.

Looking at luggage developments I am guessing flying with windsurf gear in Australia as well as to and from will be a thing from the past in about 10 to 15 years. It will simply be cheaper to either rent or simply buy gear at the destination.

I guess for the WA windsurf tourism industry this will mean that either rental business will flourish or more likely people from overseas will travel to easier destinations (eg South Africa) that are serviced by cheap charter airlines with windsurf allowance.

In a nutshell, welcome to the world of a duopolies... airlines, banks, petrol companies you name it. If they can get away with highway robbery they will do it.