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Airline Baggage Weight Experience - pls add yours

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kitesurfingcollectiv
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Re: Airline Baggage Weight Experience - pls add yours

Postby kitesurfingcollectiv » Fri Apr 27, 2012 9:19 am

Qantas
Allow a sporting equipment bag (including kitesurf gear) up to 23kg extra for free (on domestic Australian flights)

Virgin Atlantic
Specifically allow kitesurfing equipment up to 23kg extra for free on all international flights



TKC
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Re: Airline Baggage Weight Experience - pls add yours

Postby sijandy » Sat Oct 13, 2012 12:46 pm

Has anyone ever taken kite gear with Etihad or Air China before? I'm waiting to book up a flight to manilla with one of them later but am struggling to find out baggage charges. The sooner the response the better as i'd like to get booked up asap. cheers.

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Re: Airline Baggage Weight Experience - pls add yours

Postby gbleck » Sat Oct 13, 2012 3:03 pm

kitesurfingcollectiv wrote:Qantas
Virgin Atlantic
Specifically allow kitesurfing equipment up to 23kg extra for free on all international flights

http://www.thekitesurfingcollective.com
Nice... much love for Sir Richard Branson.

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Re: Airline Baggage Weight Experience - pls add yours

Postby frez » Wed Aug 21, 2013 8:47 am

Thai Airways - Dubai to Bangkok/Phuket

I nearly ended up paying in Dubai (my start destination). For a family of 4 we had 3 cases, one kite bag (with 2 Flysurfer kites) and one board bag (with a 140 cm board). We were under our weight allowance overall (76 kg vs 80 kg). However, the officious dick at check in asked me what was in the board bag so I told him a kiteboard. He decided that meant surfboard which apparently is chargeable at around USD 25 per kg. The bag weighed 5 kg with my harness and a few bits and bobs. Anyway, we went round the houses and eventually he relented when I showed him a picture of a wakeboarder on my phone and convinced him that it was a waterski instead. He told me that waterskis (or Golf Gear up to 15kg) have no charge. On the other hand when I left Phuket to return to Dubai no-one blinked an eyelid. I came back last week after 2 weeks at Nai Yang beach.

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Re: Airline Baggage Weight Experience - pls add yours

Postby Kamikuza » Wed Aug 21, 2013 1:03 pm

frez wrote:Thai Airways - Dubai to Bangkok/Phuket

I nearly ended up paying in Dubai (my start destination). For a family of 4 we had 3 cases, one kite bag (with 2 Flysurfer kites) and one board bag (with a 140 cm board). We were under our weight allowance overall (76 kg vs 80 kg). However, the officious dick at check in asked me what was in the board bag so I told him a kiteboard. He decided that meant surfboard which apparently is chargeable at around USD 25 per kg. The bag weighed 5 kg with my harness and a few bits and bobs. Anyway, we went round the houses and eventually he relented when I showed him a picture of a wakeboarder on my phone and convinced him that it was a waterski instead. He told me that waterskis (or Golf Gear up to 15kg) have no charge. On the other hand when I left Phuket to return to Dubai no-one blinked an eyelid. I came back last week after 2 weeks at Nai Yang beach.
Thai Airways, Japan to Thailand/Koh Samui.

Two of us, one suitcase (22kg) and my 160cm board bag with harness, bars, pump, 2 kites and my Flydoor XL (26kg) . . . free both ways :D

"What's this stuff?"
"Kiteboarding gear."
"Hmm . . . ok, that's not on our list so you can go free. But don't think it'll happen every time."
"Ok, thanks!"
- repeat on return.

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Re: Airline Baggage Weight Experience - pls add yours

Postby flybykite » Wed Aug 21, 2013 5:18 pm

Toby wrote:Ho Chi Min (Saigon) Vietnam airport
- luggage belt is not too high and is lower in front...place a smaller bag in front, put sportsbag on top of belt and leave the end sticking out and with weight on your other bag....

Maybe works on all airports, didn't try though, but in Ho Chi Min
I do this also. Works about 3 out of 5 times and takes off about 8 kilos. I've been busted once after she tried to lift what she thought was a 22 kilo bag. Anyway I got charged less than $100.
Good luck

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Re: Airline Baggage Weight Experience - pls add yours

Postby Dimitri M » Thu Aug 22, 2013 3:42 am

It's always a pain in the neck when you travel with your kiteboarding equipment wondering how much they are going to charge you today and with whom you are going to deal at the counter.
I have tried so many different things but every time it's different. This is also one of the reason why I wrote on our smaller EPIC TRANSPORTER bags "Medical Equipment" and wrote on the mother bag "Golf Equipment". Our TRANSPORTER bags comes in 2 bags that can be separate in 2 section or attached into one section. The big bag which is the mother bag has wheels and the smaller bag that attaches to the mother bag is lighter and smaller. So these are few ways I can get a way with not paying extra fees.
So this is one way you can save money: I check my "Golf" bag for free and make sure it's not more then 23 kg and then check my 2nd bag but I make sure that the person at the counter knows this bag is Medical Equipment since it says "Medical Equipment" and some airline companies don't charge for Medical Equipment.
Also another way to avoid a second charge is to hide the the 2nd bag on the side and check only the mother bag as one bag which is the "Golf" bag and since they are big bag they always ask you to take them to another counter to drop them or take them to the TSA security counter so they can scan them. So this is when I do attach the 2nd bag to the mother one and becomes one big bag. Also make sure to get some "PRIORITY" stickers so you can attached them to the tags of the bags to make sure your bags are taking care of. But do this after you are done with the counter so they don't see you.
Also another way is to remove what ever is heavy such as bars, harness, wet suits or small kite and put them on the side so no one sees them. So once I checked the bag at the counter and take it to the TSA or to another belt, this is when I open the big Zipper pockets that I made that are on top of the mother bag and put all these things back in. The reason I made these big top pockets is so you can put things inside the bag very fast with out having to open the entire bag.
So as you can see I took a lot of thoughts in making these "EPIC TRANSPORTER" roller bags. But again some times you don't get that lucky and it has happen few times that I had to pay a large some of money for 4 of these bags. And the amount has been between $350 to $550.


P.S. Just so you know a normal kiter will need only 3 kites max, 1 to 2 bars, and 1 board. But because of the demos I am doing world wide I always have to travel with around 15 to 20 kites, 3 to 5 Twin Tip boards, 15 bars and so on.
:o
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Always nice to travel with a person so you get 2 extra bags for FREE.jpg
DSC_0037 2 white 5.jpg
What fits in the EPIC GolfBag 1.jpg

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Re: Airline Baggage Weight Experience - pls add yours

Postby poshnbex » Sat Aug 24, 2013 9:21 pm

Ethiopian airlines (flew Rome to Mombasa) are great. Two bags a head, no size limitations, no enforced weight limitations. Shame the airline was rubbish in all other respects...

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Re: Airline Baggage Weight Experience - pls add yours

Postby dejavu » Sat Aug 24, 2013 11:35 pm

Qantas is fair. You can take up to 2x 23kg and height up to 2100. Even better if you are a platinum as you get 2 x 32kg. I take two Cabrinha bags. One a day surf bag 1800 and a coffin bag 1700. Fits 4 kites, 2 boards and associated gear,all only 46kg.

Flights out of HNL to OGG...Maui I have found ok for my coffin bag but different story coming back. They prey on kiters. You will pay $60 even under 23kg.

Air NZ are shocking. They never charged up until about 1990 always friendly, no charge for ski bags etc,then they cracked down. Qantas enjoyed my custom thereafter.
Jetstar up to 23kg ok, up to 2100mm on their large planes, I think 1800 on smaller.

Out of Las Vegas they also charge by the kg if you are a kg over weight.

General rule stay under 23kg

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Re: Airline Baggage Weight Experience - pls add yours

Postby Kamikuza » Sun Aug 25, 2013 3:04 am

dejavu wrote:Qantas is fair. You can take up to 2x 23kg and height up to 2100. Even better if you are a platinum as you get 2 x 32kg. I take two Cabrinha bags. One a day surf bag 1800 and a coffin bag 1700. Fits 4 kites, 2 boards and associated gear,all only 46kg.

Flights out of HNL to OGG...Maui I have found ok for my coffin bag but different story coming back. They prey on kiters. You will pay $60 even under 23kg.

Air NZ are shocking. They never charged up until about 1990 always friendly, no charge for ski bags etc,then they cracked down. Qantas enjoyed my custom thereafter.
Jetstar up to 23kg ok, up to 2100mm on their large planes, I think 1800 on smaller.

Out of Las Vegas they also charge by the kg if you are a kg over weight.

General rule stay under 23kg
Air NZ or rather, check-in nazis in NZ are pieces of shit.

Took my 160cm North bag to NZ on Korean Air into Auckland, then Air NZ to Chrirstchurch. Paid $200 return to Korean, then $70 Auckland to Chc. No problems as it was prebooked, although the dicks in Auckland grumbled about the size and weight.

Coming back here, got to Chc airport and presented my bag and was told flat-out that "It's impossible - you can't take that bag on this flight. No way at all." Told the bitch to shut up and get her supervisor who, just like the dingbat clerk, starting in on the whole "Can't do it" wrap. Once she shut her trap, we explained that actually, we flew it in from Auckland on this airline so it can be done, we just want to know how much it'll cost.

Took a while to get that into their thick heads. Eventually we got from "Impossible" to "can't do it" to "but you'll have to pay" to "Oh ok you don't mind paying" :roll:

Normal procedure for those assholes.

Previous flights out of NZ . . .
"Oh your bag is 22kg and your bag is 18kg . . .our limits are 20kg. You'll have to pay extra-luggage charges". Bitch, 40kg is going on the plane, it doesn't matter where it goes.

And weighing my carry-on (8kg) and telling me to get rid of stuff while the guy in the next queue has a huge tramping pack stuffed full . . .


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