Airline Rules and Regs for Ski Bags (please make into a sticky)

It's the internet, the information is already out there. Myself, I get annoyed when people come here asking a baggage question that is very clearly covered on the website of the airline they are flying. Since policies change, the information is best obtained from the horse's mouth. We should not duplicate it here.

You got lucky. I'm pretty sure if you have anything in there other than a pair or skis and poles they can charge for oversize and/or overweight. The airlines have special rules to waive the oversize rule for skis, but once you start using as a suitcase, you are violating those rules.

+1 We don't need a sticky. This information is all online at your airline's web site.

my ski bag is consistently near 50 lbs. i have run into the overweight limit and had to take stuff out, but never got grief about other than skis being in there..(and there always is)

Uniteds policy specifically says 1 pair, NWA allows for two

In practice, i think it comes down to the ticketing agent....

SEARCH, Jong, SEARCH!

How many threads on this between here and TGR? A sticky - no I don't think so.

Ez solution- Concentrate your flying on one airline and get status. No more bag fees. It doesn't take as much as you think. If you fly cross country a couple times a year you can do it.

hey, I appreciate the post and would be interested in other people's recent experiences flying with skis. I see here that the ski industry experts recommend packing clothes around skis no matter what ski bag you take.
http://www.snowshack.com/whattolookfo.html

I see at AA Baggage site, that I should only pack what is intended to go in the sport bag and could be charged extra. I also wanted to purchase a double ski bag but they say one bag for a pair of skis and one for boots:
"
Skis Water / Snow / Snowboards One pair of skis/snowboard and one bag containing a pair of ski /board boots only Two pieces - Ski/board boot bag and one pair of skis/snowboard are charged the applicable checked bag charge for the 1st or 2nd checked bag. When in excess, each item will be subject to the baggage charge for a single piece. - Ski/board boot bag up to 50 lbs. and 62 inches
- One pair of skis/snowboard up to 115 inches - Lighters or torches for applying ski wax are considered dangerous goods and are not allowed in checked or carry-on baggage"
This will count as one bag. I can call the air line and they say, read the posted policy. So does this mean I have to buy two separate padded ski bags now to travel with my husband and my skis, also they say they won't be liable for items packed in a non hard-sided bag, but the rossignol expert says any ski bag is good to fly with.
"Liability

• AA/American Eagle/AmericanConnection® carrier are not liable for any damage to sports items not presented in a hard-sided case. If the outside of the hard-sided case does not have visible damage, AA/American Eagle/AmericanConnection® carrier are not liable for any damage to the sports item inside the case.
• Sports cases designed for specific items such as golf bags, boot bags and bike cases are intended to carry only that sports item."

So, any one with experience flying under the new rules with ski equipment could you post what happened, in particular, flying on American Airlines, as I'm booked to fly to Vail with them. I have never had trouble putting my skis in a bag and taking them and my boots in past but that was before extra charges and all the new money grabbing rules. I would love to see a sticky of experiences as the reality of flying these days changes daily with the rules and whims of the not just the handler you get but the interpretation of the changing policies.

All I know for sure is I'm going to Vail, is a double ski bag a bad idea, American Airline rep on the phone just referred me to the posted policy? Also, if I do put clothes around my skis for added protection (I'm thinking i must just pack my ski suit in it for padding and carry on my clothes), will they make me take them out?

I'll throw in a pitch for Southwest Airlines. They're the only major player I know of that hasn't (yet) jumped on the "no free bags" on domestic flights bandwagon. As of now, they still allow two checked bags for free, including one ski bag. They deserve kudos--and passengers.

Thank you, SWA!

Of course, they may not fly where you're going, or coming from. But they do fly to Denver!

Best regards,
Bob

Also note that if you are flying frontier airlines, they have different levels of tickets that allow 2 free checked bags along with other perks if you pay a little more to get the "Classic" level of ticket. Cost me $20 more per ticket,so its definitely worth it rather than paying $15-20 apiece for checked luggage. I dont think you will find the different levels of tickets on other travel websites, you have to go to frontiers site and order tickets.

Grateful for any experience of US Airways.
Flying into Denver from Ireland, start of March.
CW :-)

if the bag is over limit, take some stuff out. Get the tag on the bag. Tell the woman you will pay in cash for the baggage cost. While she takes your $100 bill to the next building over to get change, stuff all the crap back in there.
---Dec. 23, Delta Airlines, SLC, UT. What an idiot that woman was.

+1 for Southwest for not nickle and diming customers.

The only experience that would be applicable would be from another international traveler. Check their website, it has all the info you need.

100% agree. I just flew SWA to Sky Harbor AZ. They never even looked in or weighed my golf bag. All the peanuts, Lorna Dunes etc you could eat and soda you could drink. Free......and we all know what my favorite word is....

SWA

I have definitely become a SWA convert. I am flying them to SLC in Feb. and even though Delta was cheaper for the ticket, by the time I got baggage charges for a family of 5 traveling with ski gear the price on SWA was way less...and there is way less hassle. SWA lets you change/cancel your tickets without penalty and if you need to call them you actually speak to someone that speaks English as a first language...and is helpful.

JetBlue still allows one bag FREE!

And that "one bag" is actually TWO bags when you put some clothes in the ski bag as "padding", and some more clothes in the "boot bag" while stuffing the boots in the carry-on!

That "ski bag + boot bag" policy is pretty much true of most airlines I've checked so far. So, even at $15/1st bag, the difference in ticket price can easily outweight the "saving" on bag fees. I wouldn't worry about the bag fees just yet.

Sorry Ullr, tried that. At least two different explanations & no consistency. That's why I asked the question. I was hoping some of you guys might have come this direction and could share your experience.

CW :-)

Is it really so difficult?

Look it up at the airline's website, specifically for international flights.

Unlike domestic travelers, international flights tend to be quite strict in size, weight and number of peices of luggages. At least that was my experience. Those information are clearly available on the airline's website. In fact, I'm under the impression there's NO change in baggage allowance for international traveler at all!

On the other hand, they've NEVER open my bags to check what's in there.

As a matter of fact, I did just travel US Air to Europe just two weeks ago, but it was for business so no ski equipment was brought. Like I said, it will be very difficult to find a person this way. Stop by the airport you are leaving from or give them a call. I am sure they can answer any question you may have better then I can.

Without intending to be awkward, yes it is that difficult.

The US Airways website doesn't separate its baggage policy for domestic and international flights.

It talks about bag charging for every piece in one place, additional surcharges for skis in another and that ski equipment ("skis, boots, poles & bindings" - two bags by my reckoning) are freely exchangable at no extra cost for one checked bag in another.

The first and second options specifically refer to weight and apply to domestic flights while the third doesn't refer to the route or weight at all.

The policy also talks about international flights not having charges for bags up to the allocated allowance, but refers to excess charges for oversize items (that could apply to a ski bag given the dimensions quoted).

I hope that clarifies the cause of my confusion.

Anyway, I'm a big boy and well able to speak up for myself. I shall gird my loins, stride into that airport with the baggage policy tucked in my back pocket and smile ever so nicely at the check-in clerk .
If he/she tries to charge me, I'll politely show them the carefully selected section of the policy that suits my interpretation and failing that, I'll see if crying works.

Thanks anyway guys,

CW :-)

PS The airlines may never open your bags, but those nice people at Homeland Security ALWAYS open mine (and rightly so). It's just a shame that they can't pack as neatly as me :-)

It's the "bag"!

I have one small suitcase that almost ALWAYS got openned. (they leave a nice polite notes inside).

Since it has wheels, I sometimes take it as carry-on and leave the un-wheels bag as checked bag. That one rarely got openned!

Travel

I travel to the NASTAR Nationals every year from the East Coast. Last year to Steamboat, I was able to cram my alpine snowboard, skis, poles, some clothes and one boot in my oversize snowboard bag and it checked in at 49 lb. I put another boot in my checked suitcase with the tuning/waxing gear and it came to 48 lb. The boot bag had my other pair of boots. Everything checked for free. The cost of the flight was $365. This year I just booked my flight to Steamboat (actually Hayden) again and I checked American Airline's policies. Traveling as a dual event (ski and board) competitor, the fees will be crippling. Since I have a commercial UPS account, I'm going to ship the board/ski bag to and from the hotel. Even with my discount, it's going to run about $50 each way. I'm just hoping my Transpack bag with ski boots and helmet will qualify as carry on. Does anyone know?

On a positive note: I first checked into the cost of the flight in November and was quoted $500. A couple of weeks later it was $400. I booked the flight this morning for $285. At least with fuel prices coming down and a drop off in reservations, it looks like some deals can be had.

Orbitz has a nice web page that lists all their airlines and the fees for baggage, plus a link to the official policy for each. Bookmark it and refer to it when booking airfare.

Regarding 2 pair of skis or clothing in a ski bag, my experience is that the attendants only do two things: count the bags and weigh the bags. If it's under the weight limit they don't care what's in it - that's TSA's job.

The exception to this is if you're trying to pull the "ski bag + boot bag counts as one item" trick - in that case you're making them fill out paperwork and they may retaliate by insisting that nothing other than boots, skis (one pair) and poles can be in the bags. But this is moot since everybody here knows better than to check their boots, right?

DISCLAIMER: the above is based on experience prior to the crackdown on checked baggage. I'd be interested in hearing about more recent experience of travelling with two pairs of skis.

Ditto on the 2 pairs question Walt raised. Also, I'd like to know if anyone has successfully checked a "boot bag" with (lighter) clothes as part of a 1 ski/1 boot bag set in place of a checked bag, while actually bringing their boots in their carry on.

Kayak has an updated easy to read chart of all airline
baggage/meal/seating fees.
http://www.kayak.com/airline-fees

United , a month ago, lowered their absurd $ 130 RT two bag fee
to $ 80 RT to match most other major airlines.
Delta dropped from $100 RT to $ 80 RT also.


hth

First, I agree, it is that difficult. The Airlines have ZERO consistency, which I tend to use to my advantage when ever I can.
I usually fly NW because they fly into a small airport near me.
In December they charged me 10.00/first bag, 25.00/second bag.
I'm flying out this morning, and while I did the on line check in, they gave me the option of bags and said that the charge for bags would be $0.00
One thing that is consistent:
They count the luggage bag as ONE and the ski/boot bag combo as ONE. Since I always carry my boots on, that is not an issue with me.

I normally pack an extra jacket and a few incidentals in my ski bag, but I don't over do it.

Does this help.

Oh, and to the points I quoted.........I have never flown with my skis without having a tag inside the bag that says they were checked by TSA. I thank them and say Have a nice day!

I recently flew AA to Reno and was challenged for having two sets of skis in one ski bag when it weighed in at 46 lbs. I was asserting the 1 ski bag + 1 boot bag = 1 bag. I pleaded ignorance and was only charged $15 for both. I actually have 2 boot bags. The one I checked was full of clothes/gear while I carried on my actual boots.

Thanks kyjim. I think I've decided not to risk putting both pair of skis in one bag. I'll bring a ski and boot bad and wrap clothes to protect the skis and hope it goes well. Then pay for a second bag with the rest of my clothes. So i guess on flying day it should cost my husband and I $80.00 (15X2 and 25x2). I'm as worried about the fact they want a hard sided bag or don't cover damage, *frowns*. I should maybe check into my home insurance coverage before leaving, see if i'm covered there.