More travel hassles for Canadian snowboarders

[skategoat]

Air Canada has dropped it's free baggage allowace from 32kg to 23kg (that's 70 to 50lbs). Anything over 23kg gets charged an extra $35.00.

Now, here's the worst part - if you bag weighs more than 32kg (70lbs), Air Canada will try to direct you to the cargo division. And that 32kg bag will cost you $170. And to guarantee that your luggage gets to the destination on time, you have to get to the airport 3 hours in advance.

I just weighed 2 snowboards with bindings, a pair of boots and a travel bag - typical gear for a trip. The scale hit 20kg. That gives me only 3kg wiggle room. If you pack your gear wet on the return trip, I'll bet it weighs more than 23kg.

Pack carefully and weigh your stuff before you head to the airport.

[Tommy D]

Good to know. I just booked a trip to Calgary via United, but it's for those reasons I'll probably DHL/UPS most of my gear.

[Guest Randy S.]

The passport thing means we'll likely have reciprocity and need our passports up there. I think we already did for flights, but not for car travel, is that right? Either way, you should have a current passport anyway. You never know when you might have to leave the country in a hurry!

One thought on the luggage limit thing. I don't know if it works as well in Canada, but I've found it almost universally works here. If you use curbside check-in they never weigh your bags. They certainly don't if you give them a decent tip. So you save time and money by doing curbside. I usually tip them $5 if I have a normal load of luggage and $10 if I have a heavy bag.

One more tip for luggage checking. The airlines limit their luggage liability by the passenger. So, if you are travelling with multiple people, make sure you spread out the wealth at check-in. Don't let them check all the bags (especially the ones with expensive stuff in them) to one person. Otherwise you'll quickly hit the limit if they lose the bags.

[Gecko]

One thought on the luggage limit thing. I don't know if it works as well in Canada, but I've found it almost universally works here. If you use curbside check-in they never weigh your bags. They certainly don't if you give them a decent tip. So you save time and money by doing curbside. I usually tip them $5 if I have a normal load of luggage and $10 if I have a heavy bag.

I have used this ploy a number of times. In my last job (and my next one) I had to travel fairly often...always with 12-15 cases of test equipment in addition to my own luggage...2 of our cases were right on the boarder for weight +99lbs (government exception) Skycap was the only way to get through North American airports. My tip was usually more like $50-$60. Strangely I never had problems overseas :rolleyes:

[skategoat]

I don't recall ever seeing curbside check-in at a Canadian airport. The skycaps take your stuff to the regular airline counter.

One thing they don't do is weigh passsengers. If it comes down to it, I'm gonna look funny wearing my snowboard boots and helmet on the plane.

[ak_rider]

I've never flown air canada. Usually Northwest. I've never had a problem checking bags. they usually don't weigh my board. The one time it happend, I stepped out of line and just went to a different agent. Usually if they're on the end of the row they'll have you put your boardbag next to the counter so they don't have to pull and manouver the long bag through the normal square space that has the scale.

The pasport thing deffinately sucks. Didn't need it before for car or plane travel. But I do get hasseled less with the passport than I did with the lisence and brith cert.

[Shred Gruumer]

I know for two years now continental and northwest and dem scary bitches at da counter will jab you if your one pound of 50! 25 bucks then i think its 50 or 75 bucks when you reach 70 lbs... I remeMber the good old days of my 80 lbs PLUS OF board bag and no hassles.. oNE thing I do now to lessen the over load charges if you have to get it through ...its print your boarding pass ahead of time and then self check your luggage.. its better to do this outside and hold the 10 spot$$ so the baggage guys see it and if your over and they let you slide well its less than 25 and give it to him ..the other is have a tall back pack and when you put it on the scale at the ticket counter.. prop it up from behind they cant see it! Also I never use a snowboard bag thats a dead givaway! get a volkl padded double ski bag.. mine is 210cm and it will hold three board with the top bomber plates taken off.. I usually now carry on my bindings and boots IN A BACK PACK thats what usually puts me over the top.. i ALWYAYS TRY TO BRING AT LEAST 3 BOARDS WHEN i TRAVEL.. PLUS ITS FUN WATCHING THEM LOAD IT.!!!

rIGHT SAID sHRED

[Gabe T]

In the past, I've been lucky and have escaped being tagged for extra charges despite being overweight.

One year , I pretty much packed all my gear and clothes into a Burton wheelie case. Found out at the airport that it was way overweight and was going to be hit with a big surcharge. (i.e over $100!) The lady at the counter gave me a cardboard box and suggested I unpack some of my stuff to get underweight. In the end I was still over, but she let me go anyways without charging me. Thoughts of picking up my underwear off the luggage conveyor raced through my mind. That damn box was pretty flimsy I tell ya! I didn't have any hassles on the way back, so I think it all depends on who you get at the counter a lot of times.

Henry, do you know whether Westjet's policies are more lenient? I flew with them a few years ago and it seemed so at the time. Looking to book a flight soon for Big White (Kelowna, B.C.)

Gabe

[philfell]

Good to know. I just booked a trip to Calgary via United, but it's for those reasons I'll probably DHL/UPS most of my gear.

International flight. I beleive you can still have three checked bags up to 70lbs on international United flights. It should say on the back of your ticket or on you receipt.

[philfell]

Surprisingly some of the biggest hasseles I've had traveling from country-to-country is going from the U.S. to Canada. The boarder crossings in Montana are abusrd to drive across. I'm four out of my last four trips have resulted in our car being searched.

[Guest dragon fly jones]

You look like the guys from FUBAR and they don't want those fools coming back.

[C5 Golfer]

The passport thing means we'll likely have reciprocity and need our passports up there. I think we already did for flights, but not for car travel, is that right? Either way, you should have a current passport anyway. .

Randy,

I just returned from golfing in Whistler (driving POV since it is a short ways from Seattle) and all they asked which is usual for me is where we reside. No Documents asked for when entering Canada. They asked where I was going and how long I was staying and then said have a nice trip. On my return I gave the US guys our passports, They asked what we did and said "Thanks" and returned our passports. This is the way it has been for several years. no different in the winter.

[Linus]

You will need your passport from sometime in 2006 or 2007. Until then, you will only need to have your citizenship card to travel US by car. When we need our passport to travel US, Americans also required to carry their passport to travel Canada. Oh well......

[terekhov]

can suggest some of russian mountaineers trick on the way to nepal: just wear all of things on thyself ;) people boarding flights moscow-katmandy in all of down high altitude wear and ropes and plastic boots on them - and I mean world known athletes now, not youngster punks ;) so ticket price not depends on passenger weight, yeah?

PS sorry, you really might not understand such a behaviour :)

[Justin A.]

Yes, I know its a hassle, and I dont like it either. But as a pilot, I understand where the airlines are coming from. Airplanes do have a maximum weight, so more baggage weighing more means either fewer paying passengers on the flight or less fuel that the plane can carry on the flight. Before every single flight airline pilots have to go through a weight and balance for their aricraft. If the plane is over MGTOW, then they gotta lose something. If the plane is out of its acceptable CG limits, they have to move stuff around. The fact is, the airlines limit baggage weight for safety and overall convienience of you the traveller, because if someone shows up with a 150 pund bag, then somebody elses luggage is going to get bumped or someone will get bumped or on a short flight, they will drain 150 pounds of fuel (and just think of the public outcry of not flying with full tanks!). Im not saying that it isnt a hassle, but you just need to understand why the companies do it.

________

Honda h4a transmission history

[skategoat]

Gabe:

Westjet is status quo for now but rumour has it that they will impose same restrictions. It's all about fuel cost. Fuel is the #1 variable cost for airlines. I guess it makes sense that if you pack 200lbs of luggage and I bring on just a carry-on, you should get dinged for the weight.

When are you going to Kelowna? Email me with some details. I might come along. I have friends there who would love to ride with you.

Henry

[bartron]

Air Canada has dropped it's free baggage allowace from 32kg to 23kg (that's 70 to 50lbs). Anything over 23kg gets charged an extra $35.00.

I just weighed 2 snowboards with bindings, a pair of boots and a travel bag - typical gear for a trip. The scale hit 20kg. That gives me only 3kg wiggle room. If you pack your gear wet on the return trip, I'll bet it weighs more than 23kg.

Some airlines allow heavier baggage if they contain sports equipment. Several of my SCUBA buddies and I have to declare our check-in baggage as sporting equipment. In that case we get an allowance of 70lbs instead of 50lbs. So far I've only flown with U.S. Air for my SCUBA trips, but other airlines may have the same kind of policy. BTW, my check-in baggage (which contains all my clothing as well) on those trips wieghs in at 50.8lbs. I can bring it under 50lbs by simply taking all the batteries (and there are quite a few of them) in my carry on. :D

Check well ahead of time to make sure.

[Tommy D]

International flight. I beleive you can still have three checked bags up to 70lbs on international United flights. It should say on the back of your ticket or on you receipt.

Hey Phil. I didn't know that, but I got curious and checked United's web site. This is what they say:

United Airlines will modify its free checked-bags policy for international travel, to reflect new weight limits of 50 lbs. (23 kg) each for up to two pieces.

United is waiving excess weight charges up to 70 lbs. (32 kg) each for up to two pieces of free checked baggage for international travel purchased through September 6, 2005 . Excess baggage charges will be applied for international travel purchased on or after September 7th.

So, ticket holders after September 7, that's me, are limited now to 50lbs per bag, for two bags. My stuff usually falls under that anyway, but the more I think about shipping (Yeah, it does cost a bit more) the more I don't want to lug my gear through airports, etc.

[Allee]

You might have to watch with carry ons as well. I've had mine weighed twice now, luckily both times it was OK, a few times it hasn't been ...

That's a big drop in the weight limits for Air Canada. I'm flying regional jet to Sun Peaks in Dec, I'll have to make sure I travel light.

Bit of a pain when you're travelling with snowsports stuff or kids. Although it might stop some of the bloody tourists who take their entire house with them when they go. I'm always amused at seeing people with gigantic bags that they can't even haul off the conveyors ...

It totally depends on who you strike at the counters too. I've always found a smile works wonders.

[Gtanner]

Last year I was confronted by an AC agent about having my hardboots in a carry-ons (they were in a shoulder-bag). I tried to explain to her that as long as they are in a bag and they pass through security they should be fine...after some haggling she finally let me go, but said that the AC policy is no ski-type boots as carry-ons whether contained in a bag or not.

I couldn't find any documentation saying that was the case in their policies. Has anyone else been confronted about bringing boots on-board?

-Gord

[Guest Randy S.]

Surprisingly some of the biggest hasseles I've had traveling from country-to-country is going from the U.S. to Canada. The boarder crossings in Montana are abusrd to drive across. I'm four out of my last four trips have resulted in our car being searched.

A shave and a shower sometime within 48 hours of crossing the boarder might help lessen this issue. Oh, and don't wear your hat that says "Bomber" on it either!

Another way around these restrictions is to make the US Snowboard Team. They all get a certain number (its a big number) of special passes that allow them unlimited baggage on flights. I was talking to Anton Pogue about this. While still on the team, he moved all of his kite, windsurf and snowboard gear down to Chile using those passes. Clever monkey.

[gmarsden]

Last year I was confronted by an AC agent about having my hardboots in a carry-ons (they were in a shoulder-bag). I tried to explain to her that as long as they are in a bag and they pass through security they should be fine...after some haggling she finally let me go, but said that the AC policy is no ski-type boots as carry-ons whether contained in a bag or not.

I couldn't find any documentation saying that was the case in their policies. Has anyone else been confronted about bringing boots on-board?

-Gord

I had a argument with security at Calgary last year when I carried my boots out

of the secure area during a stop on the way to Kelowna, when I tried to get back thru

for the connecting flight.

They didn't seem to care that I just brought them from Toronto carry on. I eventually talked to a supervisor and asked for written documentation of this new policy, and they finally gave in. I have flown a number of times since with no problems.

Greg

[Bordy]

I get nabed with to much weight also some times but not others? Coming back from my last trip I was loaded down with skate gear. My wife and I got popped on the return flight. I pulled 65 pounds of skate trucks, wheels and "non Tool" hardware, and stuffed it into my Dana Bomb Pack as my carry on. Allthough I needed to work to move and get it in and out of the over head. It went un noticed. The guys at X-ray ripped it all out and stared at it. Then they asked if I wanted to repack it up or if they should I then repacked all the stuff and rolled. I could not help think about the damage I could do on a plane with SL trucks and Heavy rubber wheels? The weight was the same it would have been on the plane either way but now I felt like I could ruin any highjacking that may take place! Point being weigh you bags I can hardly weight to travel with my race bags. Man is that going to blow.

Dragon Fly and Randy. Phils got the Canadain Po-Po all in his grill cuz he is a bad boy! He has been Flagged because of Youthful antics.

There are some racers out there who are not even allowed into the country!

It a running joke with us....

This year I am getting a new passport so I can stay low key, but I always have to go in a different car then Phil just to stay out of the Po-Po's rader cause I know he has to go talk to the Man.

Phils got secerets.....Hard core mysterys!

[Guest Randy S.]

Tell Phil that if his car smells like a skunk, he's gonna get tagged. Do they drug test you at your level? Those smelly green herbs will trip you up every time.

Of course if you live here in CA, you can go get a medical marijuana card.

[Bordy]

Yea we peee in the cup.

The only skunk smell in Phils car Is because he smells bad from being on the road.

I am sure with my injury back ground I could get a medical card for Cronic Pain!

Instead I am just grumpy some times cuz I HURT!