AirTran Charging Extra for Scuba Gear

[Kat]

Here is AirTrans Sporting Goods Policy. AirTran Airways - Sporting Equipment

This sounds like some mid level minion made a serious error in judgement and will have to pay with his or her career.

No way that is going to happen. This was a money generating idea. They knew they'd field some complaints. A few unhappy passengers, who say they will never fly AirTran again. They also know that most will continue to fly. The airline is not worried about a few unhappy divers.
It is really a win-win policy for the airline, you either pay the fee or leave your gear behind. What the airlines really want is to eliminate checked luggage. It is a huge expense. Here is an article on MSN that I found very informative. The Middle Seat: Baggage Becomes a Big-Ticket Item - MSN Travel Articles
It mentions that AirCanada is offering their passengers a $3 discount if they don't check a bag.


So fellow divers...let's re-read the AirTran policy and be smart.
Golf Clubs: Allowed up to 60 pounds. Hummm, how can you take advantage of that?

Go buy a hard sided golf bag. They cost about $70 (AirTrans fee, one-way) and put 59 pounds of scuba gear in it. Then put your TSA locks on it. Taa Daa, problem solved!
The agent isn't going to ask you what is inside your golf bag. AND you get an extra 9 pounds of gear.

Actually, what I find amazing is that hockey gear is allowed, at no additional fee. Those bags are just as big & bulky as dive bags.

 

[mangrovejack]

So fellow divers...let's re-read the AirTran policy and be smart.
Golf Clubs: Allowed up to 60 pounds. Hummm, how can you take advantage of that?

Go buy a hard sided golf bag. They cost about $70 (AirTrans fee, one-way) and put 59 pounds of scuba gear in it. Then put your TSA locks on it. Taa Daa, problem solved!
The agent isn't going to ask you what is inside your golf bag. AND you get an extra 9 pounds of gear.

Actually, what I find amazing is that hockey gear is allowed, at no additional fee. Those bags are just as big & bulky as dive bags.

I've heard of this tip before, but will it not raise suspicions to the security screeners when they x-ray the bag and not see golf clubs but instead a mess of other stuff (including a SS backplate for example or weighted STA)? I guess using a TSA lock means they can inspect it, but I suspect that they most likely will considering the mismatch of gear.

 

[High & Dry]

I just got back from my trip to the Keys on Airtran Airways. I was not charged the $65 scuba surcharge, but it was clear that this was because of my complaining to their Customer Relations department. I'm sure that my reservations were flagged, because guy that checked my baggage actually measured it for allowable dimensions, which I have never had done before.

I never did get an email reply from Mr. Hutcheson, but I did get a return phone call at 9 pm the night before we flew out from Customer Relations. It seems that my earlier call to CR was logged as a "formal complaint" against their policy. My two companions that did get charged were going to call in formal complaints and stop by Airtran CR while on layover in Atlanta, which is their hub.

The way Airtran's policy is written it could be interpreted that if you had a mask in one checked bag and fins in another checked bag, you could get charged for $65 for each bag (they won't make and exception for "snorkel gear"). This wasn't just a misinterpretation of the policy, if you read the policy you will see (of course you'll have to do a couple of searches on their website to find it. My dive shop told me that Airtran tried this one time before a few years ago, but dropped it after complaints. According to the fine people at Airtran they adopted this new policy March 1, 2008.

There are alot of creative ways of beating their system (I had already thought about the sex toy one), if you know about it ahead of time. However, the point is you should not have to. This is clearly an unfair policy that needs to be changed.

Lodge formal complaints at : Customer Relations 1-866-247-2428 select #3 "all other questions"... if you select "questions about baggage" you'll get transferred to a baggage warehouse in Georgia.

 

[Saltwater Junky]

Do any of the other airlines have a similar fee? Did their CR explain why they're charging this fee for scuba and not golf?

 

[marshallkarp]

Which weighs more, 50 pounds of clothes or 50 pounds of scuba gear?

 

[Charlie99]

Believing that direct action is the most effective, I emailed Marketing V. P. Tad Hutcheson - 678-254-7442 tad.hutcheson@airtran.com on 5/15 asking if the $100 charge applied in cases where NO tank was included and all gear fit inside a case that met standard weight and size limits for checked bags. Not having received an answer, I pinged him again this morning. This afternoon he replied:

tad.hutcheson@airtran.com[/email]]If you do not carry a scuba tank and your gear fits in a bag, there is no charge for it. I hope this helps

I suggest that anybody traveling on Airtran print this post and tell any Airtran agent trying to charge for gear w/o a tank to call their Marketing VP for clarification.

Charlie Allen