Baggage fees.. Tightening the Screws

[Mossman]

We bought the Dive Caddy for our trip to Bonaire as we were afraid the bags may get lost and Delta only had 1 trip per week so if our bags did not make it, we had no gear. After packing it several times (I never could get as good as the video), I got everything in it except my wetsuit. It really does fit in the overhead and then all I had was the clothes to pack. Won't help with cameras, but does lighten the total checked luggage weight.

While any delay is no fun, I doubt you would have had to wait an entire week before getting your luggage from Delta if they had lost it. Airlines get pretty creative about moving luggage from place to place when necessary and there are plenty of options, including routing it through Curacao. Another suggestion, that I haven't tried yet, is to check your bags one leg at a time. Obviously this requires enough time between legs in order to claim bags, re-check them, and pass through security, but it eliminates bags lost at the connection points.

 

[Salty Dog]

Scuttlebutt has it, a restroom fee coming soon! :mooner:

 

[Mossman]

Scuttlebutt has it, a restroom fee coming soon! :mooner:

San Francisco passengers have learned today that the European discount airline, Ryanair is continuing with its plan to charge travelers for using the bathroom facilities.
This information comes one day after Spirit Airlines, the U.S. low-cost carrier announced it will charge for overhead bin space.
Britain's Daily Mail newspaper in London says "No-frills [Ryanair] is working with Boeing to redesign the cabin and develop coin-operated toilets on 168 of its planes. Not content with charging passengers for use of the facilities, the airline is also looking at reducing the number of toilets on board, leaving just one available cubicle for up to 189 passengers."
So what will the price be? Dublin-based Ryanair will charge either €1 or £1 on flights up to an hour in duration. At the current exchange rate that's betweem $1.30 and $1.55 for the privilege of using the bathroom.

 

[Mike]

It really amuses me that all you Divers in the USA are whining about excess baggage charges, when you already get far more generous baggage allowances than the rest of the world!

In Europe, we have had a checked baggage allowance of between 20 and 23 Kilos (that's 44 - 50 pounds, depending on the airline) for as long as I can remember, and if you go above that, you pay an excess per kilo - which can often be as much as 1% of the full First-class fare per kilo.

Many of the cheaper airlines in Europe now charge a "check-in" fee of around US$25 per checked bag each way -and paying for 2 or even 3 checked bags does not increase your total baggage allowance, which stays at 20Kg.

From what I've been able to gather (primarily from the SeatGuru website), on flights from the USA to Mexico, Continental allow you one bag up to 23Kg (50 pounds) for free, and a second one for just US$27 if you pay online. In addition to that, you get a generous 18Kg (40 pound) Carry-on allowance - in the rest of the world, it's generally between 7 and 11Kg.

Most of the divers that I travel with manage to keep their checked luggage to under 23Kg total - and some travel with 15Kg or less (including BC, Regs, Fins, Wetsuit, etc., etc.). Those with lots of Camera equipment accept that they will have to pay excess fees, and allow for it when planning the trip.

I'm going to Raja Ampat in Jan 2012, and have been told that the checked baggage allowance on the flight to Sorong is just 10Kg (22 pounds). Although I doubt I'll manage to get my weight that low, I'd be surprised if I have to pay for more than about 8Kg excess - when you're travelling to somewhere hot, and are going to be underwater most of the time, do you really need to pack more than a couple of pairs of shorts a few T-shirts, and some sunblock?


Get real, people - learn to travel lighter, and stop whining!

Neil.

Please stop trying to force the unpleasantries of the reality of living in Europe upon citizens of the United States. We don't want you baggage regulations any more then we want your $9.00 a gallon gasoline prices or your VAT. We don't want your baggage fees anymore then you want Greece's insolvency issues. We don't want your baggage fees anymore then you want the hunger problems of Africa. What you have had to accept as 'normal' doesn't mean that somebody else from another part of world must accept as the same just because it's your burden based on where you live.

By the way aren't the reasons why you're all used to being nickle and dimed to death for everything on an airline is because Europe long ago went to that system thanks to the competition of all the $39.00 flights and non-sense? You all just got exposed to the shell game long ago in pursuit of ridiculous fares that aren't real anyways?

 

[1KWIK_69]

While any delay is no fun, I doubt you would have had to wait an entire week before getting your luggage from Delta if they had lost it. Airlines get pretty creative about moving luggage from place to place when necessary and there are plenty of options, including routing it through Curacao. Another suggestion, that I haven't tried yet, is to check your bags one leg at a time. Obviously this requires enough time between legs in order to claim bags, re-check them, and pass through security, but it eliminates bags lost at the connection points.

Delta lost three out of six of our bags in 2006 when I went to Cozumel with my son and a friend. The final bag, my son's clothes arrived while we were at the airport a week later preparing to go home. That was a waste of a trip. Every day they kept saying the bags would be at our hotel, so every day we had to find someone who spoke english well enough to know what bags to look for. I also spent $150 that trip talking to the airline on international calls trying to find out what happened to our stuff!

Ever since that trip, my dive gear rides in my carry on bag, and I only fly delta if they have a much lower price.

 

[Mossman]

Of course if driving is too expensive and they want to bring more luggage, they can always take the train. I guess our crumbling interstates, failing bridges, and the joke that Amtrak has become are something to brag about.

 

[redacted]

Scuttlebutt has it, a restroom fee coming soon! :mooner:

Can you name at least 2 things you can do with an air sick bag?

 

[DandyDon]

Delta lost three out of six of our bags in 2006 when I went to Cozumel with my son and a friend. The final bag, my son's clothes arrived while we were at the airport a week later preparing to go home. That was a waste of a trip. Every day they kept saying the bags would be at our hotel, so every day we had to find someone who spoke english well enough to know what bags to look for. I also spent $150 that trip talking to the airline on international calls trying to find out what happened to our stuff!

Ever since that trip, my dive gear rides in my carry on bag, and I only fly delta if they have a much lower price.

Such happens and the airline is totally responsible for your needs. Buy clothes, keep receipts, file claims. Also good to have a skype account for calls, but they do have a local number.

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

Such happens and the airline is totally responsible for your needs. Buy clothes, keep receipts, file claims. Also good to have a skype account for calls, but they do have a local number.

Actually, the airlines have a cap on their liability, I believe it a max of $635 or $10 a pound on international flight, whichever is less for lost baggage. Ouch!

 

[iztok]

Get real, people - learn to travel lighter, and stop whining!

Try diving with that in Great Lakes or SoCal and tell us how it went.