The airlines suck! New fees! Complain now!

[mania]

Completly OT
Ken - on the MOF thread -I'm with you

Mania

 

[*Floater*]

The way it's written you could get charged $80 just for a snork, but in effect I think they are just interested in charging people who bring a whole set with tank included. I used Northwest and United last summer with this policy and they didn't do anything about my fins, regs, ... that I packed in my checked-in luggage and carry-on. I wasn't transporting tanks though.

 

[Bison]

This is nothing new for the airlines. I have always had to deal with the weight limit. Sometimes my gear bag would be a little over the 70Lbs and they would hit me with the extra chrage. The skycap is a good optin to try and avoid this problem. As for trying to bring a pony bottle setup..no way. In a recent trip to Tavanier Dive Center they had me ship my pony bottle directly to them to avoid any problems. They had it set up and ready for me when I arrived to do deep diving. They shipped it back to my house without any extra charge to me. Nice system they have to keep it simple for their customers.

 

[nauidiver2004]

What I don't understand is why do they asses a surcharge for SCUBA gear but you get nothing in return. The gear is still subject to the normal limits of lost/damaged luggage should something happen to it. If the bag is not oversized or overweight and checked in lieu of 'normal' luggage, What is their justification for the surcharge? I've asked but the counter people just stutter a lot and talk in circles. They always cite "policy", but no real substance.

 

[rockjock3]

What I don't understand is why do they asses a surcharge for SCUBA gear but you get nothing in return. The gear is still subject to the normal limits of lost/damaged luggage should something happen to it. If the bag is not oversized or overweight and checked in lieu of 'normal' luggage, What is their justification for the surcharge? I've asked but the counter people just stutter a lot and talk in circles. They always cite "policy", but no real substance.

It is to unjustly punish divers because they are jealous of us.

Like has been said earlier in the thread. The primary purpose of this is the tanks. Tanks are heavier/per size than is traditional luggage so they charge an extra fee for them. Just like charging more for a javalin because it takes up more space for it's weight and even though they don't let you buy extra insurance for it they still have to make allowances for packing it semi-protected. I don't think there are many of us that take our tanks with us though so it is mostly mute. I have traveled between all the continents (except Australia) with my SCUBA gear and never had a problem. I just pack it in my luggage and my carry on and I keep all my stuff under weight. They don't ask and I don't tell.

 

[Charlie99]

This sort of stuff has been in the airline tariffs/fee structure since back in the 1970s. To the best of my knowledge, it was to account for those cases where a guy shows up wearing a set of scuba gear and hands it over to the airline for transport. Kind of like the same situation where a guy shows up with a bicycle or a surfboard.

HAS ANYONE EVER ACTUALLY BEEN CHARGED FOR SCUBA GEAR INSIDE A SUITCASE OR DUFFEL BAG ????????? (no reports of a friend of a friend of your cousin being charged. Real incidents of it being charged for stuff other than bare tanks being transported)


BTW, if you DO want to complain about something, complain about the airlines that will accept a set of golf clubs at no charge in addition to normal luggage.

 

[Charlie99]

What I don't understand is why do they asses a surcharge for SCUBA gear but you get nothing in return. The gear is still subject to the normal limits of lost/damaged luggage should something happen to it. If the bag is not oversized or overweight and checked in lieu of 'normal' luggage, What is their justification for the surcharge? I've asked but the counter people just stutter a lot and talk in circles. They always cite "policy", but no real substance.

Have you ever been charged for scuba gear in a bag within size and weight limits? Which airline?

 

[RonFrank]

Use the Skycap. the tip is the best money you can spend....

I agree with the Skycap, however it does not always work Leaving from DIA last summer, the guy grabbed my bag, and then immediately hauled it over to the scale. He then told me I was three lbs overweight... but he did not make an issue of it.

Leaving Orlando last year I had purchased a new bag (huge) and had stuffed two bags inside. I KNEW it was overweight, likely by a lot. I figured that if they made an issue, I'd just pull one of the bags out of the new roller. The SkyCap dude just grabbed the bag, and put it in the luggage transport, he did not even raise an eyebrow eyebrow

I've found that different airports, and people handle things in a VERY inconsistant manner, from security, to SkyCap, and even TSA. DIA seems to be one of the worst that I've run across. They typically weigh all bags, and often by the time I'm done with security, the ENTIRE contents of my camera's bags are on a table. Last summer they delayed us close to 30 minutes going through my camera bags.. at the end of it all they Triumphantly held up A tiny HEX wrench!! Wow, I feel so much safer knowning that they are confiscating allen wrenches from all the pasangers... you could poke someone's eye out with one of those things :11doh:

 

[DandyDon]

I suspect it has more to do with limiting liabilities - if gear is lost or damaged, and you did not declare it as scuba gear and pay the extra fees, they can beat you out of the claim.

If you do have to file a claim, use words like "Swim gear."

 

[RonFrank]

There has been several threads over the years that list the exact regulations you have included. Fortunately the Airlines don't seem to be interested in enforcing these regulations, however word to the wise, and don't advertise what's inside your bags.

The irony is that there is ALSO a regulation that states that one can bring extra bags if they are used for camera equipment. Of course even showing the airline staff a copy of their own regulation will NOT result in them allowing additional bags.

IMO don't EVER try and fly with a tank, even a pony. I know some do, but IMO it's just inviting surcharges. One can FedEx ground a tank for about $20 just about anywhere in the US, so if you feel the need to travel with a tank, IMO mail it.