Just read a post on UKRGB, apparently as of the 6th November british airways will no longer allow you to take you kayak with you, oh and pretty much any other larger sporting item, surfboards, wind surfs etc. If you have a ticket they will honour it.

They suggest instead that you ship your kayak seperatly using a shipping company and re-unite yourself with it at your destination. Won't that be fun!

I can not understand why people who are into sport are persecuted like this, last time I took a flight I was next to this huge obeste person whos weight must have outdone me and my kayak, had to spend three hours smelling the most disgusting human being ever. complaining didn't do anything and I was stuck, literally.

This is a dangerous move for us paddlers and I hope other airlines do not follow suit.

Original post here
www.ukriversguidebook.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=29814


Air your views to BA here
www.britishairways.com/travel/custrelform/public/en_gb

That is bad news! I had zero problems with them in June and July. And no problems with Finnair either, even on a domestic flight in Finland they didn't even bat an eyelid. Hopefully they don't either change their views! I'll be sure to voice my opinion on that link now now Thanks for the heads up

They say:
\"Due to the large size and handling complexities, some sporting equipment cannot be accommodated through the airport baggage system or within the aircraft hold\"

What a lot of bull! They transport very large items all the time. What about bicycles? They haven't included them...

This is truly awfull. I just flew with BA last month, with my kayak and there were no problems. They didn´t even break the paddle I attached to it's side. I was so happy I almost posted on playak that BA were a good choise of airlines...

SlapHappy wrote:

I can not understand why people who are into sport are persecuted like this, last time I took a flight I was next to this huge obeste person whos weight must have outdone me and my kayak, had to spend three hours smelling the most disgusting human being ever. complaining didn't do anything and I was stuck, literally.

With that in minde I ended my submition with this:
If this change is to take an effect, I will remember to do my business with other airlines who treat passangers with large sporting equipment the same as passangers with large suitcases and large bodies.

... I hope I didn´t take it to far

I'm often at the airport to pick up or drop off my old man. Just this morning I was there again. About once a month or a little less for the past twelve years as my dad worked in Zambia and now he works in the DRC. So I've seen PLENTY of people with some huge bags containing bicycles, surf boards (many!), kiteboards and the bags for the kites, golf clubs, large coffin type bags for a couple of rifles (loads of hunters come here), huge bags full of cricket and hockey stuff too...

My point, there are a crap load of people travelling with items far larger than the dimensions of standard suitcases so if they say no more then what the hell is the average sportsman going to do?? It is really annoying. BA was THE airline for taking boats. When I bought my tickets for this years trip I didn't even look at the prices of any other airline, I purely chose BA on it's reputation for taking boats with no hassles. Oh well... Let's see what happens.

We're not the only sports people to travel with large items. I feel for people with vaulting poles and javelins. How is a sportsman supposed to afford to use cargo????!!!! They calculate the cost in terms of volume, not weight. So to take my kayak overseas, one way would have cost me about 350 Euros! Clearly not an option!

That is an amazing U-turn coz only about 6-months ago BA introduced a policy to take 1 item of sporting equipment (incl. kayaks) for free. Certainly our Montenegro team in April all got their boats down there with BA no problem and at no extra charge.

BA are a pretty unfriendly operation - last year they lost all my gear coming back from Nepal and only responded to any correspondence when I set the lawyers on them. I ended up getting compensation but sweated blood to get it. The worst was their sneeringly superior attitude on the telephone.

Wont be using them again - I'd rather walk.

Yeah seem strange that they just stop it completly I would be happy to pay a surcharge but to just say no more kayaks is just plain silly.

Good news I can put a shotgun or firearm in the hold!! but not a kayak, what is going on with them. Seems to me like they are being a bit selective over their sports and policy, bet if the chairman was a paddler you would still be allowed.

When I contacted them I pointed out that they could be putting peoples life at risk by not allowing them to take their own equipment but I guess if you let guns on then who cares about life.

Ah well not that I was going to use BA anytime soon as every flight I have taken with them the staff have been rude and the food rubbish.

Croft wrote:

Wont be using them again - I'd rather walk.

They also took my boat no worries but their air stewards and stewardesses suck. Very unfriendly like you're doing them a favour by sitting in your seat. All 3 of my flights with them (1 up, 2 down) weren't the greatest and the plane was always very hot! I have no idea why.

It's a pity an airline like Finnair (2 up, 1 down) doesn't cover the whole world, what a pleasure to use them! Good looking ladies working on them too as bonus to the friendly service! Good food too. They fly to a couple of places though, check it out:
www.finnair.com/finnaircom/wps/portal/fi...zQUMvNElVRS82X0tfSVE!

It's a growing trend that businesses forget that the people are the customer and the ONLY reason why they even existed in the first place.

\"I can not understand why people who are over weight are persecuted like this, last time I took a flight I was next to this huge kayaker who's kayak must have outdone me and my weight, had to spend three hours smelling the most disgusting human being ever. complaining didn't do anything and I was stuck, literally.\"

Be careful what you say.

Shipping a kayak does cost a MINT nowadays.

When I moved to the US the MoD refused to ship my boat because of the price. I guess the only constructive thing to do is paddle it across the Atlantic!

\"I can not understand why people who are over weight are persecuted like this, last time I took a flight I was next to this huge kayaker who's kayak must have outdone me and my weight, had to spend three hours smelling the most disgusting human being ever. complaining didn't do anything and I was stuck, literally.\"

Be careful what you say.

Shipping a kayak does cost a MINT nowadays.

When I moved to the US the MoD refused to ship my boat because of the price. I guess the only constructive thing to do is paddle it across the Atlantic!

I get your point. Guess this is a pet hate thing personally I get really annoyed at over weight people. My wife is a 10k runner and I am not exactly fat we get charged access baggage when we fly, kayking, camping climbing gear normally over by a couple of kilos but some obese person who can not take care of themselves pays no extra at all. Not right in my book, I would also say that if there was a huge kayaker with kit then they should also pay, getting it for free was never going to work. Problem with an open forum is leaping before thinking

Shipping a kayak does not cost a mint at all, when we went to canada we took a kayak air canada and got charged 75gbp each way with all my kit in it, pretty fair price in my book. You can ship 10 kayaks by sea for 80gbp over 16 days and to air cargo a kayak using a 48 hour service from canada to uk is 95gbp (+ clearance) So no not a fortune at all. Send your boat with the RAF they fly their boys there all the time with kit.

BA should sort its business model out, you can take a firearm, golfing kit, skis and other equipment for free, ok great but instead of charging an additional handling charge (which would be acceptable) for kayaks, surfboards, windsurfs they have just said that you can not take them, that seems like bad poilicy. What will happen at the 2008 olympics in china will they say that no slalom boats, javalins or polevotes can be taken?

I would glady pay a flat rate of say even 100 Euros, one way, if that was the agreed upon price and there were no hassles.

Yes when big sporting events happen it's going to be trouble. A couple of my mates play ice hockey and travel overseas quite a bit for it. I reckon their kit weighs easily as much as a creek boat and gear. Two of them are keepers so it's really heavy stuff.

This summer when me and my girlfriend flew from Iceland to Norway we had to pay around 250 USD. for overweight, even though we had gone carefully trough our gear before packing.
On the way back from Norway we also had to pay, but this time it wasn´t for overweight. This time we had to pay 500 NKK (around 93 USD) for each boat. They told us this was the standard price for checking in your kayak. There were two other paddlers in the line but they didn´t pay extra for their boats. Of course we went right back to the desk and got the answer: TOO BAD FOR YOU!!

What I want to know is: Why kayaks? Why not golfers? Why not hockeyplayers? Why not people with big hands?


PS. Last summer me and my friend flew with the same airline (Icelandair) and then they managed to break all our paddles (3 AT & 1 Werner) that were in the same skibag and with FRAGILE-tags on it. It took us nearly two months to get them paid.

EasyJet's policy seems to work just fine - there is a fixed one-way cost - it is currently CHF 35 (about $25) that is paid in advance on booking. Given the additional hassle that baggage handlers no doubt have with kayaks etc., I dont know many people who would find this unreasonable. At least you know what you are going to pay and that the kayak is going with you. Also you dont have to do an excess baggage payment at check-in - always messy. However, I have heard rumours of occasionally sports items getting put onto the following flight - anybody know any more about this?

Re variable costs with other airlines - I have often flown to Crete with a mountain bike and have never paid the same amount twice - ranging from zero to $100 per bike per flight. It often seems to depend on the person at check in. That is why it is best to stay polite and humble. The charming guys with the silver tongue always seem to get away with it. Ugly old trolls like me always seem to get stung for the max! (just look at my Karma/thumbs).

Croft wrote:

Re variable costs with other airlines - I have often flown to Crete with a mountain bike and have never paid the same amount twice - ranging from zero to $100 per bike per flight. It often seems to depend on the person at check in. That is why it is best to stay polite and humble. The charming guys with the silver tongue always seem to get away with it.

Everyone I've spoken to says it always depends on the person at the check in counter. So much for standards within a professional organisation...

I would glady pay a flat rate when buying my ticket. 25 US Dollars is nothing. I'd pay even over 100 if that meant getting my boat there with no hassles.

Freight is seriously expensive and then they get clever with stuff like import tax and forget that you're just there for a holiday...

The only argument that BA (or others) will understand is business not reason. I think we need to get together with surfers and windsurfers and create an (updated) listing of kayak/surf friendly airlines and jointly publish it where everyone can see it. Having critical mass is the only answer and we are still a small sport so we need to work with our friends.

To get the ball-rolling how about a playak poll - what is the most kayak/surf friendly airline??

There's a Facebook group against BA that I've just come across. It isn't specificaly for kayaks but why not join in the fun

www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5286497429

I got a reply from those at British Airways. It reads as follows:

\"Dear Mr Tregoning

Thank you for your email.

I am sorry that you are unhappy with our new Sporting Equipment policy.

Due to the large size and handling complexities, some sporting equipment cannot be accommodated
through the airport baggage system or within the aircraft hold. Therefore, British Airways no longer
accept the following equipment.

Hand gliders
Windsurfing boards and Sails
Surfboards
Kayaks or canoes
Pole vaults
Javelins

Customers wishing to travel with these items should make alternative arrangements with a freight forwarder.

We will continue to accept items for groups booked to travel through some of our travel agents partners
who specialise in sporting tours if we receive prior notice. This will allow us to put alternative arrangements
in place to handle the items.

Please accept our sincere apologies for the inconvenience caused.

Kind Regards
Mia
\"

I highly doubt they'd make arrangements prior to the flight. I tried that one already... Didn't work. Well, I guess a couple people won't be using BA anymore...

How about creating a Playak Kayak Friendly Airline league table. Registered users could grade each airline 0-10 after each trip (like Slaphappy did in his other post). Airlines would move up and down the Table depending on their Playak scores. This would give a dynamic ongoing overview to paddlers about which airlines are behaving well towards boaters at any one time. I think this would be very useful and, if it became well used and known, could encourage airlines to make kayak friendly policies.

Flying with a kayak annecdotes are entertaining and fun to read but they will not change airline policy.

Got an answer from BA just now:


I am sorry that you are unhappy with our new baggage policy relating to your favourite sport, kayaking, effective from 6 November 2007.



I understand that this new policy will disappoint passengers who are passionate about sports like javlin, windsurfing etc. as it will affect their holiday plans.



We have been concerned for some time that a few extremely heavy bags were taking a toll on our staff and increasing the likelihood of damage to other passengers' luggage. So after taking into consideration many things,we have introduced this new policy.



Earlier we had a few specific exceptions to the 32kg rule, for items such as musical instruments, electric wheelchairs, sporting equipment, television news cameras, commercial spares, diplomatic bags or pets. If you planned to travel with one of the heavy items on our exceptions list, we asked you to register it with us at least 24 hours before your flight.



But currently due to the large size and handling complexities, some sporting equipments cannot be accommodated through the airport baggage system or within the aircraft hold.



Your opinions are invaluable. We monitor what our customers tell us, at every level of the business. For instance, the Board of British Airways see regular accounts of the issues being raised by our customers, together with examof real comments, word for word. Our Chief Executive and Chairman set aside time each week to personally review a significant number of customer letters and emails. Improvements happen as a result.



I hope this helps, and thank you for your valuable feedback.






Best regards

......valuable feedback!

kojak wrote:

......valuable feedback!

yeah, first they say your opinions are invaluable and then your feedback valuable all of a sudden. guess they should make up their minds

Your opinions are invaluable. We monitor what our customers tell us, at every level of the business. For instance, the Board of British Airways see regular accounts of the issues being raised by our customers, together with examof real comments, word for word. Our Chief Executive and Chairman set aside time each week to personally review a significant number of customer letters and emails. Improvements happen as a result.

Yeah right I can see it now, two fat cats sitting round a table with tea and biscuits being concerned and then taking a flight somwhere with a golf bag.

What really annoys me is this

We have been concerned for some time that a few extremely heavy bags were taking a toll on our staff and increasing the likelihood of damage to other passengers' luggage. So after taking into consideration many things,we have introduced this new policy.

Meaning, our staff are moaning they have to work for a living and can't be arsed to pick up your bags. and we are worried that your kayak might damage the chairmans golf clubs. So after consideration stuff off and we don't care.

some sporting equipments cannot be accommodated through the airport baggage system or within the aircraft hold.

Meaning: We completly cocked up the design of our new terminal 5 and totally forgot about a minority of passengers who might want to travel with outsize baggage, so instead of admit this cock up we will just ban you from taking it. Oh and did you know the shape of the planes have changed, they all went through the wash at too higher temperature and shrunk so you used to be able to get a kayak on (and still can with other airlines) but ours are special and are smaller than everyone eles's, same plane different size....


Arrgghhhh stupid response.

supposedly there is a lop hole you cn call your kayak just watersports equipment and they let it though but this was before terminal5 which sent a friend of mines luagge to Milan not greece so dont no if that works anymore as it sucks