The airlines suck! New fees! Complain now!

[mrbill4]

I fly almost weekly, and many times I do bring a lot of gear with me. I have found a couple things.....

Airlines don't nessisarily care what is in the bags, just weight. And, if you leave a tank and weights at home, you should be under the limit (50 lbs). This is just a way for the airline to make money. If it wasn't, the bag allowance would be a total combined weight of all checked pieces, and not a weight restriction on each bag. So, pack one bag with board shorts and flip flops, and the other bag with gear. This will insure you are under on both accounts.

Secondly, the sky cap thing is not as effective as it used to be. When the 50 lb limit went into effect, I was always paying an additional 25 buck to get my bags to the destination. Then I discovered if you went to the skycap, flashed a ten, and smiled, he would "fail to notice" the weight of the bag. However, in the last year, I think airlines have gotten strict on skycaps too. Even they are starting to be sticklers for the weight limit. In fact, it is rare that they will let you get away with an overweight bag.

IMHO, it is best to leave the tanks and weights at home, forego the additioanl weight fee ($25.00 each way ($50.00 total)) and rent a tank and weights at your destination for $20 or so a week.

Remember, just keep your bags under 50 lbs, and don't tell what is in them!

-Bill

 

[Diver Dennis]

You're right Mr. Bill. It's a weight thing now. And make sure your scuba stuff is dry, from Yap to Palau, our stuff was what we considered just damp but my bag was 8 lbs heavier.

 

[lead bottom]

I'm puzzled as to why one would travel with tanks. It's more than a weight thing, it's also the pressurized cylinder thing.

I've never been asked what is in my checked bag, and as stated earlier, if the TSA doesn't care, neither does the airiline. The old don't ask, don't tell is the way to go.

 

[Diver Dennis]

Tanks have always gotten special treatrment.

 

[liberato]

Another thing, many older mechnical bathroom scales are notoriously inaccurate so don't go in with a 49 lb bag unless your scale is calibrated to known weight.

The airlines' weight concern may be legitimate if Jay Leno's jokes about Walmart widening their aisles have some essence of truth in them. If the average American is 15-20 lbs heavier than 30 years ago that can add up on a full plane.

 

[TCDiver1]

Remember, just keep your bags under 50 lbs, and don't tell what is in them!

-Bill

Yeah, the weight change for international flights is a pretty big thing. A lot of Airlines like Northwest allowed 70 lbs per bag on international flights. Now that many are going to the 50 lb max thing it is a pretty big hit. 40 lbs total if you figure both bags.

Not really that big a thing to me though. I've never had a problem keeping two bags below 100 lbs total on diving trips. It gets a little tricky with video gear but such is life.

Anyone who has ever done the sea-bag drag in their career understands packing isn't just a job, it's an adventure.

 

[DandyDon]

Another thing, many older mechnical bathroom scales are notoriously inaccurate so don't go in with a 49 lb bag unless your scale is calibrated to known weight.

The airlines' weight concern may be legitimate if Jay Leno's jokes about Walmart widening their aisles have some essence of truth in them. If the average American is 15-20 lbs heavier than 30 years ago that can add up on a full plane.

I take mine to a feed store with USDA licensed scales.

Then I put stickers on them saying "49#" - even if I'm fudging. I am prepared to tell them what all I did at the licensed scales, but it hasn't happened yet.

 

[Indybob]

You're right Mr. Bill. It's a weight thing now. And make sure your scuba stuff is dry, from Yap to Palau, our stuff was what we considered just damp but my bag was 8 lbs heavier.

Not too many things get my blood pressure up, but this is at the top of the list. It is
estimated that excess weight charges will amount to upwards of $80,000,000 in 2006.

Having recently flown out of Chicago, the first irritation was the guy going down the
wait line telling everyone that they would pay if their weight was over 50#, as he
pushed a portable scale along with him, and further told people they could not check
their bags until they got the weight down to 50# or they would pay, pay, pay. He said
it with so much glee that I felt like bashing him to the floor with his portable scale.

I knew that one of my bags was probably a few pound over (two sets of gear, but
with regs and gauges in a carryone), really had no plan, but was not going to pay for
over. Finally got to the front of the line, threw the "heavy" bag onto the scale and
saw 56#...immediately put another next to it....total now 98# and told her "checking
2", they were passed as being ok.

My problem with the airlines is: If you or I were selling goods and charging by weight
based on a scale, that scale would have to be certified by serveral government agencies to be legal. There is no one who certifies airline baggage scales that I have
been able to find; we are at their mercy. It's just not right, if we tried it we would end up before a judge, but when you hear of the bag that weighs 45# and one airport,
54# at the next, and a different weight at still a 3rd, all without being opened, something has to be done.

vent, vent, vent.........................

 

[Diver Dennis]

I agree Indybob. And they have a flat fee on most airlines, so just a couple of pounds costs the same as 20. Some charters in Canada charge by the kilo which seems much less like the money grab it is...

 

[MSilvia]

One (1) scuba generator

What the #@&k is a scuba generator?