Extra baggage Allowance

[Kate]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (camdiver @ Oct. 10 2003,10:17)]BTW Kate, did you get a letter telling you about a change in flight times? I'm not looking forward to getting to LGW for a 9:30am departure.

<font color='#810541'>I did get the letter, yes (Mark...I know where you live !!! &nbsp; &nbsp Put your address through the shreader!!!!

x x x

[Ian Murray]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (Kate @ Oct. 09 2003,18:49)]I've e-mail the airline we're flying out to Egypt with (Excel) asking if they allow any extra baggage allowance for the flight, I was really suprised to get a reply back saying no...How tight is that, especially as I explained that I was a diver and I'd like to take clothes as well as kit!!!!

Has anyone else experianced this flying out there?

It depends on who you get at the check in and how early you are at the check in etc......

As a side note we recently went to Sharm from Gatwick due to the trip being 11 days we flew out with Monach and back with Excel.

At the check in with Monach at Gatwick they didn't bat an eyelid at the excess weight. After the gear had gone through I mentioned about the weight to the check in lady and she said it didn't matter as Monach treated dive gear like golf clubs and do didn't really count it in weight allowance.

It was a different story coming back with Excel. We thought we'd check in nice and early. There was a bit of a stewards enquiry about the weight allowance and after a bit of a confrontation they allowed the baggage on without charging excess. It was a bit touch and go though.

If I had the choice I'd fly with &nbsp;Monach. The market to Sharm is divers and divers have dive gear. At least they accomodate their market.

Regards, Ian.

[Kate]

<font color='#810541'>Ian...not that I'm planning to, but if I do want to confront them about it, what would you say the best things to say were...you know, a bit of sweet talking...firm but fair...are you lost 'coz I am &nbsp;

x x x

[KimH]

<font color='#000080'>Have just got back from Sharm and got stung for excess baggage with Monarch (Gatwick) on the way out - I could have had a pyramid in the bag on the way back for all the notice they took.

We've done this trip quite regularly over the last couple of years about every 10 weeks or so, all through 911 and &quot;the war&quot; and this is the first time they've batted an eyelid - and I was actually travelling light (relatively) this time. Last time in July they just took one look at the diving bag and directed me to the &quot;heavy&quot; desk without even weighing it.  

I thinks it's true what Ian says. it's all a matter of which queue, when you check in and your attitude.  Although we were early I think it must have been the poor girl's first week and she had to check everything she did and do it by the book.  So I suppose on average we can't complain and they did upgrade us all to premium class on the way back. The cabin crew were quite pleasant which made a nice change to the miserable bunch we normally get on the return leg.

I did hear though that Monarch have given their staff quotas of cash to recover through excess baggage and are clamping down but that could be a vicious rumour. Although, everyone else did seem to have a massive amount of hand luggage and I got the feeling they knew something!

Excel were keeping their heads down as this was the time of the 48 hour stopover so they obviously had better things to think about and didn't want any more grief.

[John Gulliver]

This is a never-ending saga! I've done more dive trips than most and I've come to the conclusion that it's a lottery. I've tried all the usual tips – getting to the airport early, being extra nice to the check-in staff etc etc – but there seems to be no logic in it. It all depends on which airline you fly with and who checks you in. One thing though: I've only once been challenged about my hand luggage. My policy nowadays is to try to keep my luggage to a minimum, pack all my clothes in my hand luggage (as already pointed out, you don't need a lot in the tropics or on a liveaboard), hope for the best and pay up cheerfully if I have to. It's almost exclusively an outward journey problem. Only once have I been charged on the way home. I always ask for a 10 kilo extra concession: some airlines (e.g. Garuda, Egyptair) always give it, others (e.g. SAS, KLM) never do.

[Mark Davies]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (Kate @ Oct. 10 2003,12:54)]I did get the letter, yes (Mark...I know where you live !!!    ) Put your address through the shredder!!!!

<font color='#000080'>It's not an official secret Kate, don't worry!

[Spike Jackson]

In my experience you're almost always safe with 22 - 23 kg of checked baggage, its when you go over that they start to get antsy. We managed to get away with 28kg once! However the next time I tried it I got stung - big time.