Beware BA's excess baggage police!

[Hunter]

My wife and I recently flew to Cape Town to ride The Argus.
We have made similar trips several times before, using all
the competing airlines; BA, Virgin and SAA. And apart from
one occasion where SAA charged £25 per bike, money has never
been mentioned.

Imagine our astonishment at Heathrow when BA's check-in
clerk demanded £1,100 (instantly reduced to £769.50) to
take our bikes (packed in hard cases) on board. One
way, mind you. Sure, we were otherwise up to our 23kg
normal allowance, but there was no warning and no
negotiation, certainly not with the steely eyed
"Donata", BA's Duty Manager.

It was either pay up, leave the bikes at LHR or send them by
air freight (£500, no guaranteed delivery date). Decision
required in 5 minutes. Talk about having you by the balls!

Since the trip had been planned for months, we paid and
went. But the incident, plus the prospect of a re-run at
Cape Town airport, cast a shadow over an otherwise enjoyable
10 days. On our return, (normal service had by now been
resumed and no money changed hands), I checked all three
airlines' websites. SAA are explicit in asking EUR80 for
each bike, Virgin reserves all sorts of rights to charge up
to 1.5% of the full one way economy fare, and BA merely says
that excess baggage charges apply, without enumerating them.

Given the disproportionate sums involved, is this an unfair
business practice, or merely arbitrary? Before I scream
blue murder at BA's CEO, does anyone have similar
experiences? TIA...

 

[McBain_v1]

Originally posted by Hunter
My wife and I recently flew to Cape Town to ride The Argus.
We have made similar trips several times before, using all the competing airlines; BA, Virgin and SAA. And apart from one occasion where SAA charged £25 per bike, money has never been mentioned.

Imagine our astonishment at Heathrow when BA's check-in clerk demanded £1,100 (instantly reduced to £769.50) to take our bikes (packed in hard cases) on board. One way, mind you. Sure, we were otherwise up to our 23kg normal allowance, but there was no warning and no negotiation, certainly not with the steely eyed "Donata", BA's Duty Manager.

...

Given the disproportionate sums involved, is this an unfair business practice, or merely arbitrary? Before I scream blue murder at BA's CEO, does anyone have similar experiences? TIA...

HOLY **** !

That is truly horrendous

I've not had a similar experience but surely BA's failure to clearly display the basis on which excess baggage charge will be calculated is grounds for a serious complaint. Afterall, just look at the barracking the Government is giving the credit industry for their dubious small print - except in this case BA haven't even printed anything in small print.

I would definitely write a highly critical letter to the big cheese at BA demanding to know whether it is a deliberate policy of BA to practice non-disclosure of information that should be made public and available prior to departure, and then to fail to provide any explanation as to how the figure is derived... then I'd question the arrogant sod's parentage, and how his lardy **** could benefit from going on a bike for a bit

My worst experience with bike travel thus far has been when I landed at Geneva just prior to going over the border into France for some cycling. The customs people at Geneva wanted me to remove my cranks and bottom bracket so they could check that I hadn't got any drugs stashed inside my frame. I pleaded with them that they could look down the seat tube if I just removed the saddle, but they were adamant and since they had the backing of a scary looking female security guard with a bloody large rifle I capitulated... cue bits all over the place, oil on hands and a lengthy re-assembly stage when I eventually arrived at my digs in France

 

[Mseries]

Hunter wrote:

> It was either pay up, leave the bikes at LHR or send them
> by air freight (£500, no guaranteed delivery date).
> Decision required in 5 minutes. Talk about having you by
> the balls!

That absolutely sucks. I have carried bikes to USA, NZ,
Australia, Italy, France with only a nominal charge <£20. I
have often managed to talk the check in staff out of
charging me at all, and I still obtained a receipt. The
Italy Flight was with BA too, in 1999 for the Worlds (as a
spectator).

I feel for you bro. don't let the b* grind you down

 

[Zog The Undenia]

Hunter wrote:

> My wife and I recently flew to Cape Town to ride The
> Argus. We have made similar trips several times before,
> using all the competing airlines; BA, Virgin and SAA. And
> apart from one occasion where SAA charged £25 per bike,
> money has never been mentioned.
>
> Imagine our astonishment at Heathrow when BA's check-in
> clerk demanded £1,100 (instantly reduced to £769.50) to
> take our bikes (packed in hard cases) on board. One way,
> mind you. Sure, we were otherwise up to our 23kg normal
> allowance, but there was no warning and no negotiation,
> certainly not with the steely eyed "Donata", BA's Duty
> Manager.
>
> It was either pay up, leave the bikes at LHR or send them
> by air freight (£500, no guaranteed delivery date).
> Decision required in 5 minutes. Talk about having you by
> the balls!
>
> Since the trip had been planned for months, we paid and
> went. But the incident, plus the prospect of a re-run at
> Cape Town airport, cast a shadow over an otherwise
> enjoyable 10 days. On our return, (normal service had by
> now been resumed and no money changed hands), I checked
> all three airlines' websites. SAA are explicit in asking
> EUR80 for each bike, Virgin reserves all sorts of rights
> to charge up to 1.5% of the full one way economy fare, and
> BA merely says that excess baggage charges apply, without
> enumerating them.
>
> Given the disproportionate sums involved, is this an
> unfair business practice, or merely arbitrary? Before I
> scream blue murder at BA's CEO, does anyone have similar
> experiences? TIA...
>
>
BA are *supposed* to be really good with bike charges
compared to the budget carriers - I'm sure someone
recommended them highly in a recent issue of either C+ or
Cycle. Complain and say you will also be writing to the CTC
etc if you don't get a satisfactory outcome. Other people
need to be warned about this.

 

[Ningi]

Zog The Undeniable wrote:
> Hunter wrote:
>
>> My wife and I recently flew to Cape Town to ride The
>> Argus. We have made similar trips several times before,
>> using all the competing airlines; BA, Virgin and SAA. And
>> apart from one occasion where SAA charged £25 per bike,
>> money has never been mentioned.
>>
>> Imagine our astonishment at Heathrow when BA's check-in
>> clerk demanded £1,100 (instantly reduced to £769.50) to
>> take our bikes (packed in hard cases) on board. One way,
>> mind you. Sure, we were otherwise up to our 23kg normal
>> allowance, but there was no warning and no negotiation,
>> certainly not with the steely eyed "Donata", BA's Duty
>> Manager.
>>
>> It was either pay up, leave the bikes at LHR or send them
>> by air freight (£500, no guaranteed delivery date).
>> Decision required in 5 minutes. Talk about having you by
>> the balls!
>>
>> Since the trip had been planned for months, we paid and
>> went. But the incident, plus the prospect of a re-run at
>> Cape Town airport, cast a shadow over an otherwise
>> enjoyable 10 days. On our return, (normal service had by
>> now been resumed and no money changed hands), I checked
>> all three airlines' websites. SAA are explicit in asking
>> EUR80 for each bike, Virgin reserves all sorts of rights
>> to charge up to 1.5% of the full one way economy fare,
>> and BA merely says that excess baggage charges apply,
>> without enumerating them.
>>
>> Given the disproportionate sums involved, is this an
>> unfair business practice, or merely arbitrary? Before I
>> scream blue murder at BA's CEO, does anyone have similar
>> experiences? TIA...
>>
>>
> BA are *supposed* to be really good with bike charges
> compared to the budget carriers - I'm sure someone
> recommended them highly in a recent issue of either C+ or
> Cycle. Complain and say you will also be writing to the
> CTC etc if you don't get a satisfactory outcome. Other
> people need to be warned about this.

BA don't charge extra for bicycles, _providing_ you are
still within your baggage weight allowance (and some size
restrictions)

If you're flying to, or via, the USA and some other places,
you get a _much_ more generous allowance than elsewhere, of
2x32kg per person, rather than 1x23kg, i.e. almost 3 times
as much. If you are travelling to Europe and have a touring
bike, which weighs, say, 15kg, that doesn't leave you much
allowance for everything else.

The excess charges the OP got hit with are about what I paid
last year to have my bike shipped from New Zealand. Rates
seemed to be primarily based on size, not weight.

BA's baggage policy is at :

http://www.britishairways.com/travel/baggag/public/en_gb

Pete

 

[Steve Holdoway]

On Fri, 19 Mar 2004 16:02:39 +0000 (UTC), "Hunter"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>My wife and I recently flew to Cape Town to ride The Argus.
>We have made similar trips several times before, using all
>the competing airlines; BA, Virgin and SAA. And apart from
>one occasion where SAA charged £25 per bike, money has
>never been mentioned.
>
>Imagine our astonishment at Heathrow when BA's check-in
>clerk demanded £1,100 (instantly reduced to £769.50) to
>take our bikes (packed in hard cases) on board. One
>way, mind you. Sure, we were otherwise up to our 23kg
>normal allowance, but there was no warning and no
>negotiation, certainly not with the steely eyed
>"Donata", BA's Duty Manager.
>
>It was either pay up, leave the bikes at LHR or send them
>by air freight (£500, no guaranteed delivery date).
>Decision required in 5 minutes. Talk about having you by
>the balls!
>
>Since the trip had been planned for months, we paid and
>went. But the incident, plus the prospect of a re-run at
>Cape Town airport, cast a shadow over an otherwise
>enjoyable 10 days. On our return, (normal service had by
>now been resumed and no money changed hands), I checked all
>three airlines' websites. SAA are explicit in asking EUR80
>for each bike, Virgin reserves all sorts of rights to
>charge up to 1.5% of the full one way economy fare, and BA
>merely says that excess baggage charges apply, without
>enumerating them.
>
>Given the disproportionate sums involved, is this an unfair
>business practice, or merely arbitrary? Before I scream
>blue murder at BA's CEO, does anyone have similar
>experiences? TIA...
>

I did the Argus last year ( 3 and a half hours... not to
bad for a fat old g*t! ), and loved it. Still IMO one of
the best organised events I have _ever_ taken part in. If
you're thinking about doing it next year, then get
organised for it now!

There were two of us and only one bike in a soft case, but
BA didn't even attempt to weigh it! Of course, at the CT
end, not an eye was blinked... all airlines were officially
making allowances for bikes.

I think the moral of this is to book in early... checkin
staff are far more lenient when you've one of the first to
arrive for a flight. And, of course, don't take the p*ss -
if you're up to your limit already ( what with??? You don't
need many clothes in Cape Town this time of year! ), then
expect trouble.

It still rankles when the next person in line weighs 150kg
though, doesn't it

Steve

 

[Matsav]

On Fri, 19 Mar 2004 18:50:28 GMT, Ningi
<[email protected]> wrote:

>The excess charges the OP got hit with are about what I
>paid last year to have my bike shipped from New Zealand.
>Rates seemed to be primarily based on size, not weight.

True. There's something called the nominal baggage size
kilogram, or something like that.

This measurement assumes a particular density per cubic
metre (I don't know what the value is), and if your package
weighs less than the calculated weight for its size, you are
charged for the calculated weight.

This is because the space occupied by your lightweight
object could have been better utilized by carrying
(nominally) heavier objects (which would provide better
efficiency / more profit for the carrier).

On the other hand, if your object is heavier than the
calculated weight for its size, you don't get a
reduction :-(

--
MatSav

 

[Andrew]

. Sure, we were otherwise up to our 23kg
> normal allowance, but there was no warning and no
> negotiation, certainly
not
> with the steely eyed "Donata", BA's Duty Manager.

<super snip> So let me get this straight, you had bags up to
23kg plus bikes in hard cases & you got shafted for excess
baggage. Is this right?

If my understanding is correct I am not too surprised.
If your luggage & bike came under 23kg I would have
some sympathy.

Can you elaborate?

Andrew

 

[James Annan]

Ningi wrote:

> BA don't charge extra for bicycles, _providing_ you are
> still within your baggage weight allowance (and some size
> restrictions)

>
> BA's baggage policy is at :
>
> http://www.britishairways.com/travel/baggag/public/en_gb

That's really savage. Even Easyjet allow a bicycle as
_extra_ to their baggage allowance. Of course, it is
somewhat odd that airlines do often allow sporting equipment
on top of the usual baggage allowance, but maybe they have
calculated that sporty types are generally thinner than the
bloaters who sit on the beach all week...

James

 

[Tony W]

"andrew" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> If my understanding is correct I am not too surprised. If
> your luggage & bike came under 23kg I would have some
> sympathy.
>
> Can you elaborate?

Somewhere in most baggage schemes there is a clause for
'sporting equipment's (aka the compromise needed if we want
to transport all those golfers clause).

Perhaps the OP's mistake was to have his/her bikes disguised
as ordinary luggage.

T

 

[Nick Kew]

In article <[email protected]>,
"andrew" <[email protected]> writes:
> <super snip> So let me get this straight, you had bags up
> to 23kg plus bikes in hard cases & you got shafted for
> excess baggage. Is this right?

That's a valid reason for an excess charge. But within
reason ...

The one and only time I took my bike on BA, I was up to over
50Kg in total and there was no excess charge. But my then-
employer was paying club class as part of a relocation
package. They said - and this tends to confirm - it was
probably cheaper than the excess fare for my stuff. Much
better experiences on other airlines.

Nowadays I will never, ever touch BA again. Not since they
cancelled my flight from Gatwick, rebooked me onto one from
Heathrow, refused to pay my fare from Gatwick to Heathrow,
and to add insult to injury were thoroughly unhelpful and
even rude at Gatwick.

--
Nick Kew

 

[Carol Hague]

Hunter <[email protected]> wrote:

> Imagine our astonishment at Heathrow when BA's check-in
> clerk demanded £1,100 (instantly reduced to £769.50) to
> take our bikes (packed in hard cases) on board. One way,
> mind you. Sure, we were otherwise up to our 23kg normal
> allowance, but there was no warning and no negotiation,
> certainly not with the steely eyed "Donata", BA's Duty
> Manager.

***********! That's a *lot* of money!

I flew from Bristol to Frankfurt in 2001 with a Greenspeed
Tandem Trike (disassembled and packed in a hard case) and
they only charged me £70 excess baggage. I'm pretty sure
that was BA, though I wouldn't like to swear to it.

OK, much shorter trip, but also much smaller plane (to the
extent that on the way out they weren't sure if the case
would fit through the baggage hatch. It did.)

Oddly, on the way back, I was charged 70 Deutschmarks
(must've been just before the Euro launch) which I wasn't
complaining about, since it was about a third of what I'd
been charged on the way out, but does go to show the
inconsistency of the system.

>
> It was either pay up, leave the bikes at LHR or send them
> by air freight (£500, no guaranteed delivery date).
> Decision required in 5 minutes. Talk about having you by
> the balls!

I suppose it might have been a good idea to check in
advance, but if they've never given you grief about it
before, I can see why you didn't.

--
Carol "...it's not normal if you don't like cake..." -
Sean Yates

 

[Mark]

"Hunter" wrote...
> My wife and I recently flew to Cape Town to ride The
> Argus. We have made similar trips several times before,
> using all the competing airlines; BA, Virgin and SAA. And
> apart from one occasion where SAA charged £25 per
bike,
> money has never been mentioned.
>
> Imagine our astonishment at Heathrow when BA's check-in
> clerk demanded £1,100 (instantly reduced to £769.50) to
> take our bikes (packed in hard cases) on board. One way,
> mind you. Sure, we were otherwise up to our 23kg normal
> allowance, but there was no warning and no negotiation,
> certainly
not
> with the steely eyed "Donata", BA's Duty Manager.
>
> It was either pay up, leave the bikes at LHR or send them
> by air freight (£500, no guaranteed delivery date).
> Decision required in 5 minutes. Talk about having you by
> the balls!
>
> Since the trip had been planned for months, we paid and
> went. But the incident, plus the prospect of a re-run at
> Cape Town airport, cast a
shadow
> over an otherwise enjoyable 10 days. On our return,
> (normal service had by now been resumed and no money
> changed hands), I checked all three
airlines'
> websites. SAA are explicit in asking EUR80 for each bike,
> Virgin reserves all sorts of rights to charge up to 1.5%
> of the full one way economy fare, and BA merely says that
> excess baggage charges apply, without enumerating them.
>
> Given the disproportionate sums involved, is this an
> unfair business practice, or merely arbitrary? Before I
> scream blue murder at BA's CEO,
does
> anyone have similar experiences? TIA...
>
>

I've spent a good bit of time on BA's website planning an
upcoming journey. The website makes it fairly clear that
bicycles are treated as *part* of the baggage allowance, not
something that is carried free of charge in addition to the
normal baggage allowance. Since you already had 23 kg of
baggage, it would seem that you were charged because you
brought excess baggage, not because you brought a bicycle.
This is in contrast to other airlines which charge to bring
a bicycle whether or not the baggage allowance is exceeded.
--
mark

 

[Tony Raven]

"mark" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> I've spent a good bit of time on BA's website planning an
> upcoming
journey.
> The website makes it fairly clear that bicycles are
> treated as *part* of
the
> baggage allowance, not something that is carried free of
> charge in
addition
> to the normal baggage allowance. Since you already had 23
> kg of baggage,
it
> would seem that you were charged because you brought
> excess baggage, not because you brought a bicycle.

That would be my reading as well. I've seen quite a few
people turn up with massively over the limit luggage and
complain at the charges. In this case I can imagine it was
close to double the allowance.

Tony

 

[James Annan]

Tony Raven wrote:

>
> That would be my reading as well. I've seen quite a few
> people turn up with massively over the limit luggage and
> complain at the charges. In this case I can imagine it was
> close to double the allowance.

Having just checked carefully it seems that Virgin Atlantic
is the same (with a 20kg total), which will be awkward for
us with tandem next month. Easyjet allow a bicycle (and
other sporting items) in addition ot the standard baggage
allowance, and it seems odd that they should be _more_
generous but perhaps they rely more on the golfers and other
holidaymakers for their trade, rather than packing in
businessmen on 3-day jetlag-fests.

James

 

[Tony Raven]

"James Annan" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Having just checked carefully it seems that Virgin
> Atlantic is the same (with a 20kg total), which will be
> awkward for us with tandem next month.

I've always found Virgin quite helpful. When I've flown with
a tandem I've always called Customer Relations ahead of time
- the knowledge of the check in staff on such arcane issues
as the transport of tandems is not to be relied on. I always
do it before I book the ticket - airlines are usually more
accomodating if they think you have a choice not to book
than if you have already booked. Having agreed it with them
I then ask them to write a confirmation letter that I can
show at check in (may need a call back with booking details)
and add it to the booking file. It also brings a sigh of
relief at check in when you produce the letter and say its
all sorted and the desk clerk realises they are not going to
have to pretend they know what they don't.

Does bringing the tandem with you mean you are returning for
good or just for a break?

"Have a good fright" as they say in Japan

Tony

 

[James Annan]

Tony Raven wrote:

> Does bringing the tandem with you mean you are returning
> for good or just for a break?

Just a trip, more work than holiday and we were considering
not taking the tandem. But we will be bound to wish we had
it if we don't, especially with a few days in Provence to
kill! It is S+S coupled which is of course very helpful in
some ways but does mean it will just be part of the luggage
and not get special oversize treatment.

We did take a full sized tandem on easyjet a few times
with no problem, was a bit alarming to see it appearing
on the conveyor belt at the airport baggage collection
point though!

> "Have a good fright" as they say in Japan

doumo

James

 

[James Annan]

"Jon Senior" <jon@restless_REMOVE_lemon.co.uk> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> "James Annan" <[email protected]> wrote in
> message news:[email protected]
> net.or.jp...
>
> > We did take a full sized tandem on easyjet a few times
> > with no problem, was a bit alarming to see it appearing
> > on the conveyor belt at the airport baggage collection
> > point though!
>
> Alarming for you? Or for the other passengers?

For us! They were merely amused. We needed it to ride to
our hotel!

James

 

[Pmailkeey]

On Fri, 19 Mar 2004 16:02:39 +0000 (UTC), "Hunter"
<[email protected]> wrote:

My wife and I recently flew to Cape Town to ride The
:Argus. We have made )similar trips several times before,
:using all the competing airlines; BA, )Virgin and SAA. And
:apart from one occasion where SAA charged £25 per bike,
money has never been mentioned. ) )Imagine our
:astonishment at Heathrow when BA's check-in clerk demanded
£1,100 (instantly reduced to £769.50) to take our bikes
packed in hard )cases) on board. One way, mind you. Sure,
:we were otherwise up to our 23kg )normal allowance, but
:there was no warning and no negotiation, certainly not
with the steely eyed "Donata", BA's Duty Manager. ) )It
:was either pay up, leave the bikes at LHR or send them by
:air freight )(£500, no guaranteed delivery date). Decision
:required in 5 minutes. Talk )about having you by the balls!
)Since the trip had been planned for months, we paid and
:went. But the )incident, plus the prospect of a re-run at
:Cape Town airport, cast a shadow )over an otherwise
:enjoyable 10 days. On our return, (normal service had by
now been resumed and no money changed hands), I checked
:all three airlines' )websites. SAA are explicit in asking
:EUR80 for each bike, Virgin reserves )all sorts of rights
:to charge up to 1.5% of the full one way economy fare, )and
:BA merely says that excess baggage charges apply, without
:enumerating )them. ) )Given the disproportionate sums
:involved, is this an unfair business )practice, or merely
:arbitrary? Before I scream blue murder at BA's CEO, does
anyone have similar experiences? TIA... ) )

Considered uk.legal ?
--
Comm again, Mike.