[cofe]

having flown a bunch of times before with pads with varying levels of stress, i just wondered what people tended to book them in as to minimise arguments with check in cronies?

E.g.

Surfboard
Bike
Heather Mills' prosthetic leg
Diving Equipment
Skis
Pain au raisin
Golf Clubs
Snowboard
Jasper Sharpe

Anyone?

[dave]

I've never booked my pad in as anything other than a suitcase on pre-booked luggage. but then its a small suitcase sized pad anyway.

[slackline]

  What dave said.

[webbo]

i think i booked mine as climbing equipment bizarrely.

[cofe]

Looking at it, it costs about the same now either way as you have to pay for extra luggage/sports shit. I hate flying with low cost air twats.

[slackline]

Don't fly with them then 

I don't have any problem with all the breaking down of the cost of individual items on such flights, it means you end up paying for what you use rather than paying over the odds for everything and then not using certain things.

[dave]

What I have a problem with is them advertising flights at £xx then revealing that there's an extra £xx per bag per way, £xx if you want to pay by card (not that there's any other option unless you go to the one bank in the country that'll give you a visa electron) and an extra £xx if you want to breathe in during the flight.

Imagine if you went out for a meal on a set menu deal, then they wanted £10 for hire of the crockery and £5 a peice for the seats you're sitting on. Add 3% to the bill if you can't pay in turkish Lira.

[slackline]

Don't pay any attention to advertising, its all bullshit anyway.

Given that we now all know about the "hidden" costs we all know whats involved / the amount of crap/hassle required.

[cofe]

still a pain in the cock though innit. hence why driving to e.g. Mello doesn't seem that convenient. crazy.

[slackline]

Yeah, I'd get on the case of whoever is organising the Stag do.

[cofe]

don't worry, we're riding him like Red Rum.

[rodma]

I've never booked my pad in as anything other than a suitcase on pre-booked luggage. but then its a small suitcase sized pad anyway.

 

We just took our mondo transatlantic without any hassle (we did get stung on the way back for additional checked in baggage, but that's because they've changed the rules).

Never had any trouble other than paying for standard checked in baggage with ryanair.

[Falling Down]

Yoga Mat (that's what I've used in the past).

Slightly off topic, but the best experience with flying with a pad was on the return leg of a three week business trip to California during which I had spent a weekend in Bishop and bought a new Metolius from Wilsons.   The client had paid for Club World return which BA then kindly bumped up to First class for the return journey from LAX to the UK.   I turn up at the airport in my work gear with a pull along case and my huge new pad.  When you fly First, you don't check in, someone does all that for you and I was met at the door by two BA ground staff, one carrying a glass of champagne and my passport to walk me through fast-track, another to take my bags and they quickly summoned another who was my dedicated bouldering pad carrier so I had three people, one purely to carry my bouldering pad. 

You don't get that with Ryanair.

[nik at work]

I get annoyed with the extras, but at least you can see them when you book and crucially before you pay.

However if you fly from Blackpool they have a charge for using their departure lounge to help pay for upgrades which is five or ten pounds (I can't remember) but which is NOT mentioned when you book. You pay it when you get to the airport, you don't pay you don't get into the departure lounge so you can't get on the flight. As a Jasper once repeatedly said "thieving cunts".

[slackline]

However if you fly from Blackpool they have a charge for using their departure lounge to help pay for upgrades which is five or ten pounds (I can't remember) but which is NOT mentioned when you book. You pay it when you get to the airport, you don't pay you don't get into the departure lounge so you can't get on the flight. As a Jasper once repeatedly said "thieving cunts".

That is fucking despicable.

[dave]

Sounds like when you book a hirecar and it says "there may be additional charges payable locally that we're not going to tell you about in advance and that you won't be able to do fuck all about anyway. We also reserve the right to charge you well over the odds for a full tank of juice if we find any air between the fuel and the filler cap, knowing full well the nearest garage is 5 miles away. You will not know we've made this charge until you get your card statement, by which time we know a significant proportion of you won't be bothered to contest it".

[i.munro]

I get annoyed with the extras, but at least you can see them when you book and crucially before you pay.

Not with BA you can't! Having already made the mistake of booking with them I still can't get any solid definition of what/how much we're expected to pay per pad except that it's a lot. (roughly 1/3 of the flight cost!)

Their published rules are vague & they seem unwilling to clarify them.

[tomtom]

Sounds like when you book a hirecar and it says "there may be additional charges payable locally that we're not going to tell you about in advance and that you won't be able to do fuck all about anyway. We also reserve the right to charge you well over the odds for a full tank of juice if we find any air between the fuel and the filler cap, knowing full well the nearest garage is 5 miles away. You will not know we've made this charge until you get your card statement, by which time we know a significant proportion of you won't be bothered to contest it".

Hire car companies seem to vary alot according to the people working there... I've had wankers like the above - but also (last year in Bilbao) I couldnt find a garage, and the guy drove me in the car to one (where i filled up) then drove me back. Always worth being as polite as possible to the folks on the desk...

Ryanair however are the spawn of satan. I would rather eat my own hair than fly with them again. 

[rodma]

I get annoyed with the extras, but at least you can see them when you book and crucially before you pay.

Not with BA you can't! Having already made the mistake of booking with them I still can't get any solid definition of what/how much we're expected to pay per pad except that it's a lot. (roughly 1/3 of the flight cost!)

Their published rules are vague & they seem unwilling to clarify them.

Have you asked them how much it costs per extra piece of checked in baggage? That after all, is what a bouldering mat is.

[account_inactive]

Thought I would resurrect this thread rather than start a new one....

We are flying to El Paso on Tuesday and will be taking a large Moon pad.  The new restrictions are pretty vague and I'm not sure what to do with the pad. Would it be better to take it to pieces and strap it into a bag or just wrap my normal bag inside it and hope for the best?

Anyone been long haul with a pad on BA recently?

Cheers

[account_inactive]

Maybe like this!

[tomtom]

Maybe like this!

Winning! If you want something sturdier than the walmart bag, Cotswold have some cheap(ish) Mountain Equipment duffels 100l for 50 sheets IIRC. I have one and use it as my main bag when flying and its been pretty robust so far (c.8-10 flights).

It also has the added bonus of winding MrsTT up when we go away together as it doesnt look like a 'proper' suitcase

[Oldmanmatt]

Maybe like this!

Winning! If you want something sturdier than the walmart bag, Cotswold have some cheap(ish) Mountain Equipment duffels 100l for 50 sheets IIRC. I have one and use it as my main bag when flying and its been pretty robust so far (c.8-10 flights).

It also has the added bonus of winding MrsTT up when we go away together as it doesnt look like a 'proper' suitcase

Where are the wheels?

How can you annoy the other passengers in the terminal, without wheels?

Are you suggesting he should carry his own bag?

Heaven forefend!

[Beastly Squirrel]

I just class my boulder pad as another suitcase (cheapest option as boulder pads look like suitcases)... it then got put in a 'unusual' baggage area where I saw 2 men 'hand carry' it onto the plane as if was fragile    score!

[r-man]

Got round this on a trip to Albarracin by putting all clothes etc inside pads, then pads in large plastic bags and securing them with lots of duct tape.

Printed out email from airline that said the only restriction was weight, not size. We checked our pad in as our normal luggage. Spanish official got a bit arsey on the return leg, but we waved the printed email at him and he went away.