OT American Airline and Ski bag

[vertical_doug]

So American Airlines wants to charge $200 each way for my skis. Anyway around this?

[mjbabcock]

Bikeflights.com

[vertical_doug]

It is my daughter, last minute Lucy. Flight leaves in 5 hrs. She went to check-in online and had the surprise. Too late for fedex ground or any of that.

[christian]

Do you have status? If so, call the status desk, explain the situation, and see if your status gets her free carriage of skis. Otherwise, bring boots and rent demo skis.

[roseyscot]

How many days of skiing? Might be better off renting once you get there. Might be more appropriate skis for the terrain, less to schlep, etc.

I haven't bought new skis in 5+ years. When I go out west, I rent the newest/greatest/most appropriate for current conditions. When I'm back east, my hardpack/ice ski needs haven't changed much in a decade. Atomic B5's get it done in the east.

[Lionel]

So American Airlines wants to charge $200 each way for my skis. Anyway around this?

That's insane.

[Saab2000]

I can speak from first hand experience that there are more customer friendly options than that particular carrier out there. ALWAYS read the fine print before buying a ticket and always read their policy on baggage before you buy and before you go to the airport. And bring a copy with you.

I'd look into shipping your ski stuff if I were you. Or just bringing boots and renting skis and poles.

Airlines suck. The day I retire from my industry will be a good day.

[Matthew Strongin]

Somebody needs to invent S&S coupled skis.

[burgess1108]

And people wonder why Americans don't take vacations. Aside from the fact that it's a fortune to fly, the airlines ruin the entire experience from the get go.

[Saab2000]

And people wonder why Americans don't take vacations. Aside from the fact that it's a fortune to fly, the airlines ruin the entire experience from the get go.

I will fly as little as possible when I leave the business and biggest advice stands: Always fly direct when possible and always fly in the mornings when possible. That's all unrelated to the OP's issue but worthy advice even so. There are usually fewer disruptions early in the day. Usually.....

[Eric Estlund]

How many other bags is she taking?

"For all classes of service, standard first, second, additional, overweight or oversized bag charges apply for [ski bag*]"
*4. One ski bag and one ski boot bag count as one piece

Baggage policy

If she packs safely she should only be hit with oversized.

For any travel with the bikes or skis I try to look into the max baggage charges and factor that in with ticket price when shopping for flights. No help now, of course.

[Eric Estlund]

AA:

"*Please note that more than one charge may apply to a bag. For example, a second checked bag that is also overweight will incur two baggage charges. If that bag is also oversized, it will incur a third charge. We also have year-round limitations on baggage and the number of boxes allowed when traveling to some cities."

That, along with the per occurrence high fees, is pretty bad. Worse than many, in my experience.

[false_aesthetic]

Nothing more to add than this: I have never had a problem-free flight with American. From delays to flying to the wrong airport to the worst flight crews I've ever experienced.

At least with Spirit I know what I'm going to get -- a shit show. Maybe it's time to resurrect ValuJet.

[EricKeller]

I remember back when AA had the best reputation in the business. So funny

[vertical_doug]

Update, sorted it out and swapping to smaller ski bag was able to get two pieces of luggage down to $60.

Once upon a time, flying was glamour. Think of PAN AM.
Now we see people at the check-in counter trying to reshuffle bags to prevent overweight charges.

It is a lot like banking. Once upon a time, you got a free toaster and a clerk with a smile when you opened an account.
Now, we just get a pay-day loan and ever increasing fees.

[Saab2000]

The glamour airlines are all out of business, at least in the US. I won't defend the cold, mean spiritedness of airlines (because there's no need to really ever be mean), but I do want my industry to be profitable and stable, something that was not the case in the heyday of the Pan Ams and TWAs of the world.

[colker]

On a similar topic.. I brought my dogs to Mexico. It was easy. 2 big dogs. It was expensive but doable. That was 2012. A year later i want to bring them back and i find only ONE company that takes big dogs in the cargo compartment and it's much more expensive. I am afraid by now there won't be any way to travel w/ them..and i need to.

[cny rider]

The glamour airlines are all out of business, at least in the US. I won't defend the cold, mean spiritedness of airlines (because there's no need to really ever be mean), but I do want my industry to be profitable and stable, something that was not the case in the heyday of the Pan Ams and TWAs of the world.

I'd be happy if everyone I did business with could be profitable and stable.
It's just that every time I fly any airline other than Southwest I'm made to feel like I'm a burden. I get the feeling that frontline customer service airline employees generally hate their jobs and their customers. It makes the whole experience awful. I try to drive and take trains whenever possible, and if I have to fly I try to be on Southwest.

[Saab2000]

I'd be happy if everyone I did business with could be profitable and stable.
It's just that every time I fly any airline other than Southwest I'm made to feel like I'm a burden. I get the feeling that frontline customer service airline employees generally hate their jobs and their customers. It makes the whole experience awful. I try to drive and take trains whenever possible, and if I have to fly I try to be on Southwest.

I do not work for Southwest but they are the ones I recommend when people ask. I love how they do business and how they run their operation and how they treat their customers and employees.

[Jonathan]

and if I have to fly I try to be on Southwest.

That's my motto, or jet blue. Both have a large presence in Orlando and I can go about anywhere I want to go nonstop. I've been flying to Chicago periodically over the last year and have booked all my frequent flyer miles on American. It's a bummer to accumulate miles on an airline unfriendly to bikes.