Baggage allowance.... light at the end of the tunnel?

[steveowens]

Dear all
Please take a look at and complete the divers petition on the Scuba Industries Trade Association (SITA) site. It can be found at www.sita.org.uk.

It is the first real attempt, to my knowledge, to get the airlines to allow a increased luggage allowance for divers as standard.

Please complete it send it to friends, family and anyone else you know. Personally I have always been prepared to negotiate additional allowance and pay for it but the last couple of trips I have found the airlines to be completely inflexible.

Golfers get it, skiers get it i have even seen windsurfers get it! So fingers crossed.

[Dave]

Dear all

It is the first real attempt, to my knowledge, to get the airlines to allow a increased luggage allowance for divers as standard.

I cannot see it actually doing any good. What is in it for the airlines?


Please complete it send it to friends, family and anyone else you know. Personally I have always been prepared to negotiate additional allowance and pay for it but the last couple of trips I have found the airlines to be completely inflexible.

I find the opposite. I just came back a week ago from Larnaca with BA with a full set of kit, weights, 3L and 15L cylinders and had no trouble checking it in. It seems to me that the airlines are flexible enough with it already

Golfers get it, skiers get it i have even seen windsurfers get it! So fingers crossed.

The skis and golfing benefits have been around for years. Given the state of the airlines finances with some haemorraging money, I would think it more likely that they would remove benefits to skiers/golfers than extend it to others.

Nice if they do manage it, but I don't hold out much hope

Dave

[Dominic Humphries]

I cannot see it actually doing any good. What is in it for the airlines?

Well, for one thing, they might get more divers willing to fly with them...

[Steve Parry]

:=I cannot see it actually doing any good. What is in it for the airlines?

Well, for one thing, they might get more divers willing to fly with them...

Having flown with a variety of airlines (charter & scheduled)
I find that it is best to ask/confirm the baggage allowance when
you first enquire about booking a holiday. Most airlines will
give a bit more thru' the tour operator. Why not start up
a database of airlines showing which carrier gives more than a
20 kg allowance and on what route.

Here's two entries based on my & (diving) wife's experience over the last 12 months :

KLM (Heathrow-Amsterdam-Bonaire) extra 10 kg each.
Monarch (Gatwick-Maldives) no extra allowance but Hayes & Jarvis
advised we would be very unlucky to get stung, as they carry no
freight on this flight (we diddn't and were collectively 28 kg's over the usual 2o kg/person limit. Final part of the trip
by boat, so no worries here. Heard divers being shuttled by sea
planes from Male airport to final destination were getting hit
for excess baggage.

[Dave]

:=I cannot see it actually doing any good. What is in it for the airlines?

Well, for one thing, they might get more divers willing to fly with them...

Unless you want to limit your diving to local areas, you have little realistic choice but to fly. If you are going to fly anyway, what is in it for the airlines except for lower revenues?

Dave

[steveowens]

:=:=I cannot see it actually doing any good. What is in it for the airlines?
:=
:=Well, for one thing, they might get more divers willing to fly with them...

Unless you want to limit your diving to local areas, you have little realistic choice but to fly. If you are going to fly anyway, what is in it for the airlines except for lower revenues?

Dave

As already stated perhaps more people will take diving holidays abroad.
Not everyone can afford to fly BA who do allow adequate luggage allowance.
Just because a certain group have always had luggage allowance is not a reason we shouldn't be offered the same service.
I have travelled to the Red sea a number of times in the last 2 years and I am finding the luggage allowance offered by the charter airlines very restrictive.
This gives me no option other than to fly somewhere else with someone else who are willing to be more flexible on the issue.

My point is simply this if we don't ask we don't get!
Whats in it for the airlines? continued or even increased custom if a more flexible approach is offered. If not certainly less custom.

Where would the charter airline be if all divers who fly decided to go scheduled ?