Flying to the slopes
November 30th, 2010
In times where everyone is fighting over taking you to the mountains we thought we would enlighten you about what costs incur when flying with various airlines.
British Airways
The British flag carrier has always been pretty good with ski/snowboards, however recently they have changed their stance on it.
Charge: Up to 23kg ,Free. Up to 32kg and in addition to your normal luggage allowance; £30.
Swissair
The Swiss national airline, Swissair, is renowned for being reasonable towards skiers and snowboarders and this year they do not fail to impress in these hard times.
Charge: 1 piece of ski/snowboard equipment (skis, boots, poles/snowboard, boots) may be carried free of charge on SWISS airlines. However, this is within the 23kg that has been given as allowance. Above this, the charge is €35
Ryanair*
Ryanair have a habit of taking money off the customer as much as possible, and taking skis or snowboards on a flight is no exception.
Charge: Up to 20kg, £40
Easyjet*
Easyjet have a tendency of advertising a lot regarding their winter flights and their baggage rules are quite impressive.
Charge: Up to 32kg, £18.50 (pre-paid) or £26 (at the airport)
BMIBaby*
BMI have a complicated way of explaining their sport baggage, however it seems like they have quite decent prices.
Charge: Unlimited weight (possibly up to 32kg) £18.99
Snowjet
Flying out of London Stansted, London Gatwick and Bristol to Chambery and Sion, Snowjet call themselves the ski flight specialists.
Charge: £10 each way for bags up to 20kgs, £4 each way for boot bags, £18 each way for ski/snowboard bags
Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic obviously only fly to North America, however due to their frequent flights to Canada, Colorado, Utah etc we feel we should mention them (they also have a great ski/snowboard policy!)
Charge: Up to 23kg and in addition to your normal luggage allowance; Free.
Scandinavian Airlines
Scandinavian Airlines only just recently change their policy regarding ski/snowboard equipment.
Charge: Up to 23kg and in addition to your normal luggage allowance; €30
(Asterisks denotes normal checked in luggage incurs a cost on these airlines)
As you can see from our list the airlines differ highly and even though the ticket might be very low, the costs add up if you are heading out to pump the powder in Chamonix or Les 3 Vallees.
That considered, it can also be worth noting that Easyjet, for example, run a Grenoble service only during the winter ski season. This proves, along with their mass winter sports advertising, that they are committed to delivering a good service to skiers and snowboarders even though they are a so-called low-price airline.
Written by: Tord Nilson
Tags: airline travel, skiing, snowboarding
