Excess Baggage

[Mankind_JS]

With the huge virgin blue sale going on flights are VERY cheap

But how do you get on the plane without paying $200 in excess baggage?

I put this question to the seasoned bowlers who travel.


How do you get your balls on the flight?

 

[bm2]

James -

though we usually fly Qantas, we have travelled twice with Virgin Blue to interstate tournaments. Both times Jag has taken his 4ball carrier, and one small cabin bag, and neither times has he been charged excess baggage. The girls at the checkin counter seemed quite ok with the fact that he was a "sportsman" travelling to a competition, and did not proceed with charging excess.
That is just our experience, others may have found different :wink:

Broni

 

[Kiwi Brooklyn King]

dunno why not, but flying over to Aus from NZ 2 of us with more or less 30kg bags and a 20 kg limit didnt get charged with excess baggage, i guess they must just recognise that its for a sporting event and cant be helped?

 

[Luke D]

virgin do the same over here... if its for a tournament or other sporting competition then they won't charge you excess.

i've found that, at least.

 

[SNEEZY]

James, I was worried about the same thing before I left for the Nationals this year. I had doubts because what I had heard from the airline was different to that of the stories I was getting from everyone else.

From my experiences I flew to Townsville without any problems of paying excess for my baggage. I had a 3 ball bowling bag and a small suit case as well as a back pack to take on the plane. All up there was probably 40 to 50kg's of luggage but I didn't.

N.B. When I rang Virgin Blue to find out about the luggage situation, I was told that it depended on how busy the flight was on the day of departure. If it isn't a busy flight then you shouldn't have any problems whereas if it is during peak times then you might have to pay excess. If in doubt then you can always ring the airline to get more information. :x-mas:

 

[SNEEZY]

OOPS!!:roll:

That last sentence in the second paragraph is suppose to read

All up there was probably 40 to 50kg's of luggage but I didn't pay any excess.

 

[Ice Maiden]

Having to travel a lot, being all the way over here, i've found that most airlines are generally OK with it.

I've only ever been charged excess baggage once, and it was all of $11. I've found a neat little trick that works more often than not. Try being one of the first people to check it, because if you one of the last, they tend to be a bit more stringent on things like baggage weights, especially with full flights.

I also tell the person behind the counter that it is sporting equipment, most airlines classify ALL sporting equipment as 5kg (which helps us )

Most of the time, its good to check with the airline before hand or get whoever you book your ticket through to check and/or put a note on your ticket.