Boot Bags as cabin luggage

Hi folks,

I'm kinda new to skiinng so I'll be firing questions for a while :-)

I've just bought a nice new shiny bootbag to carry my skiboots around in. Can you take them onboard a plane as cabin luggage or do you have to book them in as hold luggage? Physically I reckon they're small enough to fit in overhead lockers but obviously they woudlnt be particularly light with my size 11's in them.

Anyone know?

Cheers,
Lee

i just came back from austria yesterday and i wasnt allowed to take them onboard - but it was a horrible journey anyway.

it may change with some airlines though

Hi i have the same problem spoke to crystal ski and they told me to contact airport check in,I have done and you either have to pack them in your case or pay ski carriage to put them in hold.Just be aware crystals tried to charge me £30 but when i spoke thomson airways they charged me £14.You might be better off paying ski carriage now as at the airport they are charging you about £40!!!
hope this helps !!!!! 8)

This issue has surfaced on a few previous threads and, unfortunately, the position seems to clear as mud :evil:

From what I have read, it seems that some airlines will allow them, others won't and, to make matters worse, this may not even be consistent at each end of the trip. Then you have airport security to negotiate - again no consistency with some happy to let them through while others aren't.

A lot of people on the site recommend stuffing your boots into your suitcase for better protection of the boots and less chance that somebody will accidentally or deliberately lift them from the carousel at the other end.

Finally, there is the vexed question of baggage charges - it you check them in, you run a real risk of being overweight even if you get away without having to pay per bag.

One enterprising member of the forum actually posted a picture a while back of their group wearing their boots at the airport and claiming that they travelled in them to get around baggage charges, etc :shock:

Hi, got back from Bulgaria a week ago. I have my own boots and checked them in when we got to the airport, as did the rest of our party with their own boots. We booked with Inghams and flew with Monarch. No-one was charged for the boot bags themselves or excess luggage, even though most people also had another case/bag too. No probs on way back either.

You certainly won't be able to take them on as carry on at Grenoble - there are signs up warning people you can't do it

Boot bags have to go as checked in baggage. They are supposed to form part of your baggage allowance, ie 5kg for boot bag, 15kg for luggage = 20kg total.
Personally, I pack boots in my suitcase, saving carrying an extra bag, and also saving potential damage to boots as they will get thrown about a bit at airports.
That leaves 1 suitcase and a ski bag to cart about. I dont understand why anyone would want to travel with a separate boot bag to be honest.

russco wrote:Hi i have the same problem spoke to crystal ski and they told me to contact airport check in,I have done and you either have to pack them in your case or pay ski carriage to put them in hold.Just be aware crystals tried to charge me £30 but when i spoke thomson airways they charged me £14.You might be better off paying ski carriage now as at the airport they are charging you about £40!!!
hope this helps !!!!! 8)

This seems to suggest that they were trying to charge the skiing equipment rate for the boot bag - I would not accept this at all :!:

Given that skis (or golf bags) have to go through special outsize areas , etc, you can see that the airlines can argue that there may be some tiny sliver of justification for the additional charge. However, a ski boot bag should be treated no differently than any other regular sized luggage (and if you packed them into a suitcase, the issue wouldn't even arise). Anything else is even more of a rip-off than usual :evil: