Am I Bad? Will I end up on the BAA most wanted list!

I get the impression that Thomson are standing out from the crowd, and remember that when you check in with them, they have their own staff who are more than likely to adhere to their bespoke policy, rather than airport staff for example at the Monarch desks, where i have never ever had an issue with weight.
Usually, I check in the number of ski bags to correspond with the number booked with the holiday, and as long as that ties in, they give you a barcoded tag to put on the ski bag and take it round to the oversize check in, where no one at Gatwick ever checks anything, except that you have a boarding pass.

I have a double ski bag, in the past I have put 2 pairs in and I have taken just my own. Its a well padded bag, and it gives me room to pack stuff around the skis.

Heres the annoying thing: the stuff I take would be in my suitcase but because I prefer to pack my skis so they dont get damaged, I put them in the ski bag.
I only ever pack ski clothing like jackets and sallos, my "normal" clothes are always in my suitcase with my ski boots.

Last Jan when Monarch failed to load their flight properly, both bags didnt turn up so I was 100% knackered. The airline put it all down to force majeure, ie the weather, but my holiday insurance paid out for having to buy ski clothing (essential items) which basically meant sallopettes as I had enough basic stuff including a waterproof to ski in short term, and also paid out for renting skis and boots until my stuff turned up. The tour op did NOT cover this themselves, you have to pay out and claim back.
There was no question of which bag the clothing was packed in for them to pay out, it was simply the fact that the bag had not arrived and therefore they covered me.

Had my suitcase arrived, I would have had my boots, gloves, goggles, socks, base layers etc. My ski bag simply contained sallos and jackets, rolled up around the skis which I always wrap in bubble wrap.

Basically, I am not trying to abuse my allowances, I am simply packing the bags better so that I avoid damage to the skis.

From now on, I will be packing a small amount of everything in each bag so that if one does not arrive, I will still have the essentials for skiing. I will also now be putting some of each in my hand luggage just in case.

However, none of this helps with trying to guess how Thomson intend to police this. I do not for one minute believe that they will ask each person with a ski bag to open it to prove whats inside and either fine them or not allow them to take the bag on the flight, as this would at the very least cause delays at check in, and some quite irate passengers i am sure!
They could ask you to put them on the scales, and anything over their stated weight could be charged extra, but again this would only cause delays and chaos at check in. Their stated allowance is ridiculously low for a ski bag anyway. My skis are particularly heavy. Do they want me to take my bindings off and put them in my suitcase????

I have had hand luggage weighed this year with Thomson, but I just told them it was full of food which I was going to eat before I flew, and they didnt ask anymore or charge me extra.

I think this will be very interesting to see how it fans out over this coming season, as clearly Thomson are keen on making some easy money by charging excess baggage fees for skiers. Or maybe I have got it all wrong, and its just a load of beaurocracy that simply cant or wont be policed.

I think its up to the individual to decide what they want to do. I would imagine most people will read this and just do whats stated, with only a small number of people like myself packing their ski bags with either 2 pairs of skis or some clothing.
Time will tell.

Am I being slow here - how does Thompson's wording apply to the snowboard bags like my son has, which is for his snowboard, boots and all the rest of the packing, thus avoiding the need for a suitcase. As far as I know he has never had a problem.

Tony, There has been much discussion in relation to ski/board insurance in order to try and get too some common ground, in terms of clarification. It all boils down to good or in both these cases poor communications at the end of the day. IMO the same applies to all airlines who provide a service of transporting winter sports equipment. They must/should provide a concise benchmark so people know where they stand in terms of baggage allowance. It is all to messy at the moment and as paying customers we should at least expect clear criteria to work towards. My argument which also needs clarification is why do some airlines insist on passengers packing their boots and skis in separate bags? With new technology and products coming to the market for instance, snowboard bags that allow boarders to pack their boots and board in one bag. Why should this not also apply to skiers. At the present time skiers seem to get the rough deal in terms of having to pack their boots in special bags, in their hold luggage, in their hand luggage etc. Am I being utopian in suggesting that the skier who pays extra for the privilege of taking their own equipment should be able to pack at least one pair of skis, one pair of poles, one pair of boots and their ski clothing in one bag and have the luxury of an un-depleted hold baggage allowance. Because many airlines deduct the weight of your ski boots from your allowance. It would make very little difference in total flight weight as these items are the most common to be packed. Just a point I feel needs addressing by our friends in the Airline industry but I won't hold my breath!

It must have been a nightmare when your luggage put in a belated appearance in ADH :evil: Not a nice way to start any form of holiday or indeed a skiing one :shock:

jastem wrote:Am I being slow here - how does Thompson's wording apply to the snowboard bags like my son has, which is for his snowboard, boots and all the rest of the packing, thus avoiding the need for a suitcase. As far as I know he has never had a problem.

Now this is different altogether, because as long as you keep to the bag limit, you only need 1 bag for this, and I guess that means you take less gear with you overall.
I believe most boarders will do what us skiers do - take a regular case up to the airline limit, and then pay extra for a ski/board bag. Sounds like your son just takes the one big board bag with everything in, which doesn't cost any more.

Sorry Jastem, I was writing a reply when you posted. Clarification - Thomson Airlines indicate that if you pay ski/board carrage you bag should only contain 1 pair of skis or one board. As you know, there are bags available on the market to carry both boots and Board or boots and skis. So we do not get that option. Furthermore, they do not suggest an upper weight limit for these bags specifically however, their upper limit is 23kg. I do not know of skis or board which weigh anything near this amount. So where do we stand? :roll:

I am sure I read somewhere that Thomson limited the weight of a ski bag to 8kg or something utterly unacceptable????

What :shock: thats less than that allocated to an infant (10kg) I think a letter to Thomson is in order. No specific weight limit was recorded on Karen's post. :evil:

You will have to become a boarder then Alistair :D