5 Comments »

Simon said:
Boo, hiss. I’d like to say that this is a completely short sighted change by BA, but given that they just managed to make a £148m pre-tax loss in 3 months, I can see that they might be on the lookout for a few more dollars. That being said, I’m not sure a few ski bums are going to reset the balance!
# 10 August 2009 at 1:49 pm

Terry Jones said:
Yes, short sighted by BA. But at least they’ve waived the new charges for those that booked before the announcement was made (for those that booked before 31st July 2009 for travel after 7th october 2009). Those booking flights directly with BA therefore had a choice about accepting these new charges or taking their business elsewhere.
NOT SO with Crystal Ski. On 3rd July I booked a two week holiday in Breckenridge, Colorado for 2 people through Crystal, departing in January. I chose the holiday precisely because it was a direct flight with BA and because BA provided free ski carriage.
But Crystal insist we must now pay for ski carriage – although customers that went direct to BA and booked before 31st July 2009 will not have to pay. This is going to add £300-£400 to our holiday.
Surely Crystal are able to negotiate with BA so that its clients get equal treatment? Or are they just not bothered?
In 12 years of skiing 1 or 2 times per year this is the first time I’ve booked directly with a tour operator – big mistake!!
# 11 August 2009 at 7:35 pm

admin (author) said:
Hi Terry,
Apologies for the delay in reply. As this is not a forum for complaints, we had to go through the correct channels before replying.
Sadly, this is something that will now probably sweep across the whole aviation industry with BA & DL (the worlds biggest carrier) having now set the ball rolling. So, that BA are doing the same should be less of a shock and more of a disappointment – especially for people such as yourself who have already booked your 09/10 ski holiday.
Only tickets issued prior to 31st July avoid the new charges and BA will not honour the previous baggage policy because tour operators’ tickets are not issued until 4 weeks before departure. This gives our customers the maximum possible flexibility (flight itineraries, name updates etc) are all possible until tickets are issued.
To make the best of a bad situation, you can book your ski carriage online for about £30 – saving £60 on the price you will pay at check-in. This will save your party of two more than £100 and is a lot cheaper than the ‘£300-£400′ that you feared having to spend.
If you have any further queries regarding Crystal Ski’s pricing policies or products, please contact our customer service team on 0871 231 3297 or e-mail pds@crystalholidays.co.uk
# 12 August 2009 at 5:36 pm
Package ski holidays vs. independent: which is cheaper? | Hitting Kickers said:
[...] of which, much has been made of BA’s change of policy on ski baggage. You’re now unable to include ski [...]
# 7 October 2009 at 11:25 pm

Sally said:
I don’t see the difference between Easyjet cheap budget airlines and BA anymore. In fact BA are charging more than Easyjet to check skis in for the flight. Easyjet charge £37 return and BA charge £28 each way to Europe and even more for international.
I am also a scuba diver and cannot travel without my full dive equipment when going on a dive holiday so when I want to go to an exotic location requiring more that one flight and airline I presume I will have to pay several times over. Doesn’t make me want to travel.
# 21 January 2010 at 2:36 pm

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