Don't ever travel with British Airways

[Nick Carroll]

Look I bet someone's covered this one before but I just want to reinforce it: surfers should never travel with British Airways.

A day ago in South America I got to an airport at 4am for a connecting flight -- booked with BA by my travel agent because BA is a OneWorld partner with Qantas etc -- only to be told flat-affect by The Lady Behind The Counter that BA does not carry surfboards.

"No. Haven't carried them since late 2006. Sorry. You'll have to find another flight with another airline."

Imagine dropping that on people over and over again out of nowhere! Makes Jetstar look like a magic carpet.

Fortunately it appears that BA is not far from collapsing so soon we will not have to worry about it being pretty much the only airline in the world that doesn't carry surfboards.

But until then ... bar them I say, at every turn, whether you're travelling with boards or not.

[Donweather]

Hey Nick, did ya score any of those successive bomb SW/S groundswells moving up the Pacific side of South America whilst there?

[Nick Carroll]

Was on the Atlantic shore.

[Donweather]

Double bugger then!!

[ric_vidal]

Jeebus Nicko, what stone have you been under?

Anyone says Sharon and they die.

[kreepykrawly]

Hey Nicholas ya bald whinging c-nt.

If me mate in Colombia slings ya a fist full of green backs, couldja bring us back a parcel for me kid ?
It’ll contain mainly toys and small sculptures tightly wrapped in a brown paper box.

I'll owe ya big time.

[Nick Carroll]

It's a little late for that kreepy.

Hilariously, BA agreed to carry the surfboard BAG, as long as the surfboard wasn't in it. So the wetsuits etc made it home, and the board has been donated to a poverty-stricken school surfing program up the Brazilian central coast.

The tightly packed brown paper parcel was in the board bag but appears to have vanished. You don't happen to work part time as a Qantas baggage handler do you kk.

[marcus_h]

Nick I heard they had started doing this and have been told its due to the size of their lugage compartments.

WTF was your travel agent booking you on BA in the first place? Surely they should have known about the restrictions?

[Nick Carroll]

It's nothing to do with their goddam luggage compartments; they're the same as any other airlines. A 6-10 double board bag poses no difficulty to 'em whatsoever. They load all sorts of other baggage, golf clubs and so forth; even bicycles are fine. Not surfboards. According to BA, however, they became sick of handling damage claims from annoyed surfers. I actually suspect they got confused and have mistaken surfers for sailboarders, whose gear really is a major deal to transport, and many of whom BA will have transported around Europe and down to the Canary Islands etc.

The BA lady told me later that she and many other BA employees are very sick now of copping shit from upset surfer travellers who're switched to BA flights due to their OneWorld connecting hookups, and suddenly find themselves being barred halfway through a trip.

As for my travel agent they've never screwed me over before in many years of travelling, on the itin it was down as a LAN Chile flight but BA was operating it.

Never again.

[puurri]

It's nothing to do with their goddam luggage compartments; they're the same as any other airlines. A 6-10 double board bag poses no difficulty to 'em whatsoever. They load all sorts of other baggage, golf clubs and so forth; even bicycles are fine. Not surfboards. According to BA, however, they became sick of handling damage claims from annoyed surfers. I actually suspect they got confused and have mistaken surfers for sailboarders, whose gear really is a major deal to transport, and many of whom BA will have transported around Europe and down to the Canary Islands etc.
The BA lady told me later that she and many other BA employees are very sick now of copping shit from upset surfer travellers who're switched to BA flights due to their OneWorld connecting hookups, and suddenly find themselves being barred halfway through a trip.
As for my travel agent they've never screwed me over before in many years of travelling, on the itin it was down as a LAN Chile flight but BA was operating it.
Never again.

Yeah, that Baba Roy always stuffs it up eh?

[Natho]

Having been a very frequent long haul traveller I would rate BA as one of the better airlines to travel with. At least business class anyway. I put them ahead of Qantas any day.

That said I have never travelled with BA carrying surfboards. Possibly they have gone down hill in the past 12 months, but if you are travelling without surfboards I would rate BA highly (no Im not a shareholder).

Lan Chilie are also pretty good so looks like you may have lucked out with a BA operated flight. Yeh I would be pissd too. Were you on the Rio - Sao Paulo - Santiago - Aukland - Sydney flight by any chance? That is a prick of a flight on any airline.

And as for the worst airlines is the world (IMO)

American Airlines (hands down)
United Airlines
Alaskan Airlines
Air Canada
Maxicana
Air Italia
Garuda

I would rate BA streets ahead of any of the above (except when travelling with surfboards).

[drowningbitbybit]

The one time I did travel with a board with BA, about two years ago, they left a hole in the board the size of my fist

And, no, they wouldnt pay out on it

[eMpowered]

Hey Nick, Did you get the news about the big wig's at B.A asking employee's to work 2 week's without pay so the Airline could stay alive.

If the top 10 exec's tooke a 50% paycut i'm sure the airline would be fine for another 5 years.

Not so James Bond anymore.

Baah.

P.S. I appreciate this has nothing to do with south america at 4am.

Good for you to donate a board.

Baah

[bc]

facebook group
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5286497429

DrowningBBB:
Keep in mind, you also sign a waiver against damage on qantas, jetstar, garuda etc.
But - that doesn't let them off the hook, much like a coatcheck saying no responsibility taken.

[Deesee]

I fly Emirates - can never fault them.

[kreepykrawly]

Me….. a baggage handler !!!! Bwahaha.

Seriously if I DID work as a baggage handler I would be the most corruptible individual to ever set foot in an airport.

I would be as bent as they come. I feel that corruption at grass roots level aint a bad thing it’s just when it gets outta control…. things start going mental.
You inadvertently start turning into one of those African/Asian/South American dictators with a fat stomach and a backyard full of buried bodies.

Earning a decent quid by looking the other way is a good n easy earn.F-ck the moralistic judgmental hi brows…they’re messing up my planet with their new ozone depleting 4WD’s and 180 inch plasma’s .

(make metal note.... must inhale through nose and exhale through the mouth)

[Nick Carroll]

Were you on the Rio - Sao Paulo - Santiago - Aukland - Sydney flight by any chance? That is a prick of a flight on any airline.

Nah, that was the outward leg.

yeah emp I heard about BA trying to talk their employees into taking time without pay -- one month it was actually. Shows the fantasyland those executives live in. Reality check, dickwads: some people actually need to get a pay cheque in order to buy food.

and in fact the back leg of the return trip was Qantas Buenos Aires/Sydney and the flight was just great, QF shat on both LAN C and BA in every department.

[Sveta]

I made a round world trip a few years back and neede to change a flight from Perth to Japan by one day. I rang quantass and sorted it out on the phone in less than 5 min. When I was in the UK I had to alter another flight which happened to be our one world buddies BA. I called them up and they said I had to go to their office in person - can't be done over the phone. I had to piss around to get there and then i waited 20 min in their office and finally a women got onto it and it took another 15 to sort out and then she said that will be 15 pounds ($30 +) Are you out of your fricken mind. Yeah, I lost it a little bit at that point.