Just bought a shiny pair of new skis or a brand new snowboard? Here’s the Ski Club’s comprehensive guide to ski carriage charges for getting these out to the mountains for the ski season ahead – but who comes out on top?
Away from a few notable and noble exceptions (congratulations Swiss and Air Transat) carrying your own gear on a flight to the mountains has become another key expense to factor into your ski holiday. Multiple fares and varying weight regulations – introduced over the past few years – has made ski carriage an increasingly complicated issue, with exceptions and small print galore. We all know someone that has been stitched up at the check-in desk and asked to fork out excess baggage fees.
So to help, we’ve put together an in-depth guide as to what to expect this season. But just in case, make sure you head to the airline’s website, be sure to pre-book your baggage for the best prices and pack cleverly. Also remember that if you’re a Ski Club member you can claim a number of discounts and offers, like free ski carriage and a £25 discount on Swiss.
There are some great early season deals to be had too, for example Jet2 have some great early booking discounts for all.
Data correct as of September 1st 2017. All prices listed in local currency. Check with your airline for any changes.
Extra ski bag charge assumes you are already carrying another item of checked luggage and your skis/board will be a second checked item. Note that for transatlantic flights, two items of hand baggage can be carried – so take your boot bag in the cabin to reduce weight.
Business class fares generally allow for two checked bags, so no additional supplement is needed if skis are included in checked allowance.
|
Airline |
Key Destinations |
Additional ski/board bag free? |
Skis/boards free in allowance? |
Additional boot bag included? |
Preregister bags with airline? |
Pre-booked extra ski bag charges (each way) |
Airport extra ski bag charges (each way) |
Weight Limit |
|
EUROPE |
||||||||
|
Air Berlin |
UK services scrapped for winter 2017/18 |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
Economy Light - €50 Economy Classic - €50 Economy Flex - FREE |
Economy Light - €90 Economy Classic - €90 Economy Flex - €90 |
23kg |
|
Air France |
Chambery, Lyon |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
In some cases |
Economy Light - £23 Economy Basic - £23 |
Economy Light - £32 Economy Basic |
23kg |
|
Alitalia |
Milan, Verona |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Economy Light - €60 Economy - €60 |
Economy Light - €60 Economy - €60 |
23kg |
|
Austrian |
Innsbruck, Vienna |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
All Fares - €50 |
All Fares - €50 |
23kg |
|
Easyjet |
Basel, Geneva, Grenoble, Innsbruck, Milan, Salzburg, Turin, Venice, Zurich |
No |
No |
Yes |
No |
All Fares - £35 |
All Fares - £45 |
20kg |
| Eurowings | Barcelona, Basel, Lyon, Salzburg, Zurich | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Basic - €75 Smart - €75 Best - FREE |
Basic - €75 Smart - €75 Best - FREE |
30kg |
|
Flybe |
Bergen, Chambery, Geneva, Innsbruck, Lyons, Salzburg |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
All Fares - £30 |
All Fares - £30 |
20kg |
|
Iberia |
Barcelona |
No |
No |
Yes |
No |
All Fares - €45 |
All Fares - €45 |
23kg |
|
Jet2 |
Barcelona, Geneva, Grenoble, Lyons, Salzburg, Turin, Verona |
No |
No |
Yes |
No |
All Fares - £30 |
All Fares - £30 |
22kg |
|
Ryanair |
Barcelona, Grenoble, Milan, Sofia, Turin, Treviso |
No |
No |
No |
No |
All Fares - £40 |
All Fares - £45 |
20kg |
|
SAS |
Bergen, Oslo |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
All Fares - £25 |
All Fares - £60 |
23kg |
|
Swiss |
Geneva, Zurich |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
FREE ski bag and boot bag – as long as under 23kg |
FREE ski bag and boot bag – as long as under 23kg |
23kg |
|
EUROPE & TRANSATLANTIC |
||||||||
|
British Airways |
Basel, Calgary, Denver, Geneva, Grenoble, Innsbruck, Milan, Munich, Salzburg, Turin, Vancouver, Zurich |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Economy Basic - £60 Euro Traveller - £60 World Traveller - £60 |
Economy Basic - £65 Euro Traveller - £65 World Traveller - £65 |
23kg |
|
Lufthansa |
Calgary, Montreal, Munich |
Yes (Europe only) |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Transatlantic Fares - €100 |
Transatlantic Fares - €100 |
23kg |
|
Norwegian |
Bergen, Denver, Oslo |
No |
No |
No |
No |
European Fares - £24-28 Transatlantic Fares - £38 |
European Fares - £33-43 Transatlantic Fares - £43 |
20kg |
|
TRANSATLANTIC |
||||||||
|
Air Canada |
Calgary, Vancouver |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Economy - $100CAD Premium Economy - FREE |
Economy - $100CAD Premium Economy - FREE |
23kg |
|
Air Transat |
Calgary, Montreal, Vancouver |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
FREE – as long as under 20kg |
FREE – as long as under 20kg |
20kg |
|
American |
Calgary, Denver, Montreal, Salt Lake City, Vancouver |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
All Economy Fares - $100USD |
All Economy Fares - $100USD |
23kg |
|
Delta |
Denver, Salt Lake City |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
All Economy Fares - €75 |
All Economy Fares - €75 |
23kg |
|
United |
Denver, Vancouver |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
All Economy Fares - $100USD |
All Economy Fares - $100USD |
23kg |
|
Virgin Atlantic |
Salt Lake City |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Economy - £65 Premium Economy - FREE |
Economy - £65 Premium Economy - FREE |
23kg |
|
Westjet |
Calgary, Vancouver |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Flex - $35-41 Plus - FREE |
Flex - $35-41 Plus - FREE |
23kg |
