British Airways start to charge for skis and snowboards

As of October 7th 2009 British Airways will no longer be offering free carriage for skis, snowboards and other sporting goods. From October you will be required to pay a fee of £70 return for these items on your short haul flights to Europe. For flights further afield there will be a charge of £80. In addition for flights to US and Canada the baggage allowance will be halved, so watch how many fleeces you take on your ski holiday.

Personally I think that British Airways may have shot themselves in the foot here. One of the main reasons that passengers forked out the extra for BA over the budget airlines is because of the quality of service they offer. Last week they announced that they no longer would offer any food on short haul flights (apart from Breakfasts) and now larger items of luggage will be charged.

Plus, I think that British Airways should have looked at their competitors a bit more, Easyjet offer oversized baggage for £35 return and Ryanair charges £60 return, which is expensive, but still cheaper than BA.

This may be a reaction to the massive losses that BA had last year, but to continue operating they do need to make sure they don’t keep haemorraging customers by reducing the service levels they offer. Now if they bring their prices down accordingly there’s a different story (but pigs might and all…….!)