Surfer Mutiny at British Airways
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| Viator’s founder with his contraband surfboard |
A wave of protest. That’s what British Airways (BA) provoked this week when it announced — with no warning — that starting November 6 it no longer will transport “unsuitable” items on its fleet of aircraft.
The list includes canoes, hang gliders, pole-vaulting poles, javelins (!) and, yes, surfboards.
Surfboards??? Dude, what is BA thinking?
While the global community of javelin throwers is tiny, surfers number in the thousands. And they are not happy.
A spokesperson for the British Surfing Association (BSA) said she was “extremely shocked” by the decision, especially as some boards weigh much less than many items not included in the ban. “We’d find it extremely hard to believe that the average short board would be more difficult to handle when compared to a double bass and a full bag of golf clubs.”
And there’s the rub. BA’s new policy applies to surfboards and javelins, but not to bulky items such as golf clubs, bicycles and over-size musical instruments. Which looks to some like an arbitrary policy that unfairly punishes surfers (economy class, who cares) but not golfers (business class, don’t mess with them).
BA’s response? “Some items are simply not suitable for airport baggage systems to handle or travel in the aircraft hold.” They have no plans to review the new policy.
That’s not stopping the British Surfing Association from launching an online petition against the ban. The BSA complains that Britain’s surfing teams usually travel to their European and international events on BA flights but now will be forced to use other airlines. And think of all those unlucky British surfers who live in cities where BA is the primary carrier. Akaw, surfer dudes and betties, this doke ban was put together by a bunch of butt crumbs. Let’s hope they come to their senses.
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November 12th, 2007 at 9:52 pm
This has put my head in a spin! I’ll skip the rant and abuse that the airline deserves and get to the point. Given that an awful lot of Qantas trips include BA aircraft on some leg of the flight, what is going to happen to surfboards then? You would think that BA would have to take them. But if this is the case then there argument that the items aren’t suitable doesn’t hold up - either they are or they aren’t! Or is Qantas going to have to refuse to carry surfboards on flights that include BA legs? This is not just a problem for Qantas but all the other One World carriers.
November 13th, 2007 at 3:14 pm
Sad news, Scott, but most airlines already charge for what they call “oversized” luggage. Check the list of surfboard charging airlines here.It’s a regular feature of discussion in surf mags on tips to charm baggage handlers into waiving the fee.
I guess the rich will ride and the poor will bodyboard, until they figure out how to charge you, too.
November 14th, 2007 at 4:40 pm
I don’t think Qantas would follow suit. Would they? There’s got to be a lot of surfers and clubbies among the Qantas staff in Sydney and Brisbane, including head office, I’m sure. But I understand why airlines would take this approach: the last two times I took a board it’s been dinged, probably not because of anything a handler did, just because things move in the hold. And I reckon most people complain… so they’d like to avoid that, and one way is not to carry them at all…
November 19th, 2007 at 1:59 pm
Okay, so another commentary has popped up on Surfer. I’m sure most surfers would forgive dings as part of transport, but if you are shelling out any money for shipping, you expect some insurance that it will (a) show up and (b) arrive intact. Not so…
Maybe local boardshops will start offering better boards for rent. I smell opportunity here…I could see paying $100 a week vs $160 round trip to have a demolished board!