It's not about common sense, It's a baggage handling issue. If the bag weighs more than 50 pounds (23kgs), it's subject to surcharges from the baggage handlers. It's nothing to do with the airline. It's to protect the health of the people handling your bags.

If flying economy, those surcharges are passed onto the traveler.

 

Can you not reduce weight in one bag so you are under the 23kg limit? Shift a heavy item or three?

 

My ski bag weighed 28kg at YVR coming home in March 2017. 2pr skis with bindings, 1pr boots, pants, parka and helmet. I was asked if I could transfer anything to my suitcase, but it was already bulging and 20kg anyway. So I wore the $100 excess baggage charge. Happily, because it was by far the cheapest way of getting the pair of Fischer Rangers I'd bought over there back home.

This was the Saturday of the first weekend of the BC spring break and the Air Canada flights to both Sydney and Brisbane were full to capacity. I've heard that other people travelling at less busy times have had over 23kg bags go through without anyone batting an eyelid.

 

Last time I flew Qantas to the USA we got hit with a “heavy” fee. Was under the total allowance but skibag was over 23kg.

 

IIRC both my checked bags were weighed going to Canada (and were comfortably under). But then I started from Newcastle airport, with a Qantaslink Dash 4 to Brisbane.

Coming home my suitcase wasn't weighed at YVR, only my ski bag. I knew the weights though because I took a spring style luggage scale.

 

What does the airbag weigh?
Can you put that in your other bag?

 

I have been "mentioned" out of Kelowna - Sydney for my douchebag but the lovely girl waived it through with a "you may get charged in YVR". The douchebag was 24.7kg and longer than 158cms. My carry on with boots in was under weight.

You get 2 x 23kg each, which is a lot of luggage.

Move the shifts to the airbag as carry on and cinch up the ski bag.

 

I see your dilemma - two sets of skis is the biggie isn’t it. 2 boards doesn’t generallly weigh as much. And padding it out is really quite necessary.

Bit of a dog act not allowing weight sharing between bag allocation and up to the 32kg limit.

 

Before she got all independent and travelled by herself the daughter and I had:

• 2 sets of skis and helmets in a double Ski Tube. Under 23 kg
• 2 pairs of boots and sundry other ski stuff in another bag. Under 23 kg.
• A bag each for clothes. Each bag under 23 kg.

 

Wear the shell jacket and mid-layer onto the plane and put them in the overhead locker as soon as you board. Would that reduce the weight sufficiently?

 

I have a cunning plan. Move some of your ski related gear from the Douchebag to the "big bastard".

 

I regularly get two pairs of skis, daypack, all my avy gear, helmet, sundry other ski things and some clothing to fill up the bag in my Douchebag and end up under 23kg.

 

(50lb = 22.68kg)
(23kg = 50.7lb)

I have weighed my bags before getting to the airport, all under (just) 23kg, and Air Canada nailed me because I was over 50lb... had to move things around (wear) things from 3 bags

 

Most misleading I have had was at Nice in France. They had a set of scales before check in, so we weighed our bags. Surprisingly, we were well under so we swapped stuff out of our carry on to checked. The scales at check in said we were a few kg over. Emirates weren't fussed and didn't charge. I'm not sure who was wrong although any public measuring device is likely to be out of whack.

 

I just did a bag with 2 skis (and two bindings) plus all my ski and other clothes for the trip at 23.8kg. No issue with overweight.

My ski boots and helmet go in carry on.

 

I had the opposite experience at YVR. When my ski bag was overweight, the baggage check-in woman said that there would be no overweight fee if I could get it down to 23 point something. 23.99 would have been OK.

 

This is one of the issues with the large double roller bags - 2 pairs of downhill skis and bits weigh a heap.
I haven't used one for years but looking at packing one shortly ...

 

Getting one without wheels will reduce weight and the wheels are kind of superfluous in airports

 

Yeah
I found the shoulder bag I was looking for (long enough) that's my preference. The double rollers sort of encourage you to fill em up and they get so heavy.
But I need to transport 2x adult skis and 2x kids. At least the adults are light tourers

 

Flew air Canada last year to Vancouver. 3 ppl allowed 2 x 23 kgs each. We had 3 bag between 3 people with 20kgs, 21kgs and 23.8kgs. they asked us to shift 0.8kg from the overweight bag. we laughed and they said they were serious.

On the other hand I've also flown with air Canada with 24.5kg in a single bag with no issue.

 

In general nth American airlines and airport staff are fussy about the 50 lb rule, but very lax on size of carry on bags.

 

We just packed a double roller with 2 x adult skis, 2x kids skis and 2xkids boot plus 3 sets poles =24.2kg. We are flying jetstar with 25kg bag weight and need to stay under 25kg for TakQbin in Japan. First time taking the ski bag overseas.

 

We have a soft padded double bag (with wheels) that easily fits 3 pairs of skies:

SKI BAG
3.3 Ski bag
4.4 Skis
7.3 Skis
4.8 Skis
1.4 Poles 3 sets

For long haul flights we also bubble wrap the skies and poles. When we have what must be in the bag I then add little bits and pieces to make up the 23kg.

I should have said in my original post that the issue was isolated to YKA

 

That's 26kg on a Jetstar scale

 

Hope not!!! Thought allowing 800gram should allow for scale discrepancy. Worse case pull out a kids boot and carry on.

 

4 of us travelling here.

20kg - double wheelie ski bag (2 sets of adult skis + a few extras)
8kg - small ski bag (2 sets of kids skis)
20kg - clothes, 2×ski boots and helmet.
22kg - clothes, 2xski boots, helmet.

Plus 4 carry ons. Never had an overweight charge in 27 years of skiing overseas.

 

How old are the kids?
I didn’t get a weight charge until the little monsters were teenagers going off with Yennies in their pockets. It wasn’t until we were at Tokyo airport getting hit with huge overweight charges (huge in comparison to how over weight it was) that I knew it was a problem. We’d done the domestic leg without an issue, they’d packed their own bags, but had been way under coming over...
Get home and unpack the bags - masses of Japanese shrapnel, rubbish, empty deodorants etc

It’s never happened again

 

12 and 9. The weight has crept up over the years as their skis and boots have got larger, but we've still got plenty to play with since the second ski bag is currently only 8kg.

I've also managed to reduce weight in some areas. No longer travel with my big heavy Sorels, instead I have a lighter Japanese boot and the kids also have super light Japanese snow boots. Cut back on all the camera gear and adapters, just use our phones and a 4xusb charger. Always looking for ways to reduce the weight a little more.

 

Correct. And in Nth America, that payment is greater if the bag weighs more than 50 pound. This additional cost is passed on to you. If you are expecting the airline to absorb this cost, you will be sadly disappointed.

Quite often Business and 1st Class passengers can have 32kg bags. This is because the additional cost for the baggage has been factored into their ticket price.

My ticket is quite clear. If any bag weighs more than 23kg. I will be subject to an excess baggage charge. So I have distributed the weights evenly across all bags, including my ski bag. It's just not that hard to do. Like B2S I have never paid excess baggage.

My ticket also clearly defines that I'm allowed 12kg carry on. I have never been challenged on this, except by Fuji Airlines. Never Ever fly Fuji Airlines. You have been warned.

 

Fiji Airlines or Fuji Dream Airlines?

 

Not giving them free advertising.

 

Would it not be anti-advertising?
You said don’t fly “this” airline - but I’m not sure if you misspelled Fiji or if you actually meant the little Japanese airline. Surely if we are meant to avoid it you’d clarify which one when asked?

 

Never knew there was a Fuji Dream Airline. Hence I used Fuji instead of that Airline that I will never speak of again.

 

But, but, cheap flights

 

Right.
So a deliberate misspelling of Fiji.
Which just succeeded in confusing me and resulted in multiple useless posts that needn’t have been made. Got it.

 

So glad we got there.

 

Kava air?

 

Packing the double roller, I don't have a scale. The missus is bringing back so much shit
The adult skis aren't too bad, one without bindings the other light with dynafits. 2x kids skis and boots and junk. Hmmm some stuff I wantes to bring will remain I suspect

 

we do something very similar
The problem becomes transporting 5 or 6 luggage pieces and 4 people
I'm getting anxious as the boys grow up-and bigger