Airlines - how much can you carry?

I'm in the process of sending the following email to a large number of
airlines (ie. all the ones I can find contact details of with IATA)

The email was sent to the people I guessed would be best within the company,
and had a subject or either "Divers" or "Divers (English)" dependant on
whether or not their website was in another language by default.

Some companies didn't give out email addresses so they didn't get emails.
Some companies had websites I couldn't read (I can cope with a few languages
and I can guess but sometimes I just have to give in).
Some companies I couldn't find a website for.

The message said:

We divers have become somewhat upset of late with different airlines
providing different luggage allowances to divers wishing to fly with them.
As I am sure you are aware, SCUBA diving equipment is heavy and divers tend
to fly a lot, so this is something of importance for us.
Can you please tell me your company's policy on carrying diving equipment
(how much free allowance is avaliable, how much a diver must pay if they go
over that allowance etc) on your passenger flights so that it can be put on
the uk.rec.scuba website and this problem can be solved once and for all.

Alun Harford
Diver

I have recieved a reply from Air Tahiti:

Réservation Air Tahiti
Tel : 689 86 42 42
Fax : 689 86 40 99
www.airtahiti.pf internet vers francaise
www.airtahiti-vt.com vers.anglaise
email : <removed to prevent spam>

Hello,

We received your e-mail and we thank you for it.

The baggage allowance is 20 kgs per person, upon presentation of an
international ticket.

For the divers, a supplement of 5 Kgs is granted upon presentation of a
valid diver card. (so the total will be 25 KGs)

Sunny salutation

Patu. // Reservation Office

Hmm... so how about we all sent the exact same e-mail to the same person,
see how many they reply to before they decide its not confidential
anymore... :O)

David



> I have received a reply from British Airways, but apparently its contents
> are confidential - so I can't tell you what it says.
> Ditto for Air Niugini.
>
> Alun Harford

"Alun Harford" <alunharford@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:c6pgpr$pvq$1@pegasus.csx.cam.ac.uk...
> I have received a reply from British Airways, but apparently its contents
> are confidential - so I can't tell you what it says.
> Ditto for Air Niugini.
Ditto for Cathay Pacific Airways.

Alun Harford

On Thu, 29 Apr 2004 01:04:16 +0100, "Alun Harford"
<alunharford@yahoo.com> wrote:

>I have received a reply from British Airways, but apparently its contents
>are confidential - so I can't tell you what it says.
>Ditto for Air Niugini.
>

Can you confirm that their policy hasn't changed and that they offer
no extra allowance over the2 pieces for transatlantic or 23/30/40Kg
for economy/business/first for other routes?

They do offer 3Kg over the normal allowance for economy.

Dave

I have received a reply from Air Berlin:

Dear Alun

Air Berlin's policy on diving equipment is the follwoing (as of April 2004):

allownace: up to 30 kg,(empty compressed-air cyliders, open valves): no
charge, no advance notification.
Any excess above 30 kgs: 4 Euros one-way, 8 Euros for return journeys,
advance noticfication is necessary if more than 10 kgs more than the allowed
weight is taken on board.

If you have any questions regarding this regulation, please do not hesitate
to conatct me.

Best regards,

Birgit Nakielski MA

I attempted to clarify whether this was in addition or instead of the normal
baggage allowance.
The reply was:

This is in additition to the 20 kgs Baggage allowance.

Alun Harford wrote:

> Well personally I didn't know that torches were so dangerous (except some
> HIDs contain mercury, which can't be carried because it dissolves aluminium)

Actually all HIDs contain mercury vapour. It's probably less that
it can attack aluminium than the fact that it's extremely toxic.
Given that mercury batteries were phased out because of this, it's
odd that its use in bulbs is growing.

- Keith

"Keith S." <false@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:c6re57$ej5sh$1@ID-169434.news.uni-berlin.de...
> Alun Harford wrote:
>
> > Well personally I didn't know that torches were so dangerous (except
some
> > HIDs contain mercury, which can't be carried because it dissolves
aluminium)
>
> Actually all HIDs contain mercury vapour. It's probably less that
> it can attack aluminium than the fact that it's extremely toxic.
> Given that mercury batteries were phased out because of this, it's
> odd that its use in bulbs is growing.

Yeah but not nearly as much as LCD screens in laptops.

Alun Harford

Alun Harford wrote:
> "Keith S." wrote
>> Alun Harford wrote:
>>
>>> Well personally I didn't know that torches were so dangerous (except some
>>> HIDs contain mercury, which can't be carried because it dissolves aluminium)
>>
>> Actually all HIDs contain mercury vapour. It's probably less that
>> it can attack aluminium than the fact that it's extremely toxic.
>> Given that mercury batteries were phased out because of this, it's
>> odd that its use in bulbs is growing.
>
> Yeah but not nearly as much as LCD screens in laptops.

Or one 'silver' dental filling.

nigelH

Alun Harford wrote:

> Yeah but not nearly as much as LCD screens in laptops.

Normal laptop fluorescent backlights contain typically about
10mg of mercury. HID lamps contain typically 20-250mg mercury.

As little as 1 gram of mercury - the amount in a thermometer,
for example - is enough to contaminate a 20 acre lake so that
the fish are unsafe to eat for many years.

motto is don't throw your expired HID (or fluorescent) bulbs
in the trash can. Your local council might have recycling
facilities else try http://www.mercuryrecycling.co.uk/

- Keith