Thompson Fly

"paulus" <on@request.com> wrote in message
news:472c75c5_4@mk-nntp-2.news.uk.tiscali.com...
>I know it's a common complaint about airlines charging excess baggage on
>scuba gear but I just had a run in with Thompson fly.
>
> Going to Sharm at Chrimbo which I booked in January. I assumed I'd be
> charged a pre-booked excess of about £20 as per my recent flight to Turkey
> with Thomas Cook.
>
> I couldn't find any details of scuba gear on the Thompson Fly web site so
> I asked the travel agent to find out when I went to pay the holiday
> balance this morning.
>
> She phoned them up and was told it was no longer accepted as sports
> equipment and would be charged £70 for 10 kilos. A nice little earner for
> them considering it's a diving destination. I won't be using Thompson Fly
> again- unless all the other airlines follow their lead.
>
> I read in Diver magazine that Sharm airport has been charging excess
> baggage on scuba gear even when the passenger has written proof that it is
> already paid for. I don't think I'll be wanting to pay again !!!! Any one
> know what the prisons are like in Egypt?

As far as I can tell, you buy an allowance (which may be included in the
ticket price or may be purchased separately). Within this allowance you can
carry what you like, subject to it being legal to carry. Suppose your
allowance is 20kg. As long as you carry up to 20kg, you should not be
charged a penny more. In exces of that, airlines charge according to what is
being carried. Why an extra kg of clothes should attract £5 whereas an extra
kg of dive equipment should cost £10 is beyond me - weight is weight, and
Newton's Laws of Motion do not depend on the nature of what is causing the
excess weight.

In Sharm last July I saw something like this happen to divers who were being
singled out for extra payments, REGARDLESS of whether they were within their
luggage limits or not - as if 20kg only applies to clothing, and one snorkel
has to pay extra. The secret appeared to be to not look like a diver. So,
those in front of me with O'Neill bags (nothing personal) and other diving
brands liberally sprinkled upon their person and belongings were being
forced to shell out. Meanwhile my son and I carrying ordinary suitcases and
not a single logo on display between us were asked to pay nothing.

I contacted Thomson and Explorers about this. So far neither has had the
decency to reply.

Ken

"Ken" <ken@k1at.freeserve.co.uk> wrote in message
news:fgi9em11hcp@news1.newsguy.com...

> In Sharm last July I saw something like this happen to divers who were
> being singled out for extra payments, REGARDLESS of whether they were
> within their luggage limits or not - as if 20kg only applies to clothing,
> and one snorkel has to pay extra. The secret appeared to be to not look
> like a diver. So, those in front of me with O'Neill bags (nothing
> personal) and other diving brands liberally sprinkled upon their person
> and belongings were being forced to shell out. Meanwhile my son and I
> carrying ordinary suitcases and not a single logo on display between us
> were asked to pay nothing.
>
> I contacted Thomson and Explorers about this. So far neither has had the
> decency to reply.
>
> Ken
>

Which is why as far as I am concerned, they can stick it where the sun
dosen't shine. Any country or individual that wants to have a tourist dollar
from me can earn it. Part of that is looking after my security while I am
there. In my opinion this includes protecting me from fraudsters and
scammers. This scheme is well known by the Egyptian authorities who are
choosing to do exactly F all about it.

There are plenty of quality dive destinations the world over where I will be
treated like a valued guest rather than the next gullible victim to a well
established fraud scheme. I for one will be choosing to visit them over
Egypt. If others travelling divers thought like this and it started to
affect business revenues, the authorities would have acted already.

Keith

"Ken" <ken@k1at.freeserve.co.uk> wrote in message
news:fgi9em11hcp@news1.newsguy.com...

> In Sharm last July I saw something like this happen to divers who were
> being singled out for extra payments, REGARDLESS of whether they were
> within their luggage limits or not - as if 20kg only applies to clothing,
> and one snorkel has to pay extra. The secret appeared to be to not look
> like a diver. So, those in front of me with O'Neill bags (nothing
> personal) and other diving brands liberally sprinkled upon their person
> and belongings were being forced to shell out. Meanwhile my son and I
> carrying ordinary suitcases and not a single logo on display between us
> were asked to pay nothing.
>
> I contacted Thomson and Explorers about this. So far neither has had the
> decency to reply.
>
> Ken
>

Which is why as far as I am concerned, they can stick it where the sun
dosen't shine. Any country or individual that wants to have a tourist dollar
from me can earn it. Part of that is looking after my security while I am
there. In my opinion this includes protecting me from fraudsters and
scammers. This scheme is well known by the Egyptian authorities who are
choosing to do exactly F all about it.

There are plenty of quality dive destinations the world over where I will be
treated like a valued guest rather than the next gullible victim to a well
established fraud scheme. I for one will be choosing to visit them over
Egypt. If others travelling divers thought like this and it started to
affect business revenues, the authorities would have acted already.

Keith

"Ken" <ken@k1at.freeserve.co.uk> wrote in message
news:fgi9em11hcp@news1.newsguy.com...

> In Sharm last July I saw something like this happen to divers who were
> being singled out for extra payments, REGARDLESS of whether they were
> within their luggage limits or not - as if 20kg only applies to clothing,
> and one snorkel has to pay extra. The secret appeared to be to not look
> like a diver. So, those in front of me with O'Neill bags (nothing
> personal) and other diving brands liberally sprinkled upon their person
> and belongings were being forced to shell out. Meanwhile my son and I
> carrying ordinary suitcases and not a single logo on display between us
> were asked to pay nothing.
>
> I contacted Thomson and Explorers about this. So far neither has had the
> decency to reply.
>
> Ken
>

Which is why as far as I am concerned, they can stick it where the sun
dosen't shine. Any country or individual that wants to have a tourist dollar
from me can earn it. Part of that is looking after my security while I am
there. In my opinion this includes protecting me from fraudsters and
scammers. This scheme is well known by the Egyptian authorities who are
choosing to do exactly F all about it.

There are plenty of quality dive destinations the world over where I will be
treated like a valued guest rather than the next gullible victim to a well
established fraud scheme. I for one will be choosing to visit them over
Egypt. If others travelling divers thought like this and it started to
affect business revenues, the authorities would have acted already.

Keith

"Ken" <ken@k1at.freeserve.co.uk> wrote in message
news:fgi9em11hcp@news1.newsguy.com...

> In Sharm last July I saw something like this happen to divers who were
> being singled out for extra payments, REGARDLESS of whether they were
> within their luggage limits or not - as if 20kg only applies to clothing,
> and one snorkel has to pay extra. The secret appeared to be to not look
> like a diver. So, those in front of me with O'Neill bags (nothing
> personal) and other diving brands liberally sprinkled upon their person
> and belongings were being forced to shell out. Meanwhile my son and I
> carrying ordinary suitcases and not a single logo on display between us
> were asked to pay nothing.
>
> I contacted Thomson and Explorers about this. So far neither has had the
> decency to reply.
>
> Ken
>

Which is why as far as I am concerned, they can stick it where the sun
dosen't shine. Any country or individual that wants to have a tourist dollar
from me can earn it. Part of that is looking after my security while I am
there. In my opinion this includes protecting me from fraudsters and
scammers. This scheme is well known by the Egyptian authorities who are
choosing to do exactly F all about it.

There are plenty of quality dive destinations the world over where I will be
treated like a valued guest rather than the next gullible victim to a well
established fraud scheme. I for one will be choosing to visit them over
Egypt. If others travelling divers thought like this and it started to
affect business revenues, the authorities would have acted already.

Keith

"Ken" <ken@k1at.freeserve.co.uk> wrote in message
news:fgi9em11hcp@news1.newsguy.com...

> In Sharm last July I saw something like this happen to divers who were
> being singled out for extra payments, REGARDLESS of whether they were
> within their luggage limits or not - as if 20kg only applies to clothing,
> and one snorkel has to pay extra. The secret appeared to be to not look
> like a diver. So, those in front of me with O'Neill bags (nothing
> personal) and other diving brands liberally sprinkled upon their person
> and belongings were being forced to shell out. Meanwhile my son and I
> carrying ordinary suitcases and not a single logo on display between us
> were asked to pay nothing.
>
> I contacted Thomson and Explorers about this. So far neither has had the
> decency to reply.
>
> Ken
>

Which is why as far as I am concerned, they can stick it where the sun
dosen't shine. Any country or individual that wants to have a tourist dollar
from me can earn it. Part of that is looking after my security while I am
there. In my opinion this includes protecting me from fraudsters and
scammers. This scheme is well known by the Egyptian authorities who are
choosing to do exactly F all about it.

There are plenty of quality dive destinations the world over where I will be
treated like a valued guest rather than the next gullible victim to a well
established fraud scheme. I for one will be choosing to visit them over
Egypt. If others travelling divers thought like this and it started to
affect business revenues, the authorities would have acted already.

Keith

"Ken" <ken@k1at.freeserve.co.uk> wrote in message
news:fgi9em11hcp@news1.newsguy.com...

> In Sharm last July I saw something like this happen to divers who were
> being singled out for extra payments, REGARDLESS of whether they were
> within their luggage limits or not - as if 20kg only applies to clothing,
> and one snorkel has to pay extra. The secret appeared to be to not look
> like a diver. So, those in front of me with O'Neill bags (nothing
> personal) and other diving brands liberally sprinkled upon their person
> and belongings were being forced to shell out. Meanwhile my son and I
> carrying ordinary suitcases and not a single logo on display between us
> were asked to pay nothing.
>
> I contacted Thomson and Explorers about this. So far neither has had the
> decency to reply.
>
> Ken
>

Which is why as far as I am concerned, they can stick it where the sun
dosen't shine. Any country or individual that wants to have a tourist dollar
from me can earn it. Part of that is looking after my security while I am
there. In my opinion this includes protecting me from fraudsters and
scammers. This scheme is well known by the Egyptian authorities who are
choosing to do exactly F all about it.

There are plenty of quality dive destinations the world over where I will be
treated like a valued guest rather than the next gullible victim to a well
established fraud scheme. I for one will be choosing to visit them over
Egypt. If others travelling divers thought like this and it started to
affect business revenues, the authorities would have acted already.

Keith

"Ken" <ken@k1at.freeserve.co.uk> wrote in message
news:fgi9em11hcp@news1.newsguy.com...

> In Sharm last July I saw something like this happen to divers who were
> being singled out for extra payments, REGARDLESS of whether they were
> within their luggage limits or not - as if 20kg only applies to clothing,
> and one snorkel has to pay extra. The secret appeared to be to not look
> like a diver. So, those in front of me with O'Neill bags (nothing
> personal) and other diving brands liberally sprinkled upon their person
> and belongings were being forced to shell out. Meanwhile my son and I
> carrying ordinary suitcases and not a single logo on display between us
> were asked to pay nothing.
>
> I contacted Thomson and Explorers about this. So far neither has had the
> decency to reply.
>
> Ken
>

Which is why as far as I am concerned, they can stick it where the sun
dosen't shine. Any country or individual that wants to have a tourist dollar
from me can earn it. Part of that is looking after my security while I am
there. In my opinion this includes protecting me from fraudsters and
scammers. This scheme is well known by the Egyptian authorities who are
choosing to do exactly F all about it.

There are plenty of quality dive destinations the world over where I will be
treated like a valued guest rather than the next gullible victim to a well
established fraud scheme. I for one will be choosing to visit them over
Egypt. If others travelling divers thought like this and it started to
affect business revenues, the authorities would have acted already.

Keith

"Ken" <ken@k1at.freeserve.co.uk> wrote in message
news:fgi9em11hcp@news1.newsguy.com...

> In Sharm last July I saw something like this happen to divers who were
> being singled out for extra payments, REGARDLESS of whether they were
> within their luggage limits or not - as if 20kg only applies to clothing,
> and one snorkel has to pay extra. The secret appeared to be to not look
> like a diver. So, those in front of me with O'Neill bags (nothing
> personal) and other diving brands liberally sprinkled upon their person
> and belongings were being forced to shell out. Meanwhile my son and I
> carrying ordinary suitcases and not a single logo on display between us
> were asked to pay nothing.
>
> I contacted Thomson and Explorers about this. So far neither has had the
> decency to reply.
>
> Ken
>

Which is why as far as I am concerned, they can stick it where the sun
dosen't shine. Any country or individual that wants to have a tourist dollar
from me can earn it. Part of that is looking after my security while I am
there. In my opinion this includes protecting me from fraudsters and
scammers. This scheme is well known by the Egyptian authorities who are
choosing to do exactly F all about it.

There are plenty of quality dive destinations the world over where I will be
treated like a valued guest rather than the next gullible victim to a well
established fraud scheme. I for one will be choosing to visit them over
Egypt. If others travelling divers thought like this and it started to
affect business revenues, the authorities would have acted already.

Keith

"Ken" <ken@k1at.freeserve.co.uk> wrote in message
news:fgi9em11hcp@news1.newsguy.com...

> In Sharm last July I saw something like this happen to divers who were
> being singled out for extra payments, REGARDLESS of whether they were
> within their luggage limits or not - as if 20kg only applies to clothing,
> and one snorkel has to pay extra. The secret appeared to be to not look
> like a diver. So, those in front of me with O'Neill bags (nothing
> personal) and other diving brands liberally sprinkled upon their person
> and belongings were being forced to shell out. Meanwhile my son and I
> carrying ordinary suitcases and not a single logo on display between us
> were asked to pay nothing.
>
> I contacted Thomson and Explorers about this. So far neither has had the
> decency to reply.
>
> Ken
>

Which is why as far as I am concerned, they can stick it where the sun
dosen't shine. Any country or individual that wants to have a tourist dollar
from me can earn it. Part of that is looking after my security while I am
there. In my opinion this includes protecting me from fraudsters and
scammers. This scheme is well known by the Egyptian authorities who are
choosing to do exactly F all about it.

There are plenty of quality dive destinations the world over where I will be
treated like a valued guest rather than the next gullible victim to a well
established fraud scheme. I for one will be choosing to visit them over
Egypt. If others travelling divers thought like this and it started to
affect business revenues, the authorities would have acted already.

Keith