any chance of fitting a golf club in the bag too?? covers the requirement

I've flown to Reunion on Austral and then to Maurice with Air Mauritius with my Naish Golf Bag (Weighing about 28kg) Remember you are allowed 7kg carry on (which can be closer to 10, as long as you don't look like you are hefting it around. Given you'll be rolling around in shorts and tshirt most of the time you should be alright. Never been pinged for being overweight on baggage.

i flew perth to london via mauritius with (air maur) in 2008 lugging a boardbag with 3 kites & 2 boards and had no problems.
in my experience if you get to the counter early & with a smile on your face, you shouldn't ever have to pay for excess on international flights no matter what airline you use.

The best advice I can offer is don't fly Jetstar and don't book through webjet. Just got back from a trip to mount buller and tiger claimed webjet hadn't passed on the $80 charge we payed for sporting equipment.
The Sh! T fight I had with Jetstar over luggage is a whole other story.

sir ROWDY said...

Good luck using that theory on Emirates ... No one is above Emirates, anything over 30kgs and your a goner, doesn't matter what it is.
p.s. I do carry 20kg or more in carry on though haha.

Don't ever pack any single piece over 30kg - It's more of a manual handling/safety thing for the baggage dudes and most airlines are pretty strict on that issue.

Carry on is your friend - it is amazing how many clothes you can get into a duffle bag or daypack (screw wheelie bags - they are heavy before you put anything into them, and you can't wheel a kitebag AND a wheelie bag!) that meets carry on dimensions and still only be ~10kg. Then save your checked in allowance for your kiting gear!

But my best travel tip is to turn up reasonably presentable and have all your documents to hand, with everything packed properly. (Don't be trying to work out where to stuff that last pair of shoes in the check in queue) If you look like you'll be a breeze to check in, then the staff will usually go with it.

Smiling and being super inquisitive and nice works sometimes... But the more you travel the more you realise it doesn't always work. And there's no point hoping you are going to get away with being 10kgs over when on emirates for example that could cost you $700 or more...

As mentioned above, carry on is your friend.

Personally I always pack:
1. My wheelie bag (just slightly bigger in dimentions than is excepted) with all my clothes and a few other things. Yes it weights more with wheels, but I honestly couldn't be ****ed carrying 20 something kilos of carry on around airports, when at least you can wheel half of it.

2. My backpack full of cameras, laptops and various chargers and ****. This is the important one and if you have a good backpack that looks small but fits a lot you will never get questioned at the gate.

The best trick is to hide the backpack under your jacket at the check in while all your luggage is still on a trolley. When they ask for your carry on, just get the wheelie bag and let them weigh it. They won't ask for anything else.
Or better yet, if you can, leave all your carry on with someone and say you don't have any. If you have to, load up your backpack with all your laptops and other stuff, to the point where it is far too heavy, then after you check in, switch most of it back to your wheelie bag.

Another usefull tip is the jacket. Its primary purpose is to hide your backpack, but it can also be usefull if for some reason they say you are overweight. You just start pulling stuff out of your bag and stuffing it in the big pockets... There's nothing they can do about you being too heavy.

p.s.
On one occasion I just started putting on every bit of clothing I had in my bag until I had the right weight. The lady said "you can't do that" and I said "Why not, I'm cold"... this was in KL airport haha.

Hawaiian Airlines simply refused to take my "golf" bag on a plane until I prove that I have golf clubs in it. I couldn't open my bag as I "forgot" where were my keys. After 30 minutes discussion "what's the difference between golf clubs, surf board, kite board, skate board and why they charge 100$ for surf/kite/wake board only" I had to pay 100$. But it's only on internal flights, flights to/from Sydney are exempted from this very strange fee.

Love this thread - reminds me of pretty much every kiting / windsurfing flight I have ever been on - the "heavy Jacket" is incredibly useful at times!

I've saved a lot of money travelling with my 'golf' kite bag, on those airlines that don't charge for golf clubs. When the check-in staff ask you “What is in the bag” (Which they quite often do), just be ready to answer confidently “Golf equipment”. I quite often also throw in a 'roll of the eyes' and point to the bag when I say this, as if to say “it says 'golf' on the side, can't you read”. Most people will back down and make no further challenge. Always be super-nice though!

birdie919 said...

Really love th info people thanks alot. But it says on the air mauritius web site 30kgs of normal luggage PLUS golf equipment just wondering if anyone had picked up on this

then you should have no problems getting under 30kg. it's not like you'll need heaps of warm bulky clothes. if you can't pack your kite/surfing gear and a few boardies & stay under 30kg you deserve to get slugged