S7 ski equipment. Transporting skis on an airplane

31.07.2023

Before flying you should check:

1. What's included in the ski kit?
2. How should the equipment be packed? the period when you can transport skis at reduced rates.
3. Restrictions on weight and size for packed ski kit, presence of foreign objects in the ski bag.

4. How many sets can be carried in one case, per passenger.
5. Payment rules.
6. The need to pre-book a place to transport ski kit.
7. Which counter at the airport to drop off skis at, which counter at the airport to pick up skis.

A standard ski kit is a pair of skis, ski poles or snowboard + a pair of boots, a helmet, goggles, and special clothing. According to the rules of some airlines, only a pair of skis, a pair of poles or a snowboard + boots are included in a set of ski equipment, which is subject to preferential rules for transporting sports equipment.

The ski kit can be packed in one or two pieces of luggage. A soft or hard case or container is used to pack skis and snowboards; the packaging should have handles convenient for transportation.

The fastenings are wrapped with packaging material or a spare set of thermal underwear so that the cover does not break through or the fastenings do not break during transportation; it should be remembered that the lighter the cover, the easier it is to move.

The period of time when you can transport a ski set under preferential conditions is limited, for example, in Russia it is from October 27 to March 29, while the set (skis, poles, boots) must be packed only in one case, weighing no more than 15 kg, no size restrictions; AirBerlin carries free baggage allowance + ski kit from November 1 to April 25.

If the ski kit is transported free of charge, then the passenger's personal belongings are prohibited in the case with the skis.

A set of ski equipment may be included in your baggage allowance; may be paid for as an additional piece of baggage; as excess baggage in terms of weight, size, or you need to pay a fee for transporting sports equipment.

Almost always, mandatory prior approval is required to transport ski kit. The booking or purchased ticket must contain a note about the availability of ski equipment, if required by airline rules, therefore, when purchasing a ticket, you must warn about the carriage of sports equipment. When purchasing a ticket online, you must contact the sales agent or the airline hotline.

You can check out a set of ski equipment at the check-in desk or at the oversized luggage counter.

Below are examples of carrying skis and ski equipment on an airplane.
Aeroflot– the weight of the ski set should weigh no more than 23 kg; the case carries only a pair of skis, a pair of poles + one piece of boots; The kit is included in your free baggage allowance. You must make a request to transport ski kit 36 hours in advance.

Transaero– if a pair of skis or snowboard + helmet + goggles + boots + overalls weigh less than 10 kg (without size restrictions), then a set of ski equipment is carried free of charge, in addition to the baggage allowance. The request must be made at least 24 hours before departure.

Turkish Airlines– it is necessary to measure the weight and size of the ski set and make a preliminary request for the transportation of equipment at least 48 hours in advance. Upon confirmation of the request, the kit is transported free of charge.

North wind– if a set of ski equipment weighs no more than 15 kg and is no more than 203 cm in size, then it is carried free of charge.

Yakutia– if a set of ski equipment weighs less than 20 kg and dimensions are less than 203 cm in the sum of three dimensions, then the equipment is included in the free baggage allowance.

S7, Orenburg Airlines– if a set of ski equipment weighs no more than 20 kg, with the sum of three dimensions not exceeding 203 cm, then it is allowed to be carried free of charge in addition to the free baggage allowance.
In a/k S7, if a set of ski equipment in the sum of three sizes is more than 203 cm, then each kg of actual weight is paid according to the tariff for this direction.

Utair– if a full set of ski equipment weighs less than 20 kg, without restrictions on size, then on regular flights it is carried free of charge in addition to the baggage allowance. Advance booking is required.

Ural Airlines– if the weight of one set of sports equipment and passenger luggage weighs less than 40 kg, then it is carried free of charge.

Easyjet– skis with boots should weigh no more than 20 kg.

Follow our instructions and you will never have any problems while traveling.

Many airlines carry skis and snowboards absolutely free. You just need to pack everything well in a special case and bring it to baggage check-in. We tell you about the rules for transporting ski equipment. Go!

Fans of alpine skiing and snowboarding will not let you lie: skiing in your favorite boots and on the skis and boards you once liked is a real pleasure. Of course, you can rent everything you need for skiing, but then you are relying on chance: the choice of boots, skis and boards of your size may not be very large, and you will have to ride what they give you.

Yes, one day you will have to spend time and money to choose and buy what is right for you. But then you will ride with pleasure. Let's see which airlines are friendly to skiers and snowboarders.

Life hack: you can put not only a pair of skis with poles or a board in the case, but also quite a lot of things. This is especially useful when flying on airlines that charge baggage fees. For example, Siberia Airlines has tariffs where you can fly with ten kilograms of hand luggage and still take skis or a board with you. Or with the Pobeda airline, which charges for absolutely everything, you can only pay for the transportation of ski equipment and put all the things you need in a case and not pay separately for luggage. Moreover, the denser you pack the contents, the more intact the most valuable thing will be - skis or board.

Free transportation of ski equipment

Aeroflot

If you are planning to go skiing and snowboarding - in our country or in the near abroad - most likely you can fly there on Aeroflot flights. During the winter season (from November 1, 2017 to May 15, 2018), ski and snowboard equipment is transported free of charge. In addition to the main luggage, each passenger can bring two more cases to check-in: one with a pair of skis or snowboard and the second with boots. If you are flying economy class, your total weight should not exceed 23 kilograms.

Aeroflot is also friendly to those wishing to transport water skis, bicycles, hockey equipment, golf clubs, fishing gear, diving and surfing equipment. However, transportation and payment rules may vary, please find out about them before your trip.

"Russia"

On regular Rossiya flights, the rules for carrying hand luggage, baggage and ski equipment are fully consistent with the “parent” company - Aeroflot. But on charters, conditions may differ; you can find out about them from the tour operator, who is the consolidator of the flight.

Where Rossiya flies: the main airports are Pulkovo in St. Petersburg and Vnukovo in Moscow. It is from them that most flights to other Russian cities are carried out.

S7 Airlines (“Siberia”)

With any ticket for S7 flights (regardless of whether you paid for baggage allowance or not), passengers can carry a set of skis or a snowboard with boots. The weight of equipment in economy class should not exceed 23 kilograms.

Where S7 Airlines flies: this airline has a lot of convenient destinations for skiers both in Russia and abroad.

Georgian Airways

If you want to go skiing and boarding in Bakuriani or Gudauri, you may want to consider flying with the Georgian airline Georgian Airways. For passengers from Russia and Ukraine, ski and snowboard equipment is transported free of charge.

Where Georgian Airways flies: flights to Georgia are operated from Moscow, Kazan and St. Petersburg.

Air Astana

If you decide to go skiing or boarding in the Almaty area - for example, at the Chimbulak or Ak-Bulak resorts, then you may be interested in Air Astana flights. Transportation of ski equipment is included in the ticket price; the total weight should not exceed the baggage allowance of your fare. Under the same conditions, you can check in equipment for tennis, squash, badminton, fishing, horse riding, roller skating, archery, surfing and kitesurfing. A separate rate exists for the transportation of canoes, bicycles, golf clubs and diving equipment.

Where Air Astana flies: flights to Kazakhstan are operated from Moscow, Yekaterinburg, Irkutsk, Magadan, Novosibirsk, Rostov-on-Don, St. Petersburg, Ulan-Ude, Khabarovsk and several other Russian cities.

Armenia

In Armenia there is one, but very decent ski resort, Tsakhkadzor. If you want to fly with Armenia Airlines, the transportation of ski or snowboard equipment must be agreed with the airline when purchasing a ticket. Transportation of equipment will not require additional payment if the total weight together with the rest of the luggage does not exceed the norm specified in the tariff. The same goes for transporting golf clubs.

Where Armenia flies: flights to Armenian cities are operated from rather “rare” Russian airports - Voronezh and Mineralnye Vody.

Payment for transportation of ski equipment depends on the tariff

Utair

Ticket holders of all tickets except the cheapest “Light” fare can transport sports equipment all year round: in principle, it does not include free baggage allowance and allows flights only with hand luggage. In economy class, the weight of ski equipment is limited to 23 kilograms.

Where Utair flies: the airline has an extensive route network in Russia and abroad.

"Ural Airlines"

At any time of the year, free transportation of sports equipment is allowed for all tariffs except “Promo”. Weight should not exceed 23 kilograms if you are flying in economy class.

Where Ural Airlines flies: as the name suggests, this airline has many interesting destinations for skiers in the Urals, but not only that. For example, an airline flies from Moscow to Sochi.

Paid transportation of ski equipment

"Victory"

Pobeda Airlines charges an additional fee for transporting everything: hand luggage, baggage, and, of course, ski equipment. The weight of one case with skis or snowboards and other related equipment should not exceed 20 kilograms. If you pay for the transportation of ski equipment when purchasing a ticket on the airline’s website or through a call center, the price will be 1,499 rubles. If you have not done this in advance, then you will be asked to pay for this piece of luggage at the airport: in Russia it will cost four thousand rubles, abroad - 55 euros.

Where does Pobeda fly: in addition to flights to Sochi, there are many destinations in the Urals - Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk, Perm, Novosibirsk and others. And also Gyumri, Tbilisi and Alma-Ata in the “ski” countries of the CIS.

To go to ski resorts, many snowboarders have to travel by air. In winter, at airports at every turn you come across people carrying snowboards. How to transport a snowboard on a plane, how much it costs and how to save money on transporting your board, we will find out in this article.

Paid or free

Since ski tourism is the basis of the winter economy of a number of countries, many self-respecting airlines have agreed to accept one set of ski equipment per passenger for free transportation during the ski season (the specific dates should be checked in advance with the representative of the airline you are flying with).

A set of ski equipment means:

One set of skis and poles + ski boots;
One snowboard + snowboard boots.

By doing this, airlines attract an additional flow of passengers, and fans of winter holidays can save a lot of money.

However, it is worth finding out in advance whether your equipment will be accepted for free transportation. Some low-cost airlines, despite the general trend, charge a lot of money for transporting a snowboard. The fact is that if we consider snowboarding equipment as luggage, it falls under the heading “oversized luggage”, and therefore has an increasing factor when calculating the cost of transportation. If you are flying with a discount airline, be sure to calculate all the costs; the cost of baggage may be greater than your benefit in the cost of the flight.

In any form

The snowboard is accepted for transportation by air, packed in a special snowboard cover. Some airlines, such as Aeroflot, allow snowboards and boots to be carried in the same bag, while some foreign airlines, such as Czech Airlines, require that snowboards and boots be transported separately. In this case, you will need to have a special boot cover.

Officially, airlines prohibit transporting other personal items in a case with equipment, but in practice they do not find fault with this.

Therefore, people are actively filling up the free space in the case with their things. However, remember that you should not place hard or sharp objects next to the board that can scratch it, cover the crepes with something soft so that they reach their destination safe and sound, and be sure to stick identification marks and contact information on the cover. Just in case, take an extra bag, in case you come across strict dispatchers who will ask you to unload your things from the case.

Dimensions and weight

As a rule, airlines do not impose any requirements on the dimensions of snowboarding equipment. But the weight restrictions are quite strict: from 15 to 20 kg for all equipment, depending on the airline. Be sure to weigh your luggage at home when packing; the amount of re-sowing can be quite significant.

Be sure to check weight standards with all airlines you fly with. This advice is especially relevant for transit passengers, since rules and regulations may change during transfers.

The procedure for receiving and issuing equipment

To check in your snowboarding equipment, you need to take it to the check-in counter, where the dispatcher will bring your luggage onto the flight, weigh it and attach luggage tags to the covers. The case with your boots will be accepted at the counter there, but the case will have to be taken separately to the oversized baggage counter (usually close to the freight elevator). If you didn’t wrap it in film, you can add it to the case of things, because no one else will weigh it.

It will be possible to receive oversized luggage in a separate place, and sometimes ski equipment is dumped in one large pile near the conveyor belt. In any case, the unloading site can be identified by a large crowd of people.

No matter how confident you are in your right to free transportation of snowboarding equipment, be sure to check the transportation details with the carrier, since in modern conditions airlines tend to change transportation rules.

With the onset of the new ski season, many people begin to have questions about transporting equipment to the ski resort. It is impossible to answer all questions unambiguously, because the requirements of different companies differ, sometimes radically. In this article, we decided to summarize all the pressing issues, make a summary table of popular airlines and finally collect all the information about the transportation of skis and snowboards on airplanes.

Most often, the weight of ski equipment is about 10 kilograms. Some airlines count this weight as part of their total baggage allowance, but you may still be able to check in a bag to fill the gap.

There are companies that count luggage space and limit it by weight. That is, one bag with skis and equipment will just occupy one piece of luggage. As they wrote at the end of the article, in this case tourists fill all the free space of the case with their personal belongings.

Rules for transporting skis on Aeroflot and S7 aircraft

Aeroflot and S7 airlines have almost the same requirements for transporting skis.

One passenger has the right to carry one piece of baggage free of charge, no more than 32 kg (at S7 airline 32 kg is intended for business class fares and 23 kg for economy class). This standard may include:

One set of ski equipment. It includes one pair of skis with poles, a cover, as well as additional ski equipment: goggles, .
One set of snowboard equipment. Inventory in a case, also a pair of boots.
Hockey equipment - equipment and 2 sticks in a case.

Baggage weighing more than 32 kilograms will have to be paid at oversized rates. Standard size restrictions on three planes do not apply to skis, snowboards and other ski equipment!

Free transportation of skis on Aeroflot planes is possible only in winter, and this is one of the most loyal carriers for Russians. These rules also apply to Aeroflot codeshare flights from Rossiya and Aurora airlines.

Summary table with requirements and prices for transporting ski equipment from popular air carriers:

Carrier	Freight cost	Conditions	Period	Phone for information
Aeroflot	For free	Maximum 32 kg in total, any size. Included in 1 piece of luggage.	from November 1 to May 15	8 800 444-55-55
S7		Business class 32 kg, economy class 23 kg and included in 1 piece of baggage.	All year round	8 800 700 07 07
Lufthansa		Report your intention to transport skis at least 24 hours in advance. Economy class 23 kg, business and first class 32 kg. Light class tickets are available for a fee.		+7 495 411 8444
Swiss				+7 495 411 84 43
Austrian Airlines		Limit 23 kg		+7 495 705 91 04
Air France		Up to 23 kg economy, 32 business class. The size of the sum of three dimensions is no more than 300 cm.		+7 495 411 66 55
Airberlin	from 50 to 180 Euro	Weight no more than 20 kg, overall size is not limited.		8 800 5550737
Czech Airlines	from 15 Euro	Weight up to 15 kg. Dimensions for the sum of three sides should not exceed 158 cm.

If something does not agree with the size and weight standards, then contact support at least 36 hours before departure. The air carrier will easily allocate additional luggage space, but for an additional fee.

Low-cost companies try to save on everything, so most often you will have to pay extra for ski equipment. There is a clear relationship between the cost of a plane ticket and the possibility of transporting oversized ski and snowboard equipment.

Special conditions for transporting a snowboard on an airplane

It is worth noting that the popularity of this sport has significantly influenced the policies of many airlines. The fact is that usually transporting a snowboard on an airplane is a very expensive service. Boards are classified as oversized luggage and a considerable check is issued for their transportation (on average 20-50 euros per set for foreign airlines). If the carrier does not provide special conditions, the weight of the snowboard is taken into account in the total weight of baggage allowed for free transportation, which is 20 kg. in economy class.

For every kilogram of excess weight, be prepared to pay at least 11 euros for foreign airlines and 300 rubles for domestic ones. But a number of large companies in winter, especially for fans of extreme sports, offer special conditions that provide for the carriage of snowboards on the plane absolutely free of charge. Moreover, we are talking not only about the board itself, but rather about a full set of equipment in a case, into which you can compactly put the necessary equipment, clothes, and fairly heavy boots with bindings. Whether there are special conditions for transporting such oversized items in a particular company, it is worth checking by phone with representatives of the air carrier or on the company’s website.

How to transport snowboard equipment

The board itself is quite durable, so you can transport it without any cover, but doing it with it is certainly more convenient and still calmer. Before you pack your snowboard for an airplane, find out how much the cover itself weighs. Models with a rigid reinforced frame can weigh up to 6 kg, but the permitted weight of a ski set for air transportation is usually no more than 20 kg (varies among different airlines). Take this point into account so that you don’t have to pay extra at the airport for excess weight. We recommend monitoring your weight and not exceeding the permitted limits; lately everything has been very strict at airports.

Some universal tips for properly packing a case:
- do not place objects near the board that could scratch it;
- it is better to have a separate protective cover for the mask;
- to further protect the snowboard from possible impacts during transportation, it can be covered with a layer of clothing;
- it is advisable to write your contact information on the case so that you can quickly identify it or, in case of loss (and such cases do occur), quickly find it;
- do not overload the case: the handles and fastenings are designed for a certain permissible weight recommended by the manufacturer. In addition, overweight is fraught with additional financial costs.

Ski bag return rules

We wrote above how to transport a snowboard on a plane, now we’ll tell you how much it will cost. The price depends on the specific airline. Ski kit is classified as oversized baggage, so it must be checked in and accepted after the flight in a separate place for oversized baggage (as a rule, such baggage is transported to the freight elevator). If you are flying to rare destinations, then you should notify the carrier company in advance that you plan to transport a snowboard (preferably at the stage of booking a ticket). Otherwise, you may not be allowed to take oversized cargo on board.

Carriers do not have any requirements for the length of the cover itself. In general, you can transport a snowboard on an airplane without a cover; we know of many cases when boards flew safely without any covering. But in this case you need to remove the fastenings.

When flying with transfers, when tickets are on different airlines, there is one important nuance. At the transfer point, the permissible norms and rules for transporting equipment may be different and you may be subject to additional payment.

How to deal with overweight

The loyalty of airlines towards passengers with snowboard covers allows you to travel with your own equipment as cheaply as possible. But the weight of the cases is always strictly regulated: you can carry luggage weighing up to 20 kg for free, for anything heavier you will have to pay extra. Experienced snowboarders who often carry snowboards on planes have figured out how to get around this ban a little. The fact is that initially the cover is weighed, and then the passenger himself carries it to the freight elevator. Along the way, you can quietly upgrade your case (no one will re-weigh it). You can also transfer something from an overloaded case to your hand luggage or main luggage (if possible). Or put snowboard boots on yourself =)

Basic airline conditions for transporting sports equipment

Here we list the most popular airlines and their stated requirements for the transportation of ski equipment:

S7 transportation of a snowboard: in addition to basic luggage, free transportation of a snowboard and equipment (helmet, boots, clothing, goggles and other accessories) in a case with a total weight of up to 20 kg is allowed; Group booking of tickets is allowed, in which several snowboards can be transported in one case (no more than the number of people in the group);

Aeroflot snowboard transportation: free 1 case with 1 snowboard, 1 piece of luggage with 1 pair of boots; Aeroflot allows snowboards to be carried free of charge on an airplane in a case with a total weight of up to 23 kg;

UTair: two cargo spaces for snowboards and related equipment are provided free of charge, with a total weight of up to 20 kg;

Transaero: one snowboard and a bag with additional accessories (up to 10 kg) free of charge with your main luggage.

Answers to questions about how to carry a snowboard on a particular carrier’s plane should be agreed upon immediately before purchasing a ticket, since the stated requirements may differ depending on the season and flight direction, the availability of special offers and auction conditions.