I was on a golfing trip to South Africa recently but stopped off in Lusaka on my way to Cape Town.
Needless to say, I was carrying a lot of baggage, golf clubs included, but was within my allowance as PE.
I had no problems checking everything in at NCL.
However, I had to fly Comair LUN-JNB-CPT. This is appears to be a British Airways plane but is operated by Comair, a KLM partner airline.
When I went to check in at LUN, the first comment made was that I was overweight. I didn't take this comment personally and assumed that they were talking about my baggage.
Anyway, I produced my KLM PE card and explained that Comair was a KLM partner and that I was within my baggage allowance. After some time they reluctantly let me go but not because I had convinced them. More to do with they couldn't be bothered but I have to say that they were very pleasant.
Okay, next step of the journey was to collect my bags at JNB and check-in for the flight to CPT at the domestic terminal.
The same comment was made about me being overweight but again the check-in clerk was pleasant about it. I explained that as a KLM PE, I was within my baggage allowance and, in addition to that, I was entitled to carry an item of sporting equipment - in this case, my golf clubs.
He called over his supervisor to explain and she insisted that I was wrong and that no additional allowances could be made.
I called FD and explained my predicament and they confirmed that I was indeed correct. The FD lady asked to speak to the person on the counter and explained everything to him. He subsequently handed the phone back to me and explained everything to his supervisor who still insisted that I was wrong.
FD were still on the phone and, on hearing this, they asked to speak to the supervisor. This was quite amusing as she was a bit of a dragon and all I heard her say was, "Uh-huh, yes, yes, uh-huh, yes, hmmm," and then she gave FD a number to call her back at. Supervisor hands the phone back to me and walks away.
Meanwhile, I'm waiting at the check-in desk chatting to the clerk who's saying that he's sure that I'm right. Eventually, after another 15 minutes, I ask him to chase up the supervisor.
He returns after about 5 minutes and says that everything's fine but that nothing had been said about my golf clubs.
With a big sigh I phoned FD and explained the situation once again. The FD lady said that there was nothing in PE benefits about golf clubs so I asked to speak to another of her colleagues who verified that it was indeed a benefit. She confirmed this with the check-in clerk and my golf clubs were checked in! Phew!
The supervisor came over to me to explain that she didn't want me to think that she was being a pain but she had had no guidance from KLM as to these benefits. She showed me the manual and she was right - there was nothing in there. She told me that she was going to follow up with KLM with respect to the guidance and that this should not have happened as it was awkward for both her and myself. I agreed.
She was also a bit miffed that a KLM PE was entitled to benefits that even BA gold members weren't.
I have to admit, I like the PE benefits and FD handled the situation very well.