Skis and liability
 

I am flying to ZRH this winter for a ski vacation.

What do the airlines (AA, LX, NW, KL) cover for ski damage?
Are skis one of the excluded items from the baggage policy(like jewlery)?
If the airline does not cover skis, can someone recomend a way to insure skis against loss and damage while underway?

I have quality skis and would not be happy to arrive in ZRH with damage or lost skis.
Thanks in advance.

I can't speak to the liability issue, but I have seen hard-sided ski travel cases in my local ski store. Compared to the cost of good skis, these are pretty reasonably priced - something like this at $79.95 is a fraction of the cost of a good pair of skis.

I haven't used them, so I don't know how well they work, but common sense suggests they are better than the soft-sided carriers as far as offering some measure of protection.

FWIW, I have flown with skis domestically, many times, and never had any loss, damage, or delay (knocking on wood as I type).

As was suggested, a hard sided case is the best option for protecting your skis. Note AA's and NWA's sporting goods liability...

http://www.aa.com/content/travelInfo...ts%20Equipment

http://www.nwa.com/travel/luggage/specialitems.html#ski

If you take them in a soft side ski bag and they get damaged, you're SOL.

I took my skis to Europe last spring on KL without issues. I have more of a concern this time because this time skiing is the whole point of my trip. Likewise a friend is coming with me (but he is on AA/LX). Thanks for the input.

I've ditched using a fabric softcase since it was always too much worry if the airline would break it by accident or anything, and why ruin a good trip, and try to pack the skis with clothes etc.http://cozywinters.com/shop/st-s1.html

I've been using a SporTube Series 1:
http://cozywinters.com/shop/st-s1.html

I like it and haven't had any issues. Sure it is a small pain to fit the skis into the box and hold back the run away prevention devices, but it is worth it. It can also be bungee corded onto a luggage rack, not that this is any sort of advertisement, just letting you know my positive experience :)

My recommendation is to check your particular airline's baggage policy and also confirm that you can extend the coverage (usually for a modest charge) if the coverage is unacceptable. Of course, if that is the case, get to departure airline counters early.

Good luck.

I bring skiis on airplanes a couple times of year, and have brought them trans-Atlantic once. I've just used a soft ski bag and packed lots of ski clothes around it; never had a problem. I suppose the hard cases are nicer but if I buy one for myself I have to buy four others for family so I've not shelled out that much money for cases yet.