Fight Back Continues Against Rising Airline Charges

Booking a holiday can be a stressful experience – particularly if you have three or four kids and grandparents to organise. Hardly surprising then that travellers may forget to pre-book items of luggage.

But if you’re travelling with Ryanair*, that £9.99 flight can become a nightmare if you look to check-in two items of luggage at the airport or via a call-centre, with the Irish carrier charging a minimum of £135 for the second bag during the high season. And that allows you only a 15kg suitcase. On selected flights, to popular holiday destinations such as the Canary Islands, Cyprus and most of Greece, that figure rises to £150!

Such prohibitive charges come as no surprise to those heading off to take part in sport – they nearly always have to pay extra whether it’s skiing, cycling or golf. If there’s a need to carry sporting equipment airlines will hit the passenger hard for the privilege of using and transporting their own gear.

Golfers, of course, are particularly hard-hit. In early 2012, Ryanair increased its charges for sports equipment to £100 return, while, late last year, Air Berlin announced its charges for golf bag carriage were to be increased to a minimum of €100 return, and the majority of European carriers now charge upwards of £60 return – just to take one’s golf bag away on a break.

So it is little wonder that a golf-club rental scheme launched by former Ryder Cup star Paul McGinley is proving so popular with golfers. ClubstoHire.com is now located at nine European airports, each popular with travelling golfers: Antalya, Alicante, Murcia, Dublin, Malaga, Edinburgh, the Isle of Man, Lisbon and Faro.

As well as saving consumers significant outlay – more than £750,000 to date – the company’s success in the 18 months since its launch also comes from providing golfers with a seamless booking process, top-brand equipment choices and a liberating travel experience.

McGinley’s fellow ClubstoHire director, Tony Judge, said: “Airlines are continuing to hit passengers with increased charges for sporting equipment which, in some cases, can make the cost of a trip prohibitive.

“It was for this reason we opened the first ClubstoHire store in Faro in July 2010. We realistically believe we will double our turnover during 2012 and will save travelling golfers a staggering €1,000,000 on excess baggage charges during the calendar year. 

That’s a massive saving in a classic David v Goliath campaign on behalf of golfers everywhere.”

Further ClubstoHire outlets will open soon in Tenerife and Gran Canaria, with others following before the end of the year, as the company continues to fight back against extortionate airline charges.

A broad equipment range is offered from just €35 per week, with options available from TaylorMade (including R11S and the new RocketBallz), Callaway, Wilson and MD Golf; all clubs are offered – left or right-handed, ladies and men’s – and hire is available from just one day to a full four weeks. For those wishing to travel extra-light, shoe hire is also available.

The service couldn’t be easier to use – just order on-line ahead of travel and pick up the hire set at the destination.

Bookings for Antalya, Alicante, Murcia, Dublin, Malaga, Edinburgh, the Isle of Man, Lisbon and Faro can be made online at www.clubstohire.com.

*Figures taken from www.ryanair.com/en/terms-and-conditions#regulations-tableoffees and accurate as of April 5, 2012.