The best airline for domestic travel - Virgin Australia (formerly Virgin Blue) has now become just another cheap airline to fly with since revoking their allowance for sporting equipment recently.

In days of old - Virgin was by far the best airline to travel around Australia on, the flights were on time, food was alright, staff were good lookin' and best of all - you got 28kg worth of luggage allowance. This meant you could take 2 boards, two kites plus all your other bits and pieces like clothes and towels, and not get charged anything at
the check-in desk.

The owner, Richard Branson is even a kiteboarder himself (come on, you've seen the pictures) so surely they must have a special policy for the worlds best watersport?   Not so, not even a mention in the policy now, we've been lumped in with the 'sporting goods'.

According to Virgin Australia, this new baggage policy has been in place since the change of name (from Virgin Blue, which was a silly name anyway) early last month. Untill now, check in staff have been able to waive the excess fee's if passengers had booked their flights before the new policy was imposed. Now, the grace periods over - which means you better keep those bags under 23kg's - or it's $10 a kilo extra.

So now Virgins out of the top spot, all airlines are now looking pretty equal for baggage allowance. Here's a few of the most common airlines and their policy.

Jetstar's looking pretty good now, they make all passengers pay for extra checked baggage in increments. It works out pretty cheap with 30kgs costing $30 on top of your carry-on fare, and 40kg's only $40 on top. You can also choose 12, 18 or 25kgs if you're not kiting. One thing to watch, is Jetstars length restrictions. Unlike Virgin, Jetstar packs all their checked bagged in special alloy capsules to be loaded. These are only 1.9m wide, so it's physically impossible to take anything bigger than that, simply because they don't fit inside the capsules. Too bad for the SUP guys! As an example, if you're travelling with 30kg's of luggage, its fare+$30+booking fee... So thats $30 to bring your gear.  

Virgin has always charged a flat fee for checked baggage - now it's an extra $12 on top of your fare, and that gives you 23kgs plus carry-on. Thats enough for two kites and a board, but not much else. If you're travelling with under 23 kgs though, Virgin's still the way to go. Using the same example as above, fare+$12+$70+booking fee (7kgs excess @ $10p/kg)... Thats $82 to bring your gear.

Tiger Airways are scary... If you want checked baggage - you're looking at either 15kgs for $15, or 25kgs for $35. Hopefully you don't need to take 30kgs, because they're going to hit you up for $70. Whatever you do, don't tell them its sporting equipment you're brining. It's an extra $60 extra for any sporting equipment, and they offer NO insurance, it's purely at your own risk. Prepare yourself for the example - fare+$70+$60+booking fee... thats $130 to bring your gear.

Qantas, the good old aussie girls with the funny uniforms - are very similar to Virgin. You get a free 23kgs inititally, then it's $10 per kilo if you've got over that. Not too bad, as long as you're not taking more than 24kgs. Examples easy - 7kgs oversize, thats $70 please. Have a nice flight.

Thats the main lot you're going to fly with, and by the looks of it Jetstar is now the way to go for kiteboarders due to their generous weight limits and $1 per kilo excess pricing.
No matter who you fly with though, make sure you read through their baggage policy the morning you plan to travel, print it out highlight the section that applies to you, and bring it with you to the airport. Arrive with a smile and you'll be surprised at how easy it is to get though, that's the real key here - happy customers make for happy (and generous) check in staff.

Read the comments about Virgin Australia's new baggage policy in the forums here

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