Travel

A sight that will put every surfer s nerves on edge Photo: surfresortfinder

Airlines can be buggers. We ve lost count of the number of times we ve been stung by baggage charges at the airport.

Why is it always at 3am, when you ve hardly had any sleep, and you ve already spent 45 minutes waiting in the check-in queue? The bastards

Some airlines will let you use your free hold baggage allowance for your surfboard, but most won t because board bags are much bigger than their size allowance.

Europe s budget airlines come second for most expensive surfboard fees

You ve also got to watch out for the weight of your boardbag. While airlines have a standard fee for surfboards, they re happy to whack on an extra fine per kilogram if you go over the stated weight allowance. So, watch out!

So what is the cheapest European airline for carrying surfboards?

These were correct as of 16/05/14. However, we do recommend double-checking with the airline before you fly.

Thumbs up to ThomsonFly

British Airways andFinnair. Well, technically they carry surfboards for free but they only take surfboards under 6 3 , which rules out any longboarders and, errrr, pretty much everyone else.

Otherwise, Thomsonfly carry surfboards on short-haul flights around Europe for €49 return, followed closely by Air France at €55 return.

Editor s Note: We ve had a comment from our reader, telling us SAS fly surfboards for free with max. weight of 23kg and no length restrictions. So sounds like they re our new top surf-friendly airline!

Not surfer-friendly

Iberia. by far. Despite being under new ownership by British Airways, the Spanish airline charge a whopping €150 one-way charge to carry a surfboard! You d be better off driving

Unsurprisingly, Europe s budget airlines come second for most expensive surfboard fees. Norwegian charges up to €120 return, while RyanAir, Swiss Air  and TAP Portugal  will relieve you of €100 return for the pleasure of carrying your board.

Looking for a good breakdown of international airline charges? We like this one from Wave Tribe Company .