UKC

So I flew to yosemite in 2016 with virgin atlantic. We got 1 piece of checked baggage free with the flight, we could also take an additional bag of "sports equipment" for free. So managed to get haul bag and portaledge on the plane for no extra cost.. not to mention 100kg of luggage between two people. Bargain! 

Looking at flights for this autumn and it seems all the airlines have changed their baggage policy, meaning you have to pay more for luggage than the flights themselves. Has anyone had any recent experiences with flying London to LA with lots of bags for big walling? Trying to work out which airline is most appropriate for big wall gear  

I asked a similar question a few weeks ago and the most helpful actually turned out to be air Lingus. I am flying Edinburgh to SFO so the cost advantage might not work the same as from London, but air Lingus was 23kg bag included then £45 per extra bag per direction (that is per direction not per flight, very important as you fly via Dublin). So for me alone, return with 3bags is an extra £180. Not bad as I don't have to do any bus/train/tube business to get to Heathrow

try Norwegian air

Ah, yes I forgot to mention I was only looking at airlines where i could take 3bags total (lacking in friends...), For just two bags airlines like Norwegian suggested by Kimberley and Iceland air have good deals, but limit you to two bags bwfobe they start charging crazy money

I'm not getting why you're limiting yourself to LAX as destination airport. Especially since SFO is closer to Yosemite.

(and LAS Las Vegas is within driving range)

Ken

SFO isn't actually that much closer in terms of driving time than LAX - 30 mins to an hour depending on traffic. LAX is a major hub so you can often get cheaper than SFO. 

In answer to the original question, when I lived in LA Air New Zealand from London to LAX was about the same price as other airlines but a whole lot nicer. Avoid US carriers, especially United.

I think Emirates still do one free extra 23kg sports baggage allowance to the US. Let us know what you sort out as I (and I'm sure many others) have exactly the same dilemma. We booked Virgin just after the change in their rules withot realising and when we phoned them up they let us off any charges. We have also had fabulous customer service when other problems occured (booked on Virgin but let down by a code share US carrier). Shame about their change in rules as they are the best carrier we have used for economy to the US. It's always worth checking SFO as an alternative.

Good point, i hadnt really consider them... the hunt continues! 

Some initial research:

Biggest problem is "code share" flights. So listed as a British Airways flight but Operated by American Airlines. So the flight operator dictates the baggage terms. So loads of cheap Air Lingus, Air Norweigen, Finn Air etc flights but all operated by American Airlines. AA charge £140 (return) for extra bags. Although can include sporting equipment so can be oversized (i.e portaledge or haul bag) but still cannot be over 23kg. 

The other big code sharer is United Airlines. However, their baggage terms will accept sports items but wont let you pay for it online. Which means you have to pay at the counter and there is some vague language about if the plane is full they might not accept it. So I've written them off. 

Current leading favourite is New Zealand Air. Really cheap flight, deal direct. Down side is bags cost £180 (return) however, still doesn't work out too bad because flights are cheap. 

Another vote for Air NZ. It's a stopover on the route from London to NZ, and more people want to go LA to NZ than London to LA, so prices are lower than they would be otherwise. Their service is the best I've had, and even the food is worth eating.

I'd avoid Aer Lingus - they were OK when we used them on the outward flight, but completely hopeless when the return flight was cancelled. No communication (they knew 36 hours before the flight but didn't tell us until we arrived at the airport), and almost put us on a flight that would have left us stranded in Dublin for 2 days waiting for a suitable onward flight. Then when we put in a claim for expenses, it took them almost 2 years to pay what they owed us.

Don’t be tempted by the cheapness of Norwegian Air. I flew out to Denver with them, they messed up my seats, charged a ridiculous amount for excess baggage, it was like $15 per kilo or something on the way back despite the fact I’d already paid for two more cases. Ended up carrying my rope on my hand luggage backpack along with another 20 odd kilos of books and stuff shoved in the back nearly passing out in customs (the same weight is able to be carried on by hand but not in the hold, crazy or maybe I blagged it through because I refused to pay the price per kilo!) 

British Airways tend to have a better allowance, I think it’s 23kg per bag and you get one included in the flight, whilst Norwegian is 20kg, plus you have to pay for all hold luggage.

Norwegian really grinds my gears, grrrrr!

Check out San Jose, oakland and fresno 

The first two defo have direct UK flights. Fresno state capital may not yet

I've been flying to Bay for work for many years on and off and San Jose, Oakland and Vegas are generally 2-3 time more expensive than SFO or LAX on most of the dates..

Today all economy airlines will charge for check in bags sometimes more than ticket itself.

My personal choice is BA if I am flying economy paying from my own company cash or business any airline if other company is paying (once you are in business / 1st all are really good and willing to do anything for you).