Jump to content
Note to New Members ×

Best Airlines for taking board(s) along


Zone

Recommended Posts

BTW has anyone been charged for having one extra board in thier bag..(Total of two boards)

Just wondering as the majority of airlines only "allow" 1 board...

I'm taking two and was wondering how strictly they enforce that rule......

I usually have three boards in my Burton Wheelie Locker and when the attendant asks, I say just one plus a bunch of clothes and tuning equipment...no problems to date.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This came off of The Carvers Almanac

http://www.prolineracks.com/sportube-series3-ski-travel-cases.html

Only downside is that they are heavier to begin with so you have to either pack less or pay the overweight fee. I use a soft 181 Burton bag and have carried 2 carve boards, one set of plates, one set of hard boots, one free ride board, one set of soft bindings and one pair of soft boots. Plus some extras like goggles, gloves, impact shorts. and it come in at bout 56lbs. Usually not enough to cause a problem and it is only the small air ports in CO. that bother to check anyway.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I fly with my hardboots as part of my carry-on luggage- I use the following bag to carry my boots in:

http://banaire.com.hosting.domaindirect.com/helmetbags.html

It's a military issue pilot's helmet bag- it can be purchased from any local surplus store for 20-30 dollars, and carries my boots, gloves, helmet, and goggles.

Most importantly, it fits under the seat or in the overhead bin.

George

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"A set consists of one snowboard and one pair of boots. This set is considered as one piece of checked baggage and no other item(s) can be carried in the package."

What a bunch of BS. I've flown my gear on Air Canada any number of times. I use all my board clothes (and some of my normal clothes) as padding for the boards inside the soft bag, and they never give me any problems. You never ever tell them that you have more than one board in there though... and I always take my boots carryon. Carryon is officially one bag of the right size and "one article of a personal nature" - yes, my boots!

Guess when I fly to Sun Peaks in 2 weeks, we'll see if they lose my gear for me. They're apparently notorious for that on that route!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

I ended up having no problems with Air Canada's handling of my bags, other than the idiots at the Montreal airport who gave me the wrong instructions and took forever to check bags in. I wasn't even charged extra fees.

I ended up putting my 2 boards in my boardbag (a soft bag with wheels) with the bindings on and the topsheets facing each other, but staggered so that the 2 sets of bindings weren't aligned. That created a space between the two boards, which I filled in with my Camelback, helmet, clothes, hardboots, tools, etc. It ended up weighing just under 24 Kg (51 Lbs).

Allee, I took your advice and didn't tell them how many boards I had in there. I simply told them it was sporting equipment. I guess she just presumed it was one board.

I kept the absolute essentials in my carry-on: softboots, goggles, pants, baselayers (top, bottom and socks).

Since the bases were facing outwards, I put some stiff cardboard over them and along the edges, to protect them a bit. In fact, for the WCR, I used the same cardboard "box" that it was packaged in when Prior shipped it to me. I don't know if it made a practical difference, but it did give me some piece of mind. :)

That did the job. The bag and the contents weren't damaged at all....this time. :lol: I'll test my luck again tomorrow.

'later...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There are some airlines that actually set policies on the difference between skis and snowboards. In fact as mentioned earlier some will only allow a certain size of snowboard, but skis sizes are apparently infinite. Definitely check on their policies and don't....DON'T TRUST the customer service rep on the phone (cost me $75 for that little snafu). If it's not in writing they most likely will not let you get away with it. Although I had a snowboard, surfboard, and golf clubs in the mix. :biggthump

Anywhooo if you take two boards and get caught you can get away with telling the attendant that they are powder skis. And if you are taking boots in your carry-on (always a good idea) just be prepared ( and allow time) to take them out at the security check.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just flew Northwest to/from Spokane. No curbside check available at departure. I got dinged $50 in overweight charges on the way out there. 1 suitcase 61 lbs checked, 1 boardcase 54 lbs checked, 1 carryon, 1 computer case (personal item). $25 each for checked items. When I said I would rearrange stuff between checked/carryon to miminize or eliminate the overage fees the agent said (in effect) well, if you do I'll charge you an 'oversize' fee for the board case. On the return trip I got a box from the grocery store across the street from where I stayed, boxed up some heavy stuff and sent it home via the shipping store in the same building as the grocery.

I shipped back too much stuff.:smashfrea My checked bags were now somewhat underweight, carryon underweight, shipped box of gear was 30 lbs, cost $31 to ship.

What I'd like to do is get a small (& lightweight) & relativly accurate scale to weigh my bags so I do not have to guess or be victimized by agents. I recall my father having a very compact fishing scale in his tacklebox. It was a spring based mechanisim. I do not recall the max limit, but almost certainly it was not 50 lbs. Is there anything out there like this? I would guess that ocean fisherman would have something in the catalogs.

I packed 1 pair skis/poles (186cm) and 2 boards (184cm & 168cm) in the Burton wheeliebag. On the way out I also had bibs & softboots in the wheeliebag. I removed all bindings from everything to ease packing and maximize protection. All bindings and hardboots when into checked suitcase:freak3: hence the 11 lb overweight.

edit: well, duh... I googled luggage scale, got good results

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sounds to me like you ended up with an ******* baggage check agent. Normally there should be no problem rearranging things to fit under a weight limit; I normally carry an empty duffel in my main suitcase that I can use to hold items from other overweight containers.

From Northwest's baggage policies:

Skiing and Snowboarding Equipment

Northwest accepts one item of skiing/snowboarding equipment in lieu of one piece of luggage included in the free luggage allowance. Skiing/snowboarding equipment is accepted as checked luggage only. An item of ski equipment is defined as one of the following:

  • One (1) ski bag containing up to two (2) pairs of skis and one (1) boot bag
  • One (1) snowboard
  • One (1) snowboard bag containing up to two (2) snowboards

If combined weight of ski bag and boot bag exceed 50lbs/23kg an overweight fee applies.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...