Oceansource.net guide to flying with surfboards
People are often surprised that it’s possible to take surfboards through airports and onto planes, especially given that currently a bottle of water is considered a security risk. But actually it’s not only possible but relatively easy. Wide-bodied passenger jets have a lot of space below the seating area and airlines are more than happy to sell you a place to park your board. Unfortunately these days it is usually a case of being sold the space rather than charming the check-in girl (or guy). This article talks you through the whole travel process including getting where you want to go while taking everything you need, not paying over the odds, and not having it destroyed by the baggage handlers.
All flights can be divided into three categories, charter, scheduled and low cost, and these three categories have very different attitudes towards watersports kit…
Charter flights
These are the easiest to book and nearly all have a very simple and accommodating policy towards surfboards. Most charge around 20 euros each way to take a surfboard, and you can usually sneak through a double bag (of shortboards) as one surfboard. Charter airlines are often very used to surfers travelling to popular destinations and don’t check inside the bags as long as you pay their basic fee, and the bags don’t look too big.
Some charter companies allow you to pay in advance and some don’t. If they do it’s worth doing, as it saves times at the airport (otherwise you usually have to find the airlines offices to pay, you can’t pay at the check-in desk). It also makes it more likely that your kit will travel with you. In the (unlikely) event that the plane’s holds become full, pre-booked on kit will go on first, and those who paid at the airport may find their kit only arrives at their destination a few days later. It’s also often cheaper to pay when you book your ticket rather than at the airport. If at all possible make sure you get something in writing, as airlines are notoriously bad at getting information through to their check-in agents, so you’ll need something to prove you’ve paid. In summary though, charter flights are relatively easy to deal with and relatively cheap to take kit on.
Scheduled Airlines
Scheduled airlines are usually a lot more hassle. There is much less common ground in their attitude regarding kit and you have to take things in an airline by airline approach. Check the page for the airline you’re thinking of flying with for an explanation of their policy and reviews of people who’ve already flown with them. Again, if you can pay in advance, do so and make sure you get something in writing to prove it.
It’s hard to generalise, but very loosely – for short haul flights you might not have to pay as much, but for long haul destinations you should expect to pay considerably more than with charter flights.
Low-Cost Airlines
Also known as Budget or No Frills airlines – and they’re taking over the skies at an alarming rate. Ryanair is now the world’s biggest airline in terms of the number of people it flies. Low-cost airlines can offer surfers an incredible range of destinations at ridiculously low fares, but you need to be sure when you’re booking that you’ve not been suckered into paying over the odds with hidden taxes and charges (we’ve prepared an article on getting the best from low cost airlines here). Most are still surprisingly tolerant towards surfers so you can usually take your kit quite cheaply, but you have to be careful. For one, low-cost airlines have very strict rules regarding check-in times, baggage allowance and everything else, and they make a significant proportion of their income from penalising people who fail to abide by the letter of their rules, and this is where some get stung. One rule in particular is worth highlighting. Some low-cost airlines charge a flat rate per board (which is good), while others charge the flat rate for the right to take a board – and then allow an extra 10kg of luggage allowance or so, then charging excess luggage rates at anything over this rate (which isn’t so good). Check the airlines list to see the policy of the company you’re thinking of flying with.
A couple more notes on low-cost airlines with kit. Be at the check-in when it opens if at all possible. Go out of your way to be friendly and accommodating – the staff are used to angry ranting off customers and won’t go out of their way to help you if you behave like an idiot. Make sure you don’t leave your gear in the way of other customers. And finally, be very wary of using a low cost airline to connect up with another flight whether or not it’s the same company. While most airlines will take responsibility if you miss a connecting flight because they were late, low-cost airlines won’t, even if they operate both flights. At the very least, get a flight that gives you a long time to make that connection, even if it means sitting in an airport for six hours when the whole journey runs smoothly.
Packing up
With the notable exception of Tufflite or other epoxy board constructions, surfboards are pretty fragile things and baggage handlers aren’t known for their softly softly approach to loading jumbos. Therefore you need to take a fair bit of care when packing up your board.
First you’ll need to remove the fins, assuming you’ve got the FCS system, or use a piece of polystyrene block with fin slits cut in it if not. If you’re flying somewhere hot you might want to take the wax off before you go, to avoid it melting when it’s left out on the hot runway while you queue for hours in imigration.
It’s a good idea to protect the rails and tail with pipe lagging, and a wrap or two of bubblewrap before putting it in the bag is also a good idea. Use duck (or duct) tape rather than parcel tape, which leaves an unsightly brown stain on the board. And don’t overdo it though as a heavy package is more likely to be mistreated than a light one. Make sure it can’t move around too much in the bag and that there’s nothing heavy or sharp within the bag that can knock into the board. stick a label saying FRAGILE on it and hope for the best.
Some airlines are clear about the maximum weight of gear you’re allowed to bring – and 24kg is a common figure these days, but others are frustratingly vague. If your airline belongs to the vague camp you should at the very least limit yourself to 32kg as an absolute maximum for any one bag. In the European Union this is the absolute limit the baggage handlers are allowed to lift by law and any bags above this weight must be repacked.
If your bags are overweight, take a long hard look at what you’re bringing – do you really need it all? It’s always a difficult decision to know what to take but with a bit of research before you pack you should know the likely conditions and what you can therefore leave at home.
(Very) Long Boards
Many airlines will take longboards, and even SUP (stand up paddleboards) for the same price as a shortboard, although a few won’t if it exceeds certain dimensions. For example, Martin Air will take a 9’6” longboard, but won’t touch a 10 footer. It’s rare for check-in staff to actually measure a board though, so often paying in advance and blagging it will get you through. No way to start a relaxing surf trip though.
Damage
Once you pick up your board at the other end, check it right away for any obvious damage (it’s not practical to strip all the packing away and inspect it for hairline cracks, but it should be obvious if it’s been snapped in half, or had a hole speared in it by a fork lift truck). If it is damaged, the Warsaw Convention guarantees you compensation, whether or not you’ve signed a waiver – although it will be more difficult to argue your case if you have signed one. Take photos of the damage and report it to the airline before you leave the airport. It doesn’t matter if you don’t get the issue totally cleared up, but make sure you get something in writing to say the board was damaged in transit, then you can sort it out later. If it’s just your boardbag that is damaged you won’t have any luck claiming though. Airlines consider that the job of your luggage is to protect the contents, thus making damage to the bag or other luggage acceptable, to them at least.
If the board doesn’t turn up at all, because it was put on a later flight, it’s the airline’s responsibility to deliver it to your hotel (if you’ve arrived at your destination without it) or your home (if you’ve come back and your board is still there). Again sort this out before you leave the airport.
Bus to terminal
If at all possible get someone to drop you off at the airport, or arrive with a friend so that someone can drop the kit off at the departure gate with one person, while the other goes to park the car or van. If that’s not an option and you arrive on your own it’s not so easy. Surfboards do fit onto the buses from airport parking stops to the terminal, but some drivers will tell you it doesn’t, or that they’re not allowed to take it for insurance reasons. If this happens you’ve got little option but to argue, beg, and plead with the drivers until they let you on. If it’s very busy they might refuse point blank – but they realise ultimately that if they don’t take you you’re going to miss your flight and cause their company something of a headache. When the bus arrives you should let the other passengers get on, and then quickly get it on and out of the way to demonstrate how you’re not going to cause a problem. Usually some of the other passengers will help, if only because they’re late for their own flight and don’t want to waste time arguing. It’s a rather stressful way to start your holiday but do-able.
Check in staff
Pick your queue carefully, a young, inexperienced-looking agent might not realise you need to pay for kit, but then again they might panic and call a supervisor. It’s something of a lottery, but the odds are always more in your favour if you’ve managed to pay in advance and have something in writing to prove it. Whether you do or don’t. Smile sweetly, be helpful, funny, polite and understanding. And good luck.
Finally, there are some signs of the EU 32kg limit being reduced to 24kg in the near future. BA have already made 24kg the maximum weight of any one bag, and this has serious consequences for the travelling windsurfer. We contacted several airlines to ask if they had any plans to follow BA in this matter, and all said they had NO plans to do so in the near future, but that this wasn’t a guarantee that this policy wouldn’t change. If it happens we’ll let you know and try to work out where this leaves us all.
And last of all, please do consider offsetting your carbon from every flight you make. It might not save the world nor improve your take offs, but it will result in a few more trees being planted, which can’t be a bad thing. www.climatecare.org is a very good website for this.
Have a good trip!
If you have any general travel tips or hints for flying with surfboards please tell us here. If you have tips for a specific airline please post on the page for that airline. Thanks.
Last updated: September 21, 2007
Leaving feedback:
If you have travelled with equipment, or know any good tips, please let everyone know by leaving feedback here.
Feedback by: Tom | 29 March 2008
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