United board restrictions?

[Lee Murian]

We just bought tix to Kauai next month and wondered how strict United is on their baggage policy.

They charge $125 per board, with a size limit of 106". My board bag is prolly 114" and I want to take 2 boards. Will they measure the bag? Will they actually look inside to check the quantity?

If I pull up to the curb and slip the porter some greenbacks will he check me through with no worries?

Thanks for any help.

[hop]

I dunno. What are you going to do if they shut you down? Leave your board in the airport? Buy a new ticket on a different airline? Seems awful risky to me considering the price of a demo/rental/just buy and sell a new board over there.

I just flew KLM from SF to Edinburgh. I wanted to bring 3 boards that all fit in the 10' DaKine bag I have. I checked the policy online then called a CS agent and then supervisor to double/triple-check. Unfortunately one of the boards was an 8'6" and since the bag was all padded on the ends it wasn't really foldable or smushable below the 108" max length. The charge for a "single" board bag was $150, for oversize I was looking at another $150, and if it was overweight (>51lbs) the penalty was another $150, not the normal $50 like for normal baggage.

By the book I would be paying an extra $300 right there, and possibly another $150 so a total of $450 to take my boards over here. Since I already had an overweight normal bag to check ($50) I was looking at $500 just for my luggage, which was half of my actual ticket price again!

I took the longboard out since it wasn't worth the risk. No more overweight, I was able to fold the bag over so no more oversize, just $150 because it was "a" surfboard and then my other overweight bag. I was gonna pay $200 for both, that's just how it was going to be. No way around it...

At the airport, they took one look at my board bag, asked me "is it overweight?", I said "no", they said "it's gotta go to oversize luggage" and off I went. No charge. The other bag was overweight and I gladly paid the $50 and got out of there as fast as I could.

Long story short: when it comes to surfboard policies, YMMV. My advice is to consider the worst case scenario and decide is it worth it if they play hardball. Keep in mind you have to deal with the shit on the return flight too.

[ProHoHater]

Ditto, and you may get boned again if you go through Oahu, which I assume you are. Not to mention most of the baggage handlers are big Mokes who will pounding your boards like poi. They pretty much hate you just for causing more traffic, not to mention if you get a surfing bag handler...not pretty. Buy a used board there at a shop and check Craigslist, its widely used to sell boards there. There may even be a cost co now, which probably has crappy long boards for cheap.

And fuck your just long boarding, its not like that really counts anyways.

[Crystal_Mt_Dreamin]

Plan for the worst, hope for the best. I wouldn't risk being oversized, though when I was in Saladita a bunch of people were able to get their longboards on the same flight as mine even though I called on multiple occasions to ask about their policies and enforcement. It's really a YMMV crapshoot.

[Lee Murian]

Thanks for the replies. I think I'll ditch the LB, yeah worse case scenario I'm stuck at the airport with my board and no where to go, I don't mind paying (well I do, but what choice is there? ) Maybe I'll see if my bro will take my board, he's flying Hawaiin Air who apparantly has no problems with LBs. (well for an extra $125)

I assume I can find a decent rental over there if I don't bring my own board?

And fuck your just long boarding, its not like that really counts anyways.

Yeah no doubt! As a teleskier I'm looking for the easiest option. I'll bring my fish, but is that just as lame as a LB???

Thanks for the personal report hop, we met on my first tram ride of my first day skiing Europe in Andermatt in '03.

[hop]

Andermatt would have been spring 04. You are/were a Shasta mtn. guide, right?

I want to go surfing so bad. I saw some great looking waves yesterday in N. Scotland but 1. it was freezing and 2. I didn't have my boards or wetsuit. Booooo.

[snowfunk]

I assume I can find a decent rental over there if I don't bring my own board?

I'm going back in November to Kauai. The best rentals I found were at Nukumoi in Poipu. They're online and I think its $80/wk. Softops only for rent on the n.shore.

[Lee Murian]

Thanks snowfunk, I assumed there were dozens of boards available, I'll make my buddy travel with my board so I can shred the pier with all the tourist gapers and groms.

Andermatt would have been spring 04. You are/were a Shasta mtn. guide, right?

Oops, yeah '04. I'm hard pressed to call myself a guide anymore, I'm more of a Director these days. I was so tempted to follow you guys off the tram, ditching my wife on our first run in CH would have been a bad idea though. Good luck with that cold water, that's why I'm bailing from Norcal.

[hop]

Thanks snowfunk, I assumed there were dozens of boards available, I'll make my buddy travel with my board so I can shred the pier with all the tourist gapers and groms.



Oops, yeah '04. I'm hard pressed to call myself a guide anymore, I'm more of a Director these days. I was so tempted to follow you guys off the tram, ditching my wife on our first run in CH would have been a bad idea though. Good luck with that cold water, that's why I'm bailing from Norcal.

Yeah, that might not have gone over so well. You should have taken her with us though because we found some pretty good stuff given the conditions.