I'm heading to Maui next month and booked my flights with Hawaiian airlines. Unfortunately this put me on a Quantas domestic codeshare flight from Melbourne to Sydney, which is proving to be a major hassle in terms of being able to take my own gear. Hawaiian airlines can take my gear no problem (well, $300 return which is a bit rich) as will most airlines, but after inspecting the Quantas website there seems to be a glaring contradiction with their oversize baggage policy. They state that if you're carrying a surf board or surf ski then:

"Only accepted if enclosed in a surfboard bag and does not exceed 32kg (70lb) in weight and 277cm (109in) in length."

However, when it comes to windsurfing gear then:

"Windsurfers cannot be carried as baggage domestically due to the length of the sail mast. They must be sent as freight and freight charges will apply."

I can get all my gear (1 board, 2 sails, boom, 2 masts, fin, base etc) all into the board bag, which is 235cm long and only 27kg. I spoke to a Quantas rep on the phone and he confirmed that Quantas have a zero tolerance policy for windsurfing gear. I cheekily suggested that if checked it in as a surf ski would that be acceptable and he got all confused and did not compute...

I got a quote for sending it as "freight" and that was a cool $800 thank you very much. It would cost me less than that to hire gear over there...

So I'm really stuck here, do I take the risk and tell the check-in staff that I have a surf-ski and hope they don't check? If they don't let my gear on then I'm really screwed, as past experience has proved that airports have no capacity for accommodating anything that doesn't make it onto the plane. It may as well be thrown in the bin unless you have been dropped off by someone who is patiently waiting around to help you out in this eventuality.

What experience have other people had travelling domestically with gear? Are there any other domestic airlines I can fly to Sydney with who will accept my gear?

R u going for more than 2 weeks? I'd rather rent gear in maui and save the hasle,,check into Hawaiian and sIp a guava cocktail and start the holiday

qantas is sponsering australian slalom championships green island , cains.

I have carried heaps of gear with Qantas in the last few years, and they have an excellent baggage policy at the moment.

As Windwarrior said, just reserve the number of pieces you want, as long as you are under weight or want to pay the excess charge for over 23kgs.

I was worried about this 'no windsurfers' thing the first time. I rang them and they put me onto the 'baggage master' at the airport (or something like that). He said it was no problem as long as it wasn't outside the length limit. Their terminology for windsurfers is so out of date, but I think it is the same with other carriers, so they will probably never change it.

Never had a problem from Sydney to Perth and back and have done it with Qantas probably 4 or 5 times.

If you are worried, call it a surfboard. Anyone that knows won't care, and any one that doesn't will be happy its a 'surfboard'.

robhely said..
The blanket charge on Hawaiian of $150 one way seems a bit steep though.. I've taken mountain bikes weighing way more all around the world at no charge .

The problem is that with demise of Aloha Airlines, Hawaiian is the only interim land airline left with planes big enough to carry boards. This leaves them in a position to charge what ever they want really.

Regarding renting gear vs taking your own. When you work out prices make sure you include the insurance for gear breakage. Given that most gear gets a pretty good work out you would expect some sort of breakage at some point. Having to pay for a broken mast or trashed sail can quickly make it cheaper to just take your own gear.

Maybe this could be something our national body could get involved in. It's a pretty simple situation, misunderstanding that windsurfing kit isn't like the old aircraft carriers of past times......

A letter, followed by a phone call from one of the more reputable board members to some of the airlines to update their policy to reflect current kit............. especially since some are sponsoring some sailors out there, surely we could see this as a quick win...... but it really needs to be someone from the National Body....... AWA......

Thoughts?

Not sure what else they do anyhow?

K Dog said..

*cough*

Is it really a problem though? I have never had a problem with the airlines, other than new starters that weren't aware of their own policies and how to charge for it. Especially when VB used to count sporting equipment as only 5kg

I would be worried that drawing their attention to it would make them suddenly insist the rules get followed, even though they make no sense.

Surf*

I travelled between Perth and Syd Christmas 2012 with my windsurfing gear and had no problems with Qantas. Board was a 100L and carried 3 sails, 2 masts (400 and 430), 2 booms and all the other little bits. I think the mast comment on the Qantas website refers to one piece masts. As long as your gear doesn't exceed the length limit stated in the baggage section you'll be fine. Weight is the other issue. Im a gold frequent flyer so was well within their 2x 32kg +7kg hand luggage limit. No idea how much they charge for excess baggae. I advise to ring Qantas ahead of time and let them know you are bringing the gear with you - they add the information to your ticket.

You will have no issues taking windsurf gear on qantas, jetstar or Hawaiian despite what the fine print says. However why not save the $300-$400 by buying a JQ tkt and use the savings to rent gear. Gear rental for 15 days will be $600+ depending on where you get it from, and on the days where there's no wind you can swap for a SUP or surfboard. Better still sell all that old gear before you go and stock up on new stuff over there.

@frpialoux,

One thing to remember is that Hawaiian will book you straight through to Maui. If you fly Qantas/ Jetstar you will need to book an inter island flight. As long as you fly Hawaiian inter island excess luggage isn't an issue. But if you haven't checked your gear through to Maui expect to pay a bit extra at Honolulu airport. They actually have a rate for windsurf gear which is slightly higher than what they charge for surf boards. Most of the staff is pretty clued in to what a windsurf board is. The last few times they checked every single board.

BTW, if you need to store any gear for what ever reason at Honolulu airport check out Dr Bob's Storage (www.facebook.com/pages/On-site-airport-baggage-storage/282164271797121). I used them last time we went. We spend a couple of weeks island hopping and doing touristy stuff before flying to Maui. Since we had two little kids in tow I didn't want to drag my gear island to island as well. It's was pretty cheap and pick up / was ex airport. They store at an off site facility and once you need your gear back you just call them and they drop it at the airport within a few minutes. Awesome and efficient service.

Thanks a lor Rob, Stehsegler and Divaldo for your answers. That s very helpful.
I think i m going to fly Jetstar, with 2 kilos on the way out, and maybe some little gifts on the way back!

The way around this is to get there early so they can put your gear in the 'container' first on an angle and pack all of the luggage around the boards and masts and sails.

Maybe in SA but not in Sydney. I know of someone that arrived at the airport with a board bag and sail bag only to be told "sorry, can't take". They arrived early too. He had to go back to the long term car park and leave the gear in the car.

JetStar run 2 different type of planes for domestic (A320) vs international (A330).
Below is a list of what they run and the maximum length of any piece of luggage (surfboard) they will carry.

A surfboard, (including the surfboard bag), must not exceed 1.9 metres for Jetstar flights operated by an A320 or A321 aircraft, and 2.77 meters for Jetstar flights operated by an A330 or 787** aircraft.
Surfboards will not be accepted for carriage unless they are placed in an appropriate surfboard bag.
Surfboard fins must be removed, where possible, and placed in an enclosed compartment in the bag, or taped to the board.

I average around 30 flights a year, normally with gear and jetstar is by far the worst where excess luggage and refusal to carry is concerned.
As for getting there early for a domestic jetstar flight in the hope they will place your board and or masts diagonally across the luggage container so it will fit... this has never occurred in my experience. If its longer than 1.9m for crapstar domestic, forget it.
They also charge more for excess luggage than pretty much any one else... calculated at around $15 per kilo !
They are a budget carrier with some of the cheapest flights... but thats pretty much bare bones and you get what you pay for. Once you start adding food, entertainment, drinks, standard luggage limits (pretty much everything that all other carriers offer as standard) the price starts creeping up and the original super cheap fare isn't that cheap after all. Then at the end they'll whack you with taxes (which other airlines charge but include up front) and then top it off with a credit card surcharge between $7.50 and $10

Due to issues faced flying jetstar domestic I will pretty much go out of my way to fly with any other carrier, even if it means having to take 2 flights instead of one, so loath am I to give them any business. Sometimes however there is no alternative...

I have no experience with jetstar international but as listed above, Divaldo has made the trip across to Hawaii many times and has reported no issues

robbo1111 said..
On an A320 (Jetstar domestic) they are containerised so they can't take anything too long. Cant recall if they have a bulk hold but if they do it would be too small for an 8 ft double board bag.

Is that specific to the A320 or is that just how Jetstar operate the aircraft?

Internationally Jetstar can definitely carry a ton of boards no problem. Last time I flew to Bali they unloaded what must have been more than 30 surf boards. I actually think they had more surfboards than normal bags on board.