Hi,
I need to get my foil equipment from Miami to NYC. I usually have no issues flying with my slalom gear, but I recently moved and need to bring my foil equipment. I have a JP 190 (100cm wide) the total length its over what most airlines allow but pretty close to the IQ board and i know most people fly with those just fine. any idea how they do it? the iq board is also over the 292 linear limit. really appreciate any advice!

thanks

Ha! I've recently been looking into this for a trip to the Caribbean and have come to the same conclusion: the 115 inch / 292 cm linear restriction is now almost universal(*) making it technically impossible to check in any windsurfing board currently on the market -- so not just your 95cm iQ board. So, despite the fact that most airlines still have an explicit policy for windsurfing gear, in practice you cannot fit into it

Of course, people will say (and I have also personally done so): "Ah, but you can charm/chat/bs/... your way through," etc. Sure, of course, you can (and I have done so too), but this is generally not because of your power of persuasion (sorry to break it to you) but because check-in personnel rarely know the details of their own airline's baggage policies (beyond the basic weight limits). In fact, most have never seen or heard about windsurfing. However, and this is also personal experience, sometimes you do encounter someone who knows the rules, and then you're in potentially deep trouble as it is then no longer a question of how much more you're willing to pay. The airline will simply refuse to check in your gear, leaving you potentially stranded and at risk of missing your flight.

So all this to say: I'd also be interested to hear people's experiences in checking in windsurfing gear in the last 12 months or so. (Last time I did -- about 4 months ago -- I stayed within the 115 inch/292 cm because I was only carrying sails and a foil, no board).

(*) The only airline with decent connections across the continental US and the Caribbean that does not (yet) seem te apply the 115inch / 292cm limit (unless it is a typo on their website) is Jet Blue.

yeah most times they dont even know the difference between kiting windsurf and wakeboarding. in the last year i traveled with my slalom and wave equipment with american and had no issues but the slalom board doesnt look as big or intimidating as the foil board, its like flying with a queen mattress lol. I will probably just take it to the airport and see what happens, hopefully they dont look at the linear limit.

I did have an employee measure my board bag once but he only did length, didnt do total.

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bel29 said..
Ha! I've recently been looking into this for a trip to the Caribbean and have come to the same conclusion: the 115 inch / 292 cm linear restriction is now almost universal(*) making it technically impossible to check in any windsurfing board currently on the market -- so not just your 95cm iQ board. So, despite the fact that most airlines still have an explicit policy for windsurfing gear, in practice you cannot fit into it

Of course, people will say (and I have also personally done so): "Ah, but you can charm/chat/bs/... your way through," etc. Sure, of course, you can (and I have done so too), but this is generally not because of your power of persuasion (sorry to break it to you) but because check-in personnel rarely know the details of their own airline's baggage policies (beyond the basic weight limits). In fact, most have never seen or heard about windsurfing. However, and this is also personal experience, sometimes you do encounter someone who knows the rules, and then you're in potentially deep trouble as it is then no longer a question of how much more you're willing to pay. The airline will simply refuse to check in your gear, leaving you potentially stranded and at risk of missing your flight.

So all this to say: I'd also be interested to hear people's experiences in checking in windsurfing gear in the last 12 months or so. (Last time I did -- about 4 months ago -- I stayed within the 115 inch/292 cm because I was only carrying sails and a foil, no board).

(*) The only airline with decent connections across the continental US and the Caribbean that does not (yet) seem te apply the 115inch / 292cm limit (unless it is a typo on their website) is Jet Blue.

i also tried to do cargo with american but for some reason thats only available for businesses

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cris21 said..

bel29 said..
Ha! I've recently been looking into this for a trip to the Caribbean and have come to the same conclusion: the 115 inch / 292 cm linear restriction is now almost universal(*) making it technically impossible to check in any windsurfing board currently on the market -- so not just your 95cm iQ board. So, despite the fact that most airlines still have an explicit policy for windsurfing gear, in practice you cannot fit into it

Of course, people will say (and I have also personally done so): "Ah, but you can charm/chat/bs/... your way through," etc. Sure, of course, you can (and I have done so too), but this is generally not because of your power of persuasion (sorry to break it to you) but because check-in personnel rarely know the details of their own airline's baggage policies (beyond the basic weight limits). In fact, most have never seen or heard about windsurfing. However, and this is also personal experience, sometimes you do encounter someone who knows the rules, and then you're in potentially deep trouble as it is then no longer a question of how much more you're willing to pay. The airline will simply refuse to check in your gear, leaving you potentially stranded and at risk of missing your flight.

So all this to say: I'd also be interested to hear people's experiences in checking in windsurfing gear in the last 12 months or so. (Last time I did -- about 4 months ago -- I stayed within the 115 inch/292 cm because I was only carrying sails and a foil, no board).

(*) The only airline with decent connections across the continental US and the Caribbean that does not (yet) seem te apply the 115inch / 292cm limit (unless it is a typo on their website) is Jet Blue.

i also tried to do cargo with american but for some reason thats only available for businesses

I haven't done cargo with any of the 'regular' airlines but did once with a specialized cargo shipper (inside the US). forgot their name now. it ended up being a lot of hassle, and not particularly cheap either.

The other reason why wider items often cause problems is that they don't fit through the normal scanners. And of course flying on smaller planes also becomes more of an issue. I would definitely be more nervous with an iQ board than with a slalom board. I also thought that one of the reasons why PWA moved away from 91cm max was because of airline limits. I'm now thinking I'll just take a 75cm foil board to be on the safe(r) side, but even that will technically fall foul of the 115 inch/292 cm limit.

How is the 115in/292cm rule applied? Is it the maximum length? If so then almost all windsurfing / windfoiling boards would comply, or am I missing something?

^^^^ I thought it was just me

why can't they fit..?

the linear limit is the sum of height, width and depth ! (not that I travel, but I googled it)

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The other issue you might have is if they ask you to get the board through the X-ray machine. The 100cm board may not fit.
That is the reason why the IQ foil is 95cm wide, so it can fit with the board bag.

Good luck as like it has been said in the previous posts, there is a big part of chance and who you deal with...

On the plus side your airlines are good with windsurfing gear , but that`s a pretty chunky board , and , well ....., from my travelling experiences with oversized sporting gear , my strong advice is that you need to check that it will fit in to the cargo hulls in the planes you are using . Some of these domestic planes have only small , divided hulls , as I`ve found out . It could be your board can`t actually physically fit in the cargo hull .
So what I do , after I`ve made the booking online and well before departure day , I visit the air port and go to the airline carrier counter I`m using and confirm , face to face , that my stuff will fit on the plane . And don`t take one check in chick`s word for it either , I get her to confirm with some one else as well .

Obviously it's L + W + H < 115inch/292cm. Longboards and one piece alu masts have long been banned

I have used Amtrak for shipping formula boards from San Francisco and Seattle. It was pretty easy and not expensive. Travel time was two days. Of course, you have to deliver the gear to Amtrak at the source and pick it up at the destination. Don't use a shipper. Use Amtrak direct. It worked fine for me.

Good tip. Sadly not an option for the Caribbean

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segler said..
I have used Amtrak for shipping formula boards from San Francisco and Seattle. It was pretty easy and not expensive. Travel time was two days. Of course, you have to deliver the gear to Amtrak at the source and pick it up at the destination. Don't use a shipper. Use Amtrak direct. It worked fine for me.

When was the last time you used them? I checked online and looks like they stopped offering that after Covid.

Hi, I would like to check in my windsurfing gear golf clubs.

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SeanAUS120 said..
Hi, I would like to check in my windsurfing gear golf clubs.

yes, this! by *far* the most annoying aspect of traveling with windsurfing gear!