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Sorry, another Alaska surfboard baggage question

 
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Wind Slither

Since 04 Mar 2005
2570 Posts
The 503
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PostMon Oct 26, 20 8:07 am    Sorry, another Alaska surfboard baggage question Reply with quote

Heading to Mexico next month and have been assuming I could take all my SUPs and surfboards thanks to Alaska's great surfboard policy. But we have a stop in LA (FL 2554). Per the bolded text below, it looks like they don't allow any boards over 115" combined dimensions, so even my 8' (96") SUP at 32" wide would exceed and be prohibited?

Can any frequent surf flyers out there confirm that I am hosed by the small plane to LAX?


Surfboards/paddleboards
One item of surfing or paddle equipment is defined as a surfboard or paddleboard case with up to two boards inside. On Alaska Airlines flights operated with 737 or Airbus aircraft the equipment may measure a maximum 115" (9 ft., 7 in.) in length alone. On Alaska Airlines flights 2000-2999 and 3330-3499 the maximum combined dimensions may not exceed 115" (linear).

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ldhr

Since 21 Jul 2009
1470 Posts
Hood River
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PostMon Oct 26, 20 10:23 am    Re: Sorry, another Alaska surfboard baggage question Reply with quote

Wind Slither wrote:
Heading to Mexico next month and have been assuming I could take all my SUPs and surfboards thanks to Alaska's great surfboard policy. But we have a stop in LA (FL 2554). Per the bolded text below, it looks like they don't allow any boards over 115" combined dimensions, so even my 8' (96") SUP at 32" wide would exceed and be prohibited?

Can any frequent surf flyers out there confirm that I am hosed by the small plane to LAX?


Surfboards/paddleboards
One item of surfing or paddle equipment is defined as a surfboard or paddleboard case with up to two boards inside. On Alaska Airlines flights operated with 737 or Airbus aircraft the equipment may measure a maximum 115" (9 ft., 7 in.) in length alone. On Alaska Airlines flights 2000-2999 and 3330-3499 the maximum combined dimensions may not exceed 115" (linear).


It says 115" in length alone - where do you see the 115" limitation for combined measurement?

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Wind Slither

Since 04 Mar 2005
2570 Posts
The 503
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PostMon Oct 26, 20 11:36 am     Reply with quote

The last sentence. The flight to LAX is 2554 so it's in the dreaded 2000-2999 range. Unless I'm missing something?

"On Alaska Airlines flights 2000-2999 and 3330-3499 the maximum combined dimensions may not exceed 115" (linear)."

Even my kids 8' surf board would total over the 115" limit at L (96") + W (22") = 118" but would hopefully sneak by?

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ldhr

Since 21 Jul 2009
1470 Posts
Hood River
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PostMon Oct 26, 20 5:31 pm     Reply with quote

Oops! Don't know how i missed that. You should give them a call to verify.....

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bfb38

Since 02 Sep 2016
75 Posts

 



PostMon Oct 26, 20 6:42 pm    First Marketing Carrier/Most Significant Carrier Rules Reply with quote

I fly with oversize luggage ~a dozen times a year.

Max linear dimension varies a bit between airlines. Many airlines have waived change fees lately. You could look into switching to a more favorable airline in light of these facts, though 115 is the standard. Here's a link with some valuable info that should be checked and clarified because it's a couple years old.

https://www.astadventures.com/blogs/blog-ast/your-visual-guide-to-traveling-with-a-surfboard-in-2018

You should only get charged the fee of the main leg of the trip unless there's a stipulation in your itinerary, e.g. tickets were purchased separately, itinerary involves a long layover during which you claim and recheck luggage, you have a truly tiny plane flying somewhere in your itinerary(probably covered by my first example). Find out who the main carrier is and what their luggage policy is.

In most cases, getting more than 115 on the plane is tough, but it is absolutely done. I have a friend who flies a bag longer than that frequently. Occasionally he gets slapped with a huge fee but more often they run it as a standard oversize if they charge him at all. Another friend flies a SUP frequently but flies with it as freight. This means it likely will not be available on arrival. 8ft is a lot easier to hide than 14ft, apparently.

If the situation is appropriate for it, some of these issues can also be addressed by simply not picking up your luggage and filing a lost bag claim when you arrive at your final destination. This can even be done from your point of origin by putting a luggage tag on your bag and then leaving it somewhere conspicuous like baggage claim or near check in counters. It's dishonest, it's risky, and I nonetheless sleep like a baby defrauding billion dollar companies out of a double charge for something as arbitrary as luggage fees.

Give them a call. If they tell you what you want to hear, ask them to email this confirmation to you so you have it in writing.

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Wind Slither

Since 04 Mar 2005
2570 Posts
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PostThu Oct 29, 20 8:44 am     Reply with quote

Thanks bfb,

I talked to Alaska and heard what I wanted to hear, but my confidence is a little shaky. What may help a little is the ambiguity between surf/paddle board constraints and windsurf gear constraints. For surf/paddle board they have the combined dimensions limit of 115" and for windsurfs they just say the max length can't exceed 8ft.

The agent I talked to said it's really just the length they care about and 2 of my boards are 8ft.

Surfboards/paddleboards
One item of surfing or paddle equipment is defined as a surfboard or paddleboard case with up to two boards inside. On Alaska Airlines flights operated with 737 or Airbus aircraft the equipment may measure a maximum 115" (9 ft., 7 in.) in length alone. On Alaska Airlines flights 2000-2999 and 3330-3499 the maximum combined dimensions may not exceed 115" (linear).


Windsurfing
One piece of windsurfing equipment is defined as one windsurfing board and one mast, boom and sail. Airbus aircraft, the maximum mast length is 15 feet. 737 aircraft, the maximum mast length is 17. Flights operated by Horizon Air or SkyWest on behalf of Alaska Airlines, the maximum single dimension is 8 feet.

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Wind Slither

Since 04 Mar 2005
2570 Posts
The 503
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PostSun Dec 13, 20 8:18 am     Reply with quote

To close the loop...

No one batted an eye at my 8'+ board bag with an SUP and A surf board in it.

Smooth as...

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shred_da_gorge

Since 12 Nov 2008
1251 Posts
Local, not Low Cal
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PostTue Dec 22, 20 9:31 pm     Reply with quote

These days you could probably bring a baby giraffe with you and they'd just be stoked you're prolonging their furlough.

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