I have spent a lot of time at airports lately and have become quite adept at sleeping sitting up, as well as digesting food that slightly resembles the taste of cardboard. On a recent stop at Detroit Metro Airport (DTW) headed for the warm surf of Nicaragua,  I stood in line with this unfortunate surfer / traveler whose surfboard bag was stranded in Detroit due to a scheduling conflict. As it turns out, this particular leg of his 3 flight trip, the intermediary airline did not ship surfboards … although the first and third carriers allowed for the over sized luggage. At a complete loss as to how to get his surfboard out of the airport, short of shipping the over sized bag via an expensive third party carrier at his expense, the out of luck surfer was contemplating packing and handling options for his prized stick last I saw him.

An unfortunate casualty of the American economic crisis and some corporate cost-cutting, value slashing measures, airlines in the United States have lowered service values and travel options in lieu of raising air travel costs. But have no fear, fearless world traveling surfers, for there are still some entities out there that seek to be a friend to those of us who travel with surfboards.

Although it may be beneficial for some to buy a used stick once we hit our travel destination and re-sell it at the end of the trip, there are those of us who just must have our prized surfboards with us where ever we go! For those people, here is a list of current airline pricing on what it will cost to ship your stick:

Aero Mexico www.aeromexico.com 800-237-6639	$65	One-way per board, maximum length 9ft – packed
Air Pacific www.airpacific.com 800-227-4446	Varies	Variable Excess Baggage Charge + $22 “Bulky Item” charge.
Air New Zealand www.airnewzealand.com 800-262-1234	Free	As part of your two-bag limit, otherwise $80. Max. length is 6½ ft.
Alaska www.alaskaair.com 800-252-7522	$50/$75	63-80 in/81-115 in. One-way per bag.
American Airlines www.aa.com 800-433-7300	$100/$150	Domestic/International. One-way per bag under 70 lbs.
Continental* www.continental.com 800-523-3273	EMBARGO IN EFFECT	No surfboards allowed on Continental flights to Latin America from June 4, 2009 through August 20, 2009. Embargo also in force during Christmas and Easter.
Delta* www.delta.com 800-221-1212	$175 Domestic/$300 International	One-way per board.
Hawaiian Air www.hawaiianair.com 800-367-5320	$100	One-way. Two boards max. per bag, Max height 11ft.
Japan Air www.japanair.com 800-525-3663	$50/$350	$50 for the first board. $350 a piece for others.
Jet Blue* www.jetblue.com 800-538-2583	$50	One-way per bag. *No excess baggage (including surfboards) allowed on flights to the Santo Domingo or Santiago
Lan www.lan.com 866-435-9526	Free	Cannot exceed 80″ or 99 lb.
Mexicana www.mexicana.com 800-531-7921	$65	One-way per bag, Max 100″
Northwest www.nwa.com 800-225-2525	$175	One-way per bag. Max 109″
Qantas www.qantas.com.au 800-227-4500	Free	Free as part of your two bag limit. Otherwise $53 each way.
South African Airlines www.flysaa.com 800-722-9675	Free	As part of your two bag limit, not exceeding 109″, otherwise, $125
Southwest www.southwest.com 800-435-9792	$50/ $150 international	Domestic/International. One-way per bag (2 boards per bag). No size restricitons.
United* www.united.com 800-864-8331	$175/$250	Under 109″/Over 109″, One-way per bag, 2 boards per bag
Virgin Atlantic www.virgin-atlantic.com 800-821-5438	Free	Free, limit one per customer.

BONUS FEES!

SEASONAL SURFBOARD EMBARGOS
Depending on the time of year, some airlines won’t even take your surfboard — for any excess baggage charge. See the list below, and ask any airline, especially if you’re booking during peak travel times.

DELTA
Excess baggage (including surfboards) is NOT accepted from June 3 through August 31 to the following cities: Guayaquil, Ecuador (GYE), Quito, Ecuador (UIO), San Salvador, El Salvador (SAL), Guadalajara, Mexico (GDL), Leon, Mexico (BJX), Zacatecas, Mexico (ZCL). Also, no bag over 50 lbs or 62 linear inches will be accepted for travel during the period.

CONTINENTAL
Surfboards and Wakeboards will not be accepted during an excess baggage embargo when no excess baggage is allowed (0 pieces). Exception: Surfboards and Wakeboards will be accepted to Costa Rica during an embargo period. Continental does not accept excess baggage in the following YEAR ROUND embargoed markets: Caracas, Venezuela (CCS); Houston, Texas to Bogota, Colombia (BOG) Lima, Peru (LIM) San Salvador, El Salvador (SAL) Santiago, Dominican Republic (STI) Tortola, British Virgin Islands (EIS)

UNITED
Travel to Costa Rica, Guatemala and El Salvador

The checked baggage policy for travel from (and via) Los Angeles to Costa Rica and Guatemala effective February 18, 2005, is as follows: During the peak summer travel period of May 28-September 6, and the peak winter travel period of December 4, 2005-January 6, 2006, customers are limited to the number and size of their checked baggage. The following guidelines apply to all customers: Maximum linear dimensions: 62 linear inches/157cm (length + width + height) each. No oversize, overweight or extra bags will be accepted. (= NO SURFBOARDS) Only one box is permitted as part of a customer’s free allowance; it must be the original manufacturer’s box containing the original item.

Aloha!