Comments on: The Weighty Matter of Flying with Dive Gear http://www.undercurrent.org/blog/2009/05/12/the-weighty-matter-of-flying-with-dive-gear/ Diving opinions from top diving experts in the dive industry Fri, 25 May 2012 03:43:06 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7.1 hourly 1 By: James Heimer http://www.undercurrent.org/blog/2009/05/12/the-weighty-matter-of-flying-with-dive-gear/comment-page-1/#comment-249 James Heimer Wed, 09 Sep 2009 17:30:08 +0000 http://www.undercurrent.org/blog/?p=97#comment-249 My wife is an underwater photographer and I do uw video. We travel with eight bags - four check-in and four that stretch the definition of carry-on. We fly Contintal to most dive destinations, and local airlines like Hawaiian and Cayman Air to our end destinations, if they are not served directly by Continental. When we can upgrade with award miles, we fly first class, and we have never been challenged on our baggage. Our four checked bags include a large Storm case for my wife's UW housing, stobes and support accessories, either two dive bags if we each take our BC's (which we do for live aboards and Caribbean destinations) and one clothes bag, or one dive bag (we rent BC's in Hawaii) and two clothes bags. My wife puts her computer and its accessories in a wheel-aboard bag and carries her camera bodies and lenses in a knapsack, which stay with us. I have my video housing in a pelican case and my computer and video camera in a knapsack, also carryon items. We occasionally get charged overweight in the Carribean or for an extra bag on Hawaiian inter island flights, but we keep any individual case below (or right at) 50 lbs, and we are prepared to have to gate check a carryon bag, in the event a surly gate agent determines it to be oversize. One overlooked fact on Continental is that they have a special sports equipment baggage category. For SCUBA gear, it implies that a single bag containing only SCUBA gear may exceed the 50 lb limit without penalty. This may be something divers traveling together can take advantage of. Check out their website. For information, we have had the worst baggage experience with United, who have a specially designated "bad baggage cop" to weed out those who have made a purchses in the airport shop and don't think the plastic bag with the t-shirt and souvenier coffee cup ought to count against the carry-on allowance. Ask me how I know. Our solution was to gate check it and carry it down the jetway to the plane to deposit it at the aircraft door. Somehow enroute to the plane, the gate check tag "fell off" and so I had no recourse but to carry it on board, anyway. Also, we have had the experience of a bag not making a connecting flight on a small aircraft to our final destination in the Caymans. Our solution is to arrive a day early on Grand Cayman, then catch an earlier flight to Little Cayman or Cayman Brac ahead of the usual connecting flight from the mainland. If our bags still don't all get there, we have found the resorts well prepared to deal with this situation by routinely meeting all incoming flights to collect delayed baggage and rearranging the first days dive schedule to leave later in the morning (and dive longer in the afternoon), to allow the first morning flight to get in with missing gear. My wife is an underwater photographer and I do uw video. We travel with eight bags - four check-in and four that stretch the definition of carry-on. We fly Contintal to most dive destinations, and local airlines like Hawaiian and Cayman Air to our end destinations, if they are not served directly by Continental. When we can upgrade with award miles, we fly first class, and we have never been challenged on our baggage.

Our four checked bags include a large Storm case for my wife’s UW housing, stobes and support accessories, either two dive bags if we each take our BC’s (which we do for live aboards and Caribbean destinations) and one clothes bag, or one dive bag (we rent BC’s in Hawaii) and two clothes bags. My wife puts her computer and its accessories in a wheel-aboard bag and carries her camera bodies and lenses in a knapsack, which stay with us. I have my video housing in a pelican case and my computer and video camera in a knapsack, also carryon items.

We occasionally get charged overweight in the Carribean or for an extra bag on Hawaiian inter island flights, but we keep any individual case below (or right at) 50 lbs, and we are prepared to have to gate check a carryon bag, in the event a surly gate agent determines it to be oversize.

One overlooked fact on Continental is that they have a special sports equipment baggage category. For SCUBA gear, it implies that a single bag containing only SCUBA gear may exceed the 50 lb limit without penalty. This may be something divers traveling together can take advantage of. Check out their website.

For information, we have had the worst baggage experience with United, who have a specially designated “bad baggage cop” to weed out those who have made a purchses in the airport shop and don’t think the plastic bag with the t-shirt and souvenier coffee cup ought to count against the carry-on allowance. Ask me how I know. Our solution was to gate check it and carry it down the jetway to the plane to deposit it at the aircraft door. Somehow enroute to the plane, the gate check tag “fell off” and so I had no recourse but to carry it on board, anyway.

Also, we have had the experience of a bag not making a connecting flight on a small aircraft to our final destination in the Caymans. Our solution is to arrive a day early on Grand Cayman, then catch an earlier flight to Little Cayman or Cayman Brac ahead of the usual connecting flight from the mainland. If our bags still don’t all get there, we have found the resorts well prepared to deal with this situation by routinely meeting all incoming flights to collect delayed baggage and rearranging the first days dive schedule to leave later in the morning (and dive longer in the afternoon), to allow the first morning flight to get in with missing gear.

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]]> By: Larry Polster http://www.undercurrent.org/blog/2009/05/12/the-weighty-matter-of-flying-with-dive-gear/comment-page-1/#comment-164 Larry Polster Thu, 06 Aug 2009 11:07:49 +0000 http://www.undercurrent.org/blog/?p=97#comment-164 I can vouch for the comment by Kay when using LIAT airlines. We're leaving most of our dive gear at home because of the very tight baggage restrictions. I was told one bag, 50 lbs. because of the small aircraft used. The 2nd bag is costly and may not make the flight having to wait until the following day... if your lucky. I can vouch for the comment by Kay when using LIAT airlines. We’re leaving most of our dive gear at home because of the very tight baggage restrictions. I was told one bag, 50 lbs. because of the small aircraft used. The 2nd bag is costly and may not make the flight having to wait until the following day… if your lucky.
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]]> By: Mark Boehle http://www.undercurrent.org/blog/2009/05/12/the-weighty-matter-of-flying-with-dive-gear/comment-page-1/#comment-135 Mark Boehle Thu, 23 Jul 2009 15:47:15 +0000 http://www.undercurrent.org/blog/?p=97#comment-135 My wife and I lost our luggage in Roatan. The scheduled flight never left due to weather and our luggage magically disappeared.. Insurance paid a fraction of what was lost. We now carry all of our luggage as carry on. On our last dive trip we contacted the airlines we would fly and got the dimensions of the most restrictive luggage requirements. We bought our wheeled luggage accordingly... Since I am physically larger than my wife my gear is a tighter fit... However, I can fit my bc, snorkel, mask, reg, shorty or skin, (I need to see if I can fit both the shorty and skin in the luggage together), computer, extra batteries, small flashlights, and tightly rolled up misc clothing into the suitcase... I then use a back pack to put in my extra clothes and misc items. Since we travel to warm climates clothing is kept to a minimum. Rain coat is a Marmot that rolls up tightly.. I wear long pants and teva's on the plane which would otherwise take up room in the luggage. This works for me and my wife even on a 2 week dive trip.. I do not do underwater photography and I cannot take a dive knife but otherwise this works for us... My wife and I lost our luggage in Roatan. The scheduled flight never left due to weather and our luggage magically disappeared.. Insurance paid a fraction of what was lost. We now carry all of our luggage as carry on. On our last dive trip we contacted the airlines we would fly and got the dimensions of the most restrictive luggage requirements. We bought our wheeled luggage accordingly… Since I am physically larger than my wife my gear is a tighter fit… However, I can fit my bc, snorkel, mask, reg, shorty or skin, (I need to see if I can fit both the shorty and skin in the luggage together), computer, extra batteries, small flashlights, and tightly rolled up misc clothing into the suitcase… I then use a back pack to put in my extra clothes and misc items. Since we travel to warm climates clothing is kept to a minimum. Rain coat is a Marmot that rolls up tightly.. I wear long pants and teva’s on the plane which would otherwise take up room in the luggage. This works for me and my wife even on a 2 week dive trip.. I do not do underwater photography and I cannot take a dive knife but otherwise this works for us…
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]]> By: Michael K. Craghead http://www.undercurrent.org/blog/2009/05/12/the-weighty-matter-of-flying-with-dive-gear/comment-page-1/#comment-126 Michael K. Craghead Tue, 21 Jul 2009 21:05:09 +0000 http://www.undercurrent.org/blog/?p=97#comment-126 I'd be interested in hearing the ins and outs of air freighting your equipment in advance. I'm sure someone has done it enough to know when it's a good idea and when not to do it. I've been interested in doing it, but I don't know the best carriers to use, restrictions, costs, etc.; basically all of the CONS. If anyone is willing to share what they know please blog. I’d be interested in hearing the ins and outs of air freighting your equipment in advance. I’m sure someone has done it enough to know when it’s a good idea and when not to do it. I’ve been interested in doing it, but I don’t know the best carriers to use, restrictions, costs, etc.; basically all of the CONS. If anyone is willing to share what they know please blog.
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]]> By: Allen A. Smith http://www.undercurrent.org/blog/2009/05/12/the-weighty-matter-of-flying-with-dive-gear/comment-page-1/#comment-120 Allen A. Smith Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:18:45 +0000 http://www.undercurrent.org/blog/?p=97#comment-120 My perennial problem is traveling with "Spare Air." Security personnel in Miami, Ft.Lauderdale, and Freeport (Grand Bahama) have seen it often enough to give it a quick check with a flashlight and send it on. Security personnel elsewhere (notably Barbados) can be downright nasty. My perennial problem is traveling with “Spare Air.” Security personnel in Miami, Ft.Lauderdale, and Freeport (Grand Bahama) have seen it often enough to give it a quick check with a flashlight and send it on. Security personnel elsewhere (notably Barbados) can be downright nasty.
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