Traveling with a surfboard is a bothersome venture. As soon as the board bag goes into the possession of the airline, that stomach-churning feeling sinks in and good luck rituals commence. Ultimately, one can only hope that said surfboard will arrive in unharmed form on the other end.
Trust us, it's almost 50/50 that the board will look like the guys loading luggage took a sledgehammer to the thing.
As if the risk of damage isn't enough, there's the unjustified and absurd travel costs. Which, as we've learned, are only getting worse.
]
Golfers can treat their clunky, heavy golf bags as a check-in item, usually sans extra costs (on Delta Airlines, free as long as it's under 50 pounds); bicycles get the same treatment. But those cumbersome, often light-weight (only the pros tend to travel with a quiver's worth of boards) board bags, they're treated like luggage public enemy No. 1. More so than guns.
With some airlines, the surfboard travel costs are nearly as bad as the flight cost itself. It certainly makes a stay-cation or road-trip seem like a worthwhile alternative. Besides, who needs Oahu's North Shore and its so-called Seven-Mile Miracle when we've got 42 miles of surf-able coastline right here at home? (We know, we know, HB pier is no Pipeline.)
Below is a list of new surfboard travel costs that should be coming to an airport near you.
Surfboard Travel Cost Bastards
- Delta – $200 each way per surfboard bag
United – Domestic, $100 each way per surfboard; International, $200 each way per surfboard
American – $150 each way (charge is per surfboard bag, if neatly packed and under 50 lbs.)
Continental – $100 each way for 2 surfboards, $400 each way for 3 surfboards, $700 each way for 4 surfboards
Taca – $125 each way per surfboard bag (max. 2 surfboards), $175 extra for additional surfboards
Still Crooks, But A Better Bargain
- Copa – $75 each way per surfboard bag
Jet Blue – $75 per bag (max. length 80 inches and accepted on space available basis only)
Southwest – $50 each way per surfboard bag
Air Pacific – $50 each way per surfboard bag
Surfer N Surfboard-Friendly
Interjet (Mexico) – No Charge
Singapore Airlines – No Charge, for first 2 surfboards
Qantas (Australia) – No charge
South African Airways – No charge
Air Emirates – No Charge
