American Airlines now charging for golf bags
 

hi all,
Just checked with American and they are now charging $45 each way for golf bags (international). Not sure about domestic. Thought Id share the news.

Marina
The Kiteboarder Magazine
Asnews.net podcasts

Hello Marina,

Thank you for the heads up. Do you know if they are doing anything special with duffles that fall within weight requirements? Paul Menta uses these for transporting boards and kites. More at:

http://fksa.org/showthread.php?t=1018

hi Rick,
AA website says that golf bags are still free but when i called to check my options for an upcoming ventana, baja trip, the CS rep said $45 each way. RE: army duffle bag, that would probably work as they are normally 24 x 36 which is the size of my biggest duffle but as most boards are around 130, have no idea how Paul fits a board into it! Best bet is to check the airline as they are all scrambling for every bit or revenue they can get.

The good news is that kiteboards/wakeboards/surfboards under 62 TOTAL linear inches and 50 lbs are now free. Again, it will depend on counterperson you get as even my old EH 118 x 34 board would not meet the requirements. However, my boyfriend uses a burton wakeboard bag for his Naish thorn board and throws in kites/accessories up to 50lbs and has never had a problem.

Hello Marina,

Ouch, $90. R/T adds up. Paul uses one of the military style duffles which is longer than 36 inches. I think he is still limited to about a 135 cm board though. You are right, airlines will continue to find new ways of developing revenues in these tight times.

I have used snowboard bags in the past with varied responses. I think limiting the length of the bag may be a solution. Years back I wondered about a two piece board with channel keys or something for reassembly. Perhaps the time has come for this. I heard about such a kiteboard being made in Israel. It looked good but I was unable to get a response from them via email.

http://www.baliwind.co.il/img/b%2032.jpg
http://www.baliwind.co.il/

travel bag
 

I bring my snowboard equipment, through them no extra charge and that box is real big holds two boards. Granted was not international. It is counted as one piece of your luggage

Try checking your stuff at the curb ... just give the guy the customary tip, of course. From what our customers have told us, this has worked so far, without fail.

(But I'd like to know if it some people have tried this and it hasn't worked, so let me know.)

I agree you are better off dealing with the baggage guys outside if you can. They made me go inside to check my "golf bag" from FLL on United for a domestic flight but no extra charges resulted last July. I tried pretty hard to convince the guy that curbside check in for the bag was routine without success. However, I made a bunch of flight legs and was forced to pay excess bag charges only once including a few smaller commuter planes. So, the golf bag worked out overall. I don't think you can check at the curb for international flights however.

I researched the question of getting bags onboard flights fairly extensively for the article that appears at the following link. Some of the ideas e.g. checking at peak time, trying to pick the counter clerk etc. might help. http://fksa.org/showthread.php?t=1018 Although if American now has a policy for all gold bags it might get tougher. I just checked American's current listed limitations from: http://www.aa.com/content/travelInfo...llowance.jhtml

Surfboards, Kiteboards, Wakeboards One surfboard, Kiteboard, or Wakeboard $80 (or $160. R/T, yow!)
Exception:
Kiteboards and wakeboards and containers that are less than 62 linear inches and under 50 lbs. are free in place of one 62 inch bag in the free allowance. 70 lbs
115 inches - Acceptance conditional on aircraft size and load conditions
- Exception: If the Kiteboard/wakeboard is less than 62 linear inches and 50 lbs., the above conditions do not apply
- If this item is in excess of the number of pieces allowed in the free baggage allowance, excess baggage charges apply in addition to the $80 special items fee.

and

Golf Clubs One golf bag with golf clubs, golf balls, and shoes Free in place of one 62 inch bag Maximum free weight on golf clubs is 70 lbs. Size is limited to the size of a hard-sided golf case. - Swingless Golf Club load strips are considered dangerous goods and are not allowed in checked or carry-on baggage.

I notice they don't give dimensional requirements for the golf bag. This may help as our "golf bags" are normally longer than the other more common variety. I try to remember to print out the airlines actual baggage restrictions when they are favorable to show tough counter clerks. It isn't all that uncommon to get a hard case who won't acknowledge their own rules without you showing them (sometimes not even then, I had to pay to fly a snowboard on Frontier from Denver despite arguing with the idiot for quite a while. It was later refunded, sigh). In general I would keep it short, light and lucky as enforcement can vary.

FKA, Inc.

transcribed by:
Rick Iossi

Just came up with some more on this. See above.