Surf Trips: Handling Surfboard fees

Sep 17 2009

Surf Trips: Handling Surfboard fees

Posted by Tyler at 9:09 am on September 17th, 2009 to Surf Trips.

Air France Flight AF 447 Vanishes Over Atlantic Ocean Traveling with a surfboard has become a joke. It honestly seems like the aviation world is secretly conspiring to try and keep surfers either poor or grounded. One of the most important things to consider when booking a flight for a surf trip is board fees. Everyone has their own secret tricks to scoring cheap flights, but sometimes the board rates they charge can be so expensive they outweigh any deal you might be getting on a flight. Here’s my list of tips on how to handle surfboards fees.

5 Steps to Arranging a Flight for Your Surf Trip

1) Find a few options for flights. Typically the earlier you book, and the more layovers, the cheaper the price. But make sure your plan is reliable. If you do have layovers and connecting flights, make sure you have enough time in between them to allow for you AND YOUR BOARDS to make it to your final destination. Short layovers, though convenient, don’t allow for flight delays and sometimes even baggage transfer, especially oversized luggage. I spent my first three days in India with the clothes on my back thanks to a 45 minute layover. Also, try to arrange the whole trip using the same airline. Every time you change airlines you will be paying for your boards again.

2) Check Board Prices. Of your flight options, you can’t really determine the cheapest until after you consider the board prices. Be sure to check if the airline charges per board, per bag, and per way. Here are a few helpful sites that have airlines and their board prices listed:

http://www.rodndtube.com/surf/info/AirlineBoardCharges.shtml

http://www.surfline.com/travel/boardbag_charges.cfm?id=15425

3) Call and confirm these prices. They are always changing, so call and get the exact price they will charge. This is more of a bargaining chip than anything. My brother and I did this on our last trip flying Aero Mexico Airlines, and it turned out to be a huge help. We called and confirmed the $50 charge, but when we got there they tried to charge us $65. The earlier confirmation call turned out to be an essential part of getting a fair deal. I tell you, these airlines are sneaky. Be sure to get the name of the person you call and confirm with. For some ridiculous reason they feel like if you can’t remember the name of the person you called three months before, you must be lying.

4) Try and take one bag. Regardless if they charge per board or not, it is always easier to swing a deal with one bag. Most surf bags can pretty easily fit and, if wrapped up well, protect two surfboards. A lot of airlines are trying to charge per board, but this is often overlooked or can at least be waived more often than not. If you show up with two separate bags, you are going to pay double the charge no matter what.

check_in_counter 5) Negotiate. The first thing my brother said to me when we got in line at the airport was, “Who is it gonna be?” Those of you who travel with surfboards a lot will recognize the importance of who checks you in. Spend your time in line studying those behind the counter. You don’t want to get checked in by someone who looks power hungry. They never let anything go. You don’t want someone who looks like a push over either, because you don’t want to be the person they finally snap on (happened to me once, bad news, and I was on the back row with a broken pull down tray after that encounter). Ideal people to get checked in by are the really nice and considerate or those who seem like they have an inner desire to “be cool”, and as a result will let things slip by. We picked the lady with the most intense bangs and it really worked out well for us. Not only did she hook us up with the extended leg room of an exit row, but she also only charged us for one of the boards. Picking the right person is so important. You can never really tell, but an educated guess always helps. hawaii-shot Pull the “I am waiting for someone” line until the person of your choice is available. Then, when you are up there, lay on all the charm and negotiate us much as possible. You might feel ridiculous, but it can save you some serious dough. They usually give you something.

Above all, if you do end up getting hosed on bag fees, in the end, just smile and realize that you are still on a surf trip while the rest of us are probably working somewhere. Good Luck.