Traveling with your Kiteboarding equipment Southwest airline

[Eddie_10]

Has someone recently traveled with Southwest airlines with a Kiteboard/kite/equipment using Golf Bags or a bag that exceeds 62 inches in size(outside length plus height plus width)? ( My bag is Length: 143cm – Width:45cm – Height:25cm) Could someone please give me some advice on what to do when traveling by plane based on your experience? Do I really have to pay $75 dollars? Given the information below I would have to pay but some forums say that as long as you keep it below 50 lbs you will be fine. Do they really measure your bag?


This is what they have on their website:
Sports Equipment - Baggage Allowance
Any of the items listed below may be checked in substitution of one piece of the free Checked Baggage allowance for each Passenger at no charge on a one-item-for-one-bag basis. If the item of sporting equipment exceeds 50 pounds in weight or 62 inches in size (outside length plus height plus width), excess weight and size charges may apply.

Sports Equipment - Special Items
The items listed below will be accepted as Checked Baggage for a $75 each way charge.

>Surfboard/kiteboard

[seaplus]

I just flew SWA to/from Aruba last week with no issues...golf-bag under 50lbs.
I've flown Southwest Airlines with my golf-bag on about 10 trips and only once
did they ask what was in the bag. After I told the agent it was kiteboarding gear,
she checked it without any charge.

I would suggest checking the bag at the ticket counter versus checking curbside.

[KiteDR]

Never had issues with SW - best baggage friendly airline if you ask me. Have had some decent experiences with AA and getting better with Delta but SW is by far the best. Most airlines don't even weigh the bag, but just in case I keep it under 50.

[Eddie_10]

That is good to know. Thanks guys!

[Eddie_10]

This is what happen: I have a liquid force orange golf bag 143x45x25 aprox. I got to the ticket counter I checked two bags. I put the bags one by one on the weighter. The "golf" bag was 44lbs. This is what she asked me: What do you have in there? and I said my kiteboarding equipment. She said just sign here and you are responsible for any damage or lost items. I signed and the bag arrived with no problems. They did not charge me nothing!

Keep riding the waves guys!

[GeHo]

Flew Southwest out to Cape Hatteras NC this last Oct with no prob. Had a climbing haulbag with all mine, and the GF's stuff to kite, in it (38lbs) and a NSI 'golf' bag with 3 kites and 2 boards (44lbs). On the way back from NC , checked in and was asked, "are there golf clubs in this bag?" (<--pointing at the 'golf' bag)
I said,"no it's kite boarding equipment". She pecked away at the computer in front of her, what seemed like ten minutes, and told me that she could charge me $75 and is going to make some notes on my account. I mentioned I had no idea about golf-clubs-fly-free, but not surfboards/kiteboards. She looked over the top of her glasses and said, "you're welcome... this time". And no smile even crossed her face. *gulp*
Soooo, I plan to toss a few clubs in on the next trip!

[halfpipe62]

So some update on this, they are cracking down now but it depends where you are going. I have the nsi golf bag and it used to work every time to Maui and back as golf clubs. Now they check every time, so I threw some golf clubs in. They saw glof clubs and said does not matter you have surfboards in there.

Flew to Florida from California with same bag with many stops but was just going to pay the fee anyway but the clerk in Flordia said just put it through as snowboard or you will get charged $75 for each segment.

Now here is the new policy. They clearly state Wakeboards are allowed as one checked bag now. I only bring my twintip and kites but not my surfboard. Wondering if I can just check it as a wakeboard? Technically a kite twintip is a wakeboard with less rocker, no?

https://support.southwest.com/helpcente ... portsEquip

[grigorib]

Keep it under 50 lbs and deal with the rest.
Some people call it snowboarding equipment to avoid paying extra fees

Usually agents won’t bother, but in broke-ass airports they’re occasionally nosy, then you open a case with airline and say “I flew there just fine and they charged me for same bag on the way back” - good chance you’ll get the fees refunded.

[CosmicCraze]

I've flown with Southwest and dealt with oversized sports equipment before. So, based on my experience, if your kiteboard bag exceeds the 62-inch limit, you might end up paying that $75 fee. But here's the catch: as long as it stays under 50 lbs, you should be okay without extra charges. As for whether they measure your bag, it really depends on the staff and the situation. Sometimes they're strict, sometimes they're not. Best bet? Keep it under the weight limit if you can and be prepared just in case. Safe travels!