Has anyone flown AA lately with boards? If so, how did they charge you for multiple boards in one coffin?
two short boards in a taco bag.......$100 go to the baggage portion of their website and it should have current charges under 'sports equipment'
took two boards in one bag to costa in may through AA. In the us, no problem, paid a flat hundred. In san jose- they ripped my bag open, unpacked it, charged me for each board, and put it back together half assed. Grabbed it in miami and it was rail ding central. I think they saw the airbag commercial and did all of the stress tests out on the tarmac. Probably backed a 747 over it. I doubt that I will travel with boards again, unless im truly headed to BFE. There were nice boards EVERYWHERE in pacific costa rica. grand total: $150 for the airbag $100 leaving usa $200 returning usa $100 ding repair on 2 custom sticks could have bought a sick board down there and given it to some poor kid. Would have felt a lot better about things. No to mention, its hard to be a "drifter" toting 2 boards around everywhere. haha sorry, iv got quite an opinion on this one.
I'm on the opposite side of that fence. There are way too many scams in CR to spend the loot on a board. A big one is shops getting very thinly glassed boards that break easily. One good floater or lip bash and you are out big money with no recourse.
Probably true for some of the cheaper local shapes, but most shops had the brands that im used to seeing - JS, CI, 7s, firewire, etc etc etc. Chucks in Jaco is a good place to find all of the big named boards. Chuck has shaped hundreds himself that aren't too shabby either. Chances are, your going to at least pass through jaco on a costa trip. Either way, Costa is sick!
Flew AA to CR in July. Two boards and gear stuffed into a DaKine World Traveler bag. It's a coffin w/wheels, so it's a hefty bag. Not a second look from the AA people look in Philly, flat $100 for the bag. Same story flying out of Liberia. Was told by our CR hotel owner - a transplanted Californian - that American had the best operation in Liberia. No dings either way. We put foam pipe insulation on the rails, wrapping the boards with bubble and plastic wrap.
I had the same experience. Left from philly in July. They asked how many boards I had and I said one. No questions when we left from Liberia. I just found out that TACA now flies into Liberia but you have to leave from Washington(IAD). I may consider them for my next trip.
Add another +1 for why I like bodyboarding better... more than likely, traveling with your boards is FREE!!! Plus it is much easier to travel with. But really, some prices are just outrageous. I can't remember if it was my friend or someone random, they told me they took a trip and got screwed and ended up paying around $3-400 in just fees. I just can't imagine.
In Philly I think I just got the question "Surfboard?" Exactly, no questions at all in Liberia. Thanks for the info on TACA. I have heard good things (seen good things posted) about them.
They tried to charge me $100 each way to go to HI with ONE shortboard... AA is a bunch of clowns. My golf clubs, which out weight my board by literally 15 times over were free to check... AA is anti-surfing.. fuc* them.
