bring paipos on planes?

[ClanB]

How much trouble is it to bring a paipo to Hawaii? I plan on getting an HPD soon and would like the option of bringing it to Maui next summer.

[spudnut]

I have a board bag that was made for the HPD. The airlines treated it like a bodyboard and charged me as if it were just another bag.

[Ted]

My HPD travels in a bodyboard bag at bodyboard rates (free interisland, free on united to mainland). You can borrow my boards here on the Big Island.

[ClanB]

Thanks Ted! Very nice of you. I will be in Maui though. What is the average cost to travel interisland by the way?

[rodndtube]

Rates and interpretation of what the board/bag is will vary by (1) airline and (2) check-in counter attendant. Hawaiian Airlines checked my bag from Los Angeles to Oahu and on a later flight from Oahu to the Big Island at regular baggage rates, not at the surfboard rate. It is an Austin paipo, 50 x 20 x 2.25 inches version, packed inside a day bag (large skim board bag) which was inside a travel bag, so add a few inches total. Also included two towels and my wet gear (less swim fins & skegs). Southwest Airlines also checked the bag free of charge as a "regular bag" but my last two flights have received additional scrutiny since they are now beginning to enforce a 62" linear rule (LxWxH of the bag) so I luckily have slipped through. My bag with board/wet stuff above weighed less than 20 lbs. If asked I tell the check-in person it is a bodyboard, boogie board or sand board (Hawaiian Airlines common term for skim board).

My wetstuff to the tropics includes rash guards, paddling gloves, and fin socks. I usually pack my other surf gear in a regular luggage bag with clothing, etc.

Be sure to check the baggage policies of the airlines before you book tickets -- for regular bags and your paipo board bag. If needed, check the Contract of Carriage which all airlines are required to have and outlines baggage policies. Rules vary widely. Some of the bad ones these days include United, American, Delta, and Continental.

[Ted]

Bodyboards (or things in bodyboard bags) travel at regular luggage rate ($17/bag) on interisland Hawaiian flights. Surfboard rate, for two boards in a bag, is $35 on interisland Hawaiian flights. Hawaiian Airlines staff are savvy enough to know that a board under five foot with no skegs is not a surfboard; many will recognize a paipo board.