united airlines travel?
- This topic has 17 replies, 13 voices, and was last updated Aug 25, 2010 at 4:06 am by
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Dave, you should be fine, $25 is the new norm with everyone unless you fly first class or are a super duuper frequent flyer.
I have flown with my sage 3pc tube for years on Delta, Frontier, Skywest, ASA and Airtran with no problems. Usually one personal item and one carry on are the norm, so you will be fine.
Watch out with the 50lb weight limit and a roller duffel though. My bags seem to grow on the trip home.
I am in and out of the Bozeman airport 3-4 times a month and from the huge number of rod cases being carried around, I don’t think it will be a problem.
Dave,
Travel lately is catch-is as catch-can. There are no rules anymore – it’s a free for all. Just take your stuff with you, be nice and polite, and hope for the best. It generally works out.
BTW, United is not currently charging for carry on luggage, so you should be o.k. on that one.
Dave, Do make sure that the name on your boarding pass matches your drivers license exactly. TSA in Bozeman pull that one on me and I had to have delta un-check me, re-name me and re-check me in.
I flew United from San Diego to Denver and United Express from Denver to Great Falls, MT in June. My partner carried a 3 piece rod tube and I carried a Fishpond case with 4 rods and 8 reels. No problems in security or on the planes.
However, the trip took 23 hours. It would have been a 20 hour drive! It was faster to get to Patagonia last year.
I always carry the TSA carryon regs that specifically state that fishing rods, reels and lines are allowed.
We paid $25 each way for our checked bags.
Have a great trip.
As an alternative, if Southwest happens to fly to your destination, they do not charge for up to 2 checked bags per person.
I’ve got a follow up question.
Is putting rods into a checked bag a complete No-No?
I have traveled before with one rod and just taken it as one of my carry-ons.
Tim,
I flew Delta from Michigan to Winnipeg two weeks ago with my five and nine weight inside my checked luggage (inside the rod tubes).Checking rods is a bad idea in my opinion. You’re going to run the risk of getting them appropriated by the TSA or baggage handlers (this happens a lot more than they will admit). They also treat those bags like they’re sacks of feed and it is not hard to break a fly rod.
I would recommend spending the $50 or so to buy a large multi-rod carrier; it will last your lifetime and you’ll never be confronted with this question again:
The 4″ one can accept most non-large arbor reels under 3.25″ (i.e. trout reels) as well; just put them in one end after the rods; you should have space.
The airlines treat those carry cases as a “personal item” like an umbrella or jacket; they are not counted against your total for bags.
The best way to travel these days is to try to get everything in a single roller bag that you can gate-check. Most airlines still don’t charge a fee for that service. If you can’t get everything in the gate-check bag, then send your clothes and sundries through checked baggage and carry on a Maximum Legal Carry-on bag with your reels, sensitive personal items like medicine and contacts, and any electronics like laptops or cameras.
I toasted a flash in checked baggage on the way to Brazil. It didn’t like the altitude or temperature. Since then, everything I can get comes on with me.
Zach
PS One of these days if I can ever find a saddlemaker to take on the project, I have a design for a multi-rod carrier covered in leather, 5″, with clamshell-style reel cases on each end. That would maximize my ability to take all the essentials on the plane with me and not be charged for it. I’ll attach my sketch of what I am describing (I made it for a product designer but they didn’t bite).
I agree that is the “ideal” way to do it…but in my mind is not “feasible”.
Zach…are you saying that airlines will allow you to get to the actual GATE for boarding with THREE items?
Not quite Tim.
The most I have been able to get away with (and I did this last time I flew, to Baton Rouge in March) was a wheeled “MLC” type carry-on, which I gate checked, along with a large Patagonia waterproof bag (the green one), and also my rod tube. I walked through security and onto the plane with all of these things and gate-checked the wheeled bag.
I have heard some airlines are cracking down on this by charging planeside for the gate checked bag but the bottom line is you lose nothing by trying. I do advise being up to date on security procedure at your local airport – have all liquids in small enough containers to be carried on and don’t have any sharp objects of any kind (except fishing hooks, which have been deemed okay).
One trick we use when we pack for Yellowstone is to purchase heavy-duty zipped (with an actual zipper) freezer bags.
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