Flying with Scuba Gear

[diversteve]

I'm sure this is a standard post, but I do have some specific questions.

Next month, I will be taking my first trip to Mexico. I'm planning on taking my gear (minus weights and tank). When we were setting this trip up, the travel agent asked if I was bringing my equipment and said something about setting this up so it can be stowed in a special compartment. What I think she told me is that I can have the standard 2 bags checked plus my gear bag. Does this sound correct? Yes, I need to follow up with the agent.

At first, my plan was to carry my reg set with me as a carry on, but now I'm hearing that if it has a compass I can't do this because it has "liquid" in it and it will have to be checked. Does this sound correct?

While we are on the subject, what is the best way to travel with your equipment? I have a mesh bag, but sure I'm going to have something that is more rigid.

Any advice for a newbie would be great.

S. Nagel

I think your agent is wrong. It's 2 checked bags at 50' ea. plus a carry-on that fits within the airline restrictions plus a "personal" item. I just flew to Guaymas to dive with one bag at about 46', a smaller roller at 35' and carried my laptop and video camera. The bigger bag held my BC, 14lbs. of integrated weights, fins, boots, misc. and some clothes. The smaller bag had my regs, mask, video housing and more clothes. In previous trips, not taking my weights would have made it possible to take more non-dive stuff. But this trip we were diving from a non-dive boat so I wasn't sure what the situation would be.

I use soft sided luggage with hard frames. My buddy ships his gear in his big Akona bag. Neither of us have ever had any breakage in about 10 dive trips, but I prefer to buy generic looking luggage that doesn't scream "expensive dive gear here to be stolen".

Another thing to watch for is your last connection into Mexico. Depending on where you're going, the airlines may switch you to a 30-50 seat plane for the final leg. The problem then is that the overhead bins get smaller, on my flight, the size restriction was 15x11x9, so my airline approved 22x14x10 roller wouldn't have fit. If it is too big, they normally just take it from you at the plane door and put it in the baggage hold pre-flight, but it could be a problem for sensitive gear.

Your mesh bag is not designed for plane travel. It's to transfer your gear to/from the boat/shoredive when you get there. Buy some tougher luggage...

Don't mention at check-in that your luggage contains dive gear. Some airlines charge extra for it. TSA doesn't care as long as there's no tank involved.

 

[halocline]

Since I usually travel with a very expensive musical instrument, I have a different perspective about checking dive gear; I don't worry about it because it's just not that fragile. I pack it well in my suitcase; reg in a reg bag in the suitcase, other stuff packed in around clothes, and forget about it. I've never had any problem. If you want anxiety, try checking a big bucks guitar that you've owned for twenty years built by a maker that's no longer alive.

 

[SteveC]

I agree, travel light. I wouldn’t want to drag 3 bags thru the airport. I check everything. Reg set-up in reg bag, placed in the middle of suitcase.
Speaking of TSA approved locks, someone at American Airlines apparently stole our combination locks. They didn’t take the key only locks, but since the combination can be reset after they removed them with there key, they must have just decided to keep them.
Makes you wonder a little about airport security.

 

[Scuba Brad]

I've flown all over the world and never had one ounce of trouble with my dive gear. I do protect it when I pack but I have never divided some in carry on and some check in.

Good Luck and happy diving

 

[markr]

You need to check the baggage policy for the airline you're using. THe FAA and TSA set rules for hazardous material, and establishes guide lines for weight and size, but each airline has it's own policy that is usually more restrictive then what the goverment requires. Go to the airline's website and look around, the policy should be listed. If the trip involves more then one airline check the baggage policies for all the airlines involved.

 

[MarkUK]

I travel on a monthly basis to various destinations from the UK (Caribbean, Middle East, Far East) and the only thing I carry on with me is my camera, housing and strobe, and my computer. Everything else goes in a Stahlsac bag with my clothes, etc.

Flying from the UK, you are normally only allowed one check-in bag up to 20kg, and one carry on no more than 5kg, so that makes you get inventive with your packing and what you take with you. It does depend on where you are going and what airline, but that is the general situation.

That's over 90 trips in the last seven and a half years, and I have never had an issue.

Mark

 

[Garrobo]

On the one and only dive trip I have taken, Ft. Lauserdale, I wanted to take my 13 cf pony bottle with me. The airlines wanted $100 each way for the bottle. So I USPS'ed the bottle to the dive operator ahead of time and remailed it back to myself on the day that I left for home. Twelve dollars each way. I'm planning to go to Cozumel and Nassau this winter and am checking into the cost of mailing it to these two places also if I can't rent one.

 

[RonDawg]

I don't tell the airline whats in the suitcases, its none of their business and the TSA could care less.

While in Australia recently, I found out that sometimes honesty not only IS the best policy, but could save you money as well.

I entered the country via Sydney, but I was scheduled to go to Cairns first for some scuba diving before returning to visit family in Sydney. I had booked the SYD-CNS portion on Virgin Blue both ways.

I've used Virgin Blue before and have never had a problem with them; unlike Air New Zealand, they have never lost my luggage and then tried to blame it on an "industrial action" on the part of the baggage handlers One thing though, Virgin Blue like many ultra-economy carriers has a strict weight limit: in their case, 20 kg for ALL your checked baggage. That does not include the 7kg limit for carry-ons that is typical for airlines outside of North America.

My scuba bag alone weighs 19.9 kg according to the scale at Sydney Airport. My clothing bag was still back at Auckland so it wasn't a problem. However, on my return flight I now had two bags to check, since my lost bag magically appeared in my Cairns hotel room in the meantime.

The Virgin Blue clerk at Cairns airport wanted me to pay an AUS$50 overweight baggage fee :11: However, she looked at the size of the bag (and its salt encrusted exterior) and asked what was in it. When I told her it was scuba gear she waived the overweight fee, saying that the 20 kg limit didn't apply to sports equipment.

As I also had to drag my scuba bag to/from Tasmania (didn't dive there, but had no place to keep it and Sydney Airport wants AUS $11/day to store it) also on Virgin Blue, by mentioning it was a scuba bag I saved myself an additional AUS$100 in overweight baggage fees.

 

[bwerb]

Just flew to Maui and back.

My carry-on had two can lights, two masks, two computers, two compasses, one set of regulators. (I weighed it with two sets of regulators and it was definitely "too much")

No problems at all. I took one can light out to show the security team prior to X-ray and let them know that this bag contains dive gear so that there was no "raised eyebrows" when it went through.

 

[shurite7]

I've worked in the airline / travel industry and dive industry for several years. Here are some of things I've learned.

1. Do not use mesh bags for checked luggage. It snares easily and tends to rip. Also, people can see what is inside. Several years we had a problem with missing dive gear from pax luggage when returning from CZM. We were not the only tour operator with this problem. Several other operators and airlines were having the same issue. Only the regs were being taken, nothing else, including jewelry or dive computers. After checking around I found out some of the dive operators were in "need" of regs. Airport employee's were offered an "incentive" to acquire the regs.

Usually the regs were taken from bags that were mesh or easy to identify as scuba gear.

2. As mentioned before don't use luggage that identifies your luggage as scuba or skydive gear.

3. I recently returned to the states after living on GCM. The only equipment I carried on was laptop and dive computer. Everything else was checked. In the past I have carried my regs and I've checked them. Here is the way I now travel. On the way I carry my reg...I definetely want to have it when I arrive. On the return trip I pack it.

4. Be smart when packing. If your mask is in the checked luggage make sure it is wrapped. You can use your clothes for wrapping.

5. The "honesty" issue. While working at the DFW airport I found many airline and TSA employee's are not familiar with dive gear. If you inform them what you have it may create issues, depends on the compitence and experience of the individual. I don't agree with being dishonest however, I do not divuldge information. However, RonDawg has pointed out an important issue. Some airlines waiver the over weight fee for sports equipment. When I worked for AA and ATUSA the fee was waivered. But when I flew DL they wouldn't waiver it. I've also found agent "A" will waiver it and agent "B" (both with the same airline) will not.

Keep a good attitude. Sadly, not all airport employee's do.

6. Cylinders. Before the Value Jet crash in FL checking cylinders wasn't that much of an issue. Now, after 9/11 and the so called 'increased security' it really isn't worth checking a small cylinder. Besides, you will be better off monitoring your gauges and practicing good buddy skills rather than depending on a small pony bottle. Also, getting the cylinder filled on some islands can be a pain.

7. If in doubt check with the airline, not your travel agent or an embassy. I hated it when a pax came up to the counter and claimed their travel agent or the local embassy said it could be done or it was acceptable.

8. Some useful sites. http://www.traveldocs.com/
http://www.tsa.gov/
http://www.weather.com/index.html
The last one is good for checking wind conditions and forecasts.

Salaam

Chris