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Flying
kayaks on airplanesAt the outset I should point out that I have only personally flown with plastic boats. Fibreglass/kevlar boats are of course much more easily damaged and often longer than plastic boats and so much of this may not apply. However, glass boats are much lighter than plastic, a definite bonus and are often being flown to competitions, another thing the airlines love.
The old myth about calling a kayak a ``surf kayak'' doesn't wash much anymore. More and more people are taking boats onto planes and many companies now have a policy on kayaks. For instance, American were quoting a `standard price' to fly a kayak to San Francisco from Heathrow early this year. Many clerks will refer you to cargo as soon as you mention outsize baggage. Cargo rates for kayaks are volumetric and so extortionate.
Smaller airlines are often more accommodating, particularly if you are a reasonable sized party. With 10 or more people travelling you should immediately contact the airlines ``group bookings'' department, who will try to bend over backwards to get you to fly with them.
Dropping a rival airlines name into the conversation often gets things done. For instance here in the UK, Virgo and British Airways hate each other, so a handily placed remark about ``well, I was just speaking to Virgin and they don't seem to have a problem'' can often get things moving.
Some things to mention early; you will only have 1 piece of check-in baggage, an indestructible suitcase that just happens to be 3metres (10feet) long. The rest of your kit goes inside the boat, clothing goes as hand-luggage in a small-ish rucksack (try to keep this reasonable and make it look light, then they won't insist on weighing it). The 10 feet bit is important, the metal containers that the baggage goes into are this size. Longer than 3metres and they won't like it. It will still fit but this seems to be the ``grumble'' point. Technically, 3.10 or 3.20 metres is ``about 3metres'', don't worry, they probably won't measure them (or alternatively, stop paddling the barge and get a short boat).
It is usually pretty straightforward to get an airline to agree to fly your boat for a price. The difficult bit is getting it on for nothing. My impression is that this is getting harder. Be prepared to phone around, it was quite easy to get down to $100 a boat for a return flight across the Atlantic this spring. It took over a month to lose the extra $100 (thank you British Airways, have a free plug). Please try hard to do this. If airlines think they can stick paddlers for $100 then they will, if everyone flies with the airlines that carry boats for nothing then the price will stay low.
Make sure that the person you speak to writes the fact that you are bringing kayaks and that they will carry them into your file (or even better onto the comments field of your ticket). The check-in clerk will call this up when you arrive. Make sure you phone back and get them to read what it says on your file, often the booking clerk will ``forget'' to write into your file and you will be stuffed. Don't pay up until you are happy that this has been done.
Don't be afraid to complain if you get the run-around. Keep a note of the times you called and when they promised to ring you back but didn't. Ask to speak to someone in charge if you get too much of this, they are more likely to have the power to agree to your more than reasonable request.
Once you get to the airport
Arrive early, very early if possible. This gives them no possible excuse along the lines of ``well we would, but it is too late to get the special handling''. Early, things are less rushed.
Pack up neatly and look professional. Load the boats and have them taped and ready to go before you approach the check-in clerk. There is nothing worse than a mountain of gear and boats to put off the airline. Keep your hand luggage out of sight during this bit, have someone else watch it while a couple of you do the talking.
Be nice to the clerk. Most of them are bored witless by the stream of tourists they usually see. It sounds simple, but a smile and a joke go a long way in this game.
If you have several boats (I've flown in a party of 9) then it is a good idea to keep one boat nearly empty and on top of the pile. All boats look the same and so obviously weigh about the same amount. Rarely will more than one boat be weighed. Sometimes none will get weighed as the scales in several airports are inaccessible for kayaks. The correct answer to the question ``how much does that boat weigh'' is ``15 kilos'' (or 40 pounds). Technically this is true, after all they did not ask how much all the gear jammed inside it weighed.
Be prepared to stand your ground. Point out that the kayaks are mentioned on your file so they must have known you were coming. On the return leg, point out that the airline got you here, so it must be possible to get you home again (this is particularly useful if you picked up the boats at your destination).
This year we took 6 boats to Turkey, flying the last 2 legs (Istanbul to Ankara and then on to Erzurum) on quite small planes. Turkish Airlines were the sole carrier here and so could have been awkward but proved to be extremely helpful and very kayak friendly. No problems at all either way with the gear, no charge to the consumer.
Last year we went to New Zealand and back with Korean Airlines at no charge. Within New Zealand boats are so common they are standard items. Air New Zealand carries them for NZ$20 (around US$10) a go. Before that both British Airways and Virgin have flown boats cheaply or for nothing. In the past American have been very good but now have a kayak policy which is a little steep. Lacsa and Iberian will fly boats but will grumble. Biman used to fly boats and are very competitively priced but I've no recent experience of them.
Air India, Royal Air Maroc, Swiss Air all have been fine in the past.
Kayak unfriendly airlines
KLM: Avoid like the plague. They have a clearly written and non-negotiable "no kayaks" policy, simple as that. You have no chance of persuading them otherwise, unless you are willing to arrange "air cargo" (at around £300 to South America). KLM code share with Northwest Airlines (thanks to: Mark Rainsley).
Delta: Were refusing kayaks to California from Heathrow summer 1999.
United: Well, they do carry boats, but maybe not intact (alledgedly).
Additional info (a good experience from Oysein Bjorke)
I thought you might be interested in hearing my positive experiences with British Airways, feel free to use any of the information on your web page if you want. My flight was the BA 284 from San Francisco to London/Heathrow August 8th 1997. A couple of weeks before I called the 1-800-AIRWAYS number and talked to a person who said that a kayak had to go as cargo regardless of size. A disappointing start, but then I called BA Cargo (1-415-877-0606) and talked to Emelda. She told me that British Airways now had a policy that only things over 10 feet have to go as cargo. Anything shorter, including kayaks, should be no problem to bring directly to the check-in. I called 1-800-AIRWAYS again, and did now speak to another woman, Amanda Packard, who said the same thing as Emelda. So I filled my 8'8" Kinetic with most of my paddling gear, and taped my paddle to the top of the kayak (I wouldn't bring a separate paddle bag because I had a mountainbike in my other free bag...) Then I wrapped the whole thing in plastic. I arrived early (~11am, flight was at 3:30pm), the line was short, and with a cart it was no problem maneuvring the ~65lbs kayak, two big ~70lbs bags and hand baggage around by myself. The service in the check-in was excellent, they asked if the thing was less than 10 feet - but did actually _not_ ask if it was a kayak or something else. They also put the kayak on the scale and said it was ok. I thanked for great service, and went happily to the gate. 16 hours later I received all the bags and the kayak in perfect condition in Oslo. Fun to see the kayak rolling out between all the other baggage!
