Travelling with a rig - Airline regs, etc.

[RandomLemming 0]

Hi all,

I have a few questions about traveling long distance (11 hour flight) with a rig.

1. Do any airlines consider rigs to be sporting equipment? BA do not allow any extra weight, and with an 11KG rig, I've got no room for things like clothes and shoes really :(

2. If you are able to ship it as sporting goods, what kind of bag do you ship it in? I'm leaning towards a hard case, especially as I will be flying to South Africa, and the baggage handlers are not known for their gentleness :) I was thinking of getting some kind of Samsonite case. Are there better options than this around ?

3. How do you insure your gear against theft and damage? My travel insurance won't cover expensive items in the hold of the aircraft (laptops, cameras, rigs, etc.)

4. Do you advise that I have a reserve repack done before I jump the rig, or is it sufficient to do a solid external check?

If I can't take it as sporting goods, I'll have to seriously cut down on the amount of crap I take with me... Like clothes, and underwear.

The other option is to Fedex it to my folks the week before I leave to go out there, but I'm not confident in their ability to get it there unharmed either.

Thanks a lot in advance :)

[billvon 3,120]

>1. Do any airlines consider rigs to be sporting equipment?

They are not considered like skis, no. They are part of your weight limit.

> I was thinking of getting some kind of Samsonite case. Are there better
>options than this around ?

The "gold standard" is a Pelican case. They are waterproof and indestructible, but will cost you $200+.

>3. How do you insure your gear against theft and damage?

Some airlines allow you to purchase additional insurance. Sometimes you can get renter's insurance that will cover things in your apartment (including when you travel with them.) Fedex/UPS offers insurance.

>4. Do you advise that I have a reserve repack done before I jump the rig,
>or is it sufficient to do a solid external check?

Up to you. I don't repack my reserve unless I see something seriously wrong with it after traveling with it (i.e. there's a huge indentation in the reserve somewhere.) It's unlikely they will be able to mess with it without you seeing some evidence of the tampering.

>The other option is to Fedex it to my folks the week before I leave to go
>out there, but I'm not confident in their ability to get it there unharmed
>either.

Fedex is pretty reliable. Fedexing a rig in a Pelican case is probably the safest way to go, but it quite expensive.

[brettski74 0]

Did you think of doing a search, first? I just did a search for "travelling" and came up with a bunch of hits. The first couple came that I looked at had responses like this with links to even more threads that have already discussed this to death.

Here is probably a good place to start.

As far as I know, "sporting equipment" doesn't allow you to take any extra baggage. It's just a relaxation on the dimensional restrictions for an item. You're still restricted to the same weight and number of items as you are without the sporting equipment.

As far as damage to your rig by baggage handlers. Your rig is pretty tough, but if you're worried, learn to pack - luggage, that is . I've brought 24 bottles of beer in the hold of the plane across the pacific. If you use your clothes properly as padding, you could drop the bag from 10m and not break a bottle.

[RandomLemming 0]

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Did you think of doing a search, first? I just did a search for "travelling" and came up with a bunch of hits. The first couple came that I looked at had responses like this with links to even more threads that have already discussed this to death.

I did a search, but some of the questions, I couldn't find answers to. Specifically a list of any skydiving friendly airlines who would consider my rig as sporting equipment.

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As far as I know, "sporting equipment" doesn't allow you to take any extra baggage. It's just a relaxation on the dimensional restrictions for an item. You're still restricted to the same weight and number of items as you are without the sporting equipment.

That's not correct at all. Carriage of many sporting goods results in an increase in your weight allowance. Golf clubs give you an extra 10KG with BA. Skis give you an extra 20 odd. Bicycles give you an extra 12.

That's a big deal, going from 23KG to 35KG by having a bicycle. If I could find an airline that flies UK->SA that gives that bonus for my rig instead of a bicycle, I would cancel my BA tickets and book with them. Hence the question.

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As far as damage to your rig by baggage handlers. Your rig is pretty tough, but if you're worried, learn to pack - luggage, that is . I've brought 24 bottles of beer in the hold of the plane across the pacific. If you use your clothes properly as padding, you could drop the bag from 10m and not break a bottle.

Packing luggage is well and good, but a sturdy case and recommendations thereof is more important. I've seen Samsonite cases destroyed on runways (and these aren't the easiest things to break) and then the contents driven over by the following cart and 4 trailers. A lot of stuff that was quite well packed was destroyed. So no matter how well you pack, solid cases and insurance are relevant.

[LittleOne 0]

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If I could find an airline that flies UK->SA that gives that bonus for my rig

Call all of the airlines that fly the route you need and ask them. It's a pain to call them directly but it could end up saving you a lot of money. These policies are not always explicitly stated on websites. If you do find such a carrier, print out the policy. I received different statements of policy from different ticket agents when I recently flew Virgin Blue within Australia.

Is it an option to carry on the rig? If the weight limit of carry on is not too far off from the actual weight of your rig, you may be able to circumvent the weight limit by putting the rig into a soft shoulder bag (I did this a few times, even though it killed my shoulder to carry it this way through the airport). The volume was small enough that no one questioned the weight, even though I fly a 150.

Indeed, you should expect to cut down on the amount of non skydiving personal effects you can bring when travelling with a rig. Bring lots of laundry detergent and get used to wearing the same three outfits. It just comes with the territory.

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[Travman 6]

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Hi all,

I have a few questions about traveling long distance (11 hour flight) with a rig.

1. Do any airlines consider rigs to be sporting equipment? BA do not allow any extra weight, and with an 11KG rig, I've got no room for things like clothes and shoes really :(

>> I called Virgin Blue (Australian airline) the other day to enquire and they considered it to be sporting equipment. Their policy is each item of sporting equipment is 5kg, regardless of actual weight. For SCUBA gear that includes each component. Mean I can take my rig and scuba gear travelling and still have 10kg for other luggage

3. How do you insure your gear against theft and damage? My travel insurance won't cover expensive items in the hold of the aircraft (laptops, cameras, rigs, etc.)

>> For Aussies, check the APF insurance out

[freeflysteve 0]

Good question.
I normally take my rig on as hand luggage.
It gets a few looks and sometimes 4 or 5 goes in the xray plus maybe a swab or two to check for explosives!!
Take your AAD card with you cos it explains the wiring system,travelled to 19 different countries with my rig as carry on.
Dont forget to take off your hook knife and put it in the hold luggage,unfortunately early morning packing just before i leave has meant i have had a few confiscated!!
blue skies
Steve

Swooping, huh? I love that stuff ... all the flashing lights and wailing sirens ... it's very exciting!

[fergs 0]

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Hi all,

I have a few questions about traveling long distance (11 hour flight) with a rig.

1. Do any airlines consider rigs to be sporting equipment? BA do not allow any extra weight, and with an 11KG rig, I've got no room for things like clothes and shoes really :(

2. If you are able to ship it as sporting goods, what kind of bag do you ship it in? I'm leaning towards a hard case, especially as I will be flying to South Africa, and the baggage handlers are not known for their gentleness :) I was thinking of getting some kind of Samsonite case. Are there better options than this around ?

3. How do you insure your gear against theft and damage? My travel insurance won't cover expensive items in the hold of the aircraft (laptops, cameras, rigs, etc.)

4. Do you advise that I have a reserve repack done before I jump the rig, or is it sufficient to do a solid external check?

If I can't take it as sporting goods, I'll have to seriously cut down on the amount of crap I take with me... Like clothes, and underwear.

The other option is to Fedex it to my folks the week before I leave to go out there, but I'm not confident in their ability to get it there unharmed either.

Thanks a lot in advance :)

I’ve taken a rig on 70 or 80 flights – both national and international. These have mostly been as checked luggage and a smaller number as carry-on.

As checked luggage, I’ve had it in a gear bag, in a backpack as well as in hard moulded suitcases. Have never had any damage.

As carry on it goes into a lightweight large day pack style of bag. This makes in “invisible” as well as a good quality set of straps makes it easy to carry around terminals.

Damaged luggage is pretty well the same gamble as all else in travel, in my opinion – if it happens to you and your rig it’s simply the roll of the dice on the day. But that’s why you buy travel insurance. Just be careful to read and understand the definition of item and set. Many travel insurance policies limit the maximum value of an item or set. Some then give an option to increase the insured value as an option for high value items.

As far as weight goes, I’ve only ever been charged excess baggage costs once – and that was when I was at least 40 kgs over limit. I’m usually at least 10kg over and don’t seem to have problems. Most airlines, in my experience, are actually quite lenient with weight. I guess much of the flight gets on under weight limit of their luggage and only a few (always me!) are overweight. So I don’t lose sleep on the subject of weight. If I get charged next flight, I’m still way ahead of the game. Being polite at check-in as well as not looking like a tramp seems to help.

I’m not sure why you’d want to repack your reserve after a flight. If your suitcase has been dropped on the tarmac and a tractor has driven over it, then a reserve repack may be the last thing on your immediate priority list anyhow.

Oh, and as mentioned above by another poster, carry your Cypres card. Also carry a copy of the FAA letter (for those in the US) or equivalent available in your country. On my last flight when I took my rig as carry on, it was flagged by the security guys as I went into the departure area. I showed the Cypres card, an FAA letter as well a CASA letter (it was an Australian airport). The 2 letters impressed them the most. But they still fetched their supervisor, who was polite and efficient – giving me the all-clear to pass through. He smiled and was quite pleasant too, making it a good experience.

At the end of the day, travelling with your rig is a no nonsense affair. If you are worried about weight, simply take it as carry on. At worst they may insist you put it as checked luggage if the security guys have no humour. If you are worried about losing it or damage, insure it either through your household cover or in a travel insurance policy to cover your trip. Oh, another benefit of travel insurance is the medical expenses cover – but you need to check the wording to ensure activities involving parachutes are not excluded from cover. Skydivers should never travel to the US without medical insurance that covers parachuting!!!! But that’s another subject entirely……

Cheers,

fergs

[RandomLemming 0]

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As checked luggage, I’ve had it in a gear bag, in a backpack as well as in hard moulded suitcases. Have never had any damage.

Ok, that's useful... So I'll probably be able to get away with a Samsonite then which saves me some money on a Pelican (and more importantly, some weight :))

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Damaged luggage is pretty well the same gamble as all else in travel, in my opinion – if it happens to you and your rig it’s simply the roll of the dice on the day. But that’s why you buy travel insurance. Just be careful to read and understand the definition of item and set. Many travel insurance policies limit the maximum value of an item or set. Some then give an option to increase the insured value as an option for high value items.

You've got to be REAL careful with travel insurance though. I discovered this when we had the wet-wipes scare that shutdown all hand luggage out of the UK.

I found out that my travel insurance and two other companies that I tried will not cover goods over a certain value in the hold. With my travel insurance company, that value is GBP1000. With other companies it varies.

They'll cover the stuff on your vacation, but it's just not covered while in the care of the baggage handlers or in the hold of the aircraft. From the time it disappears down the belt behind the check-in clerk until it comes off the belt at the other end, you have no cover on 'valuable' items. The value of valuable varies from insurer to insurer, but I couldn't find one that placed this over GBP1500. This meant no travel with laptop and camera at the time.

The next bet would seem to be household insurance. Mine covers me up to £2500 away from the home, which just meets my camera and laptop requirements (and co-incidentally, my rig requirement if I leave the other stuff at home). The downside though is that they also won't cover my goods while in the hold of an aircraft.

Sure, there's always the option of lying about where the loss / damage occurred, but that doesn't sit well with me. There must be an honest and legal way to cover my equipment while I travel surely?

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As far as weight goes, I’ve only ever been charged excess baggage costs once – and that was when I was at least 40 kgs over limit. I’m usually at least 10kg over and don’t seem to have problems. Most airlines, in my experience, are actually quite lenient with weight. I guess much of the flight gets on under weight limit of their luggage and only a few (always me!) are overweight. So I don’t lose sleep on the subject of weight. If I get charged next flight, I’m still way ahead of the game. Being polite at check-in as well as not looking like a tramp seems to help.

I think that is changing more and more these days. I've been stung for being as little as 5KG over on one occasion and 7 on another, and family members have been nailed for being between 5 and 11KGs over recently. This is mostly on long-haul flights, specifically from the UK to SA. Virgin and BA are the two airlines I've been nailed by.

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Oh, and as mentioned above by another poster, carry your Cypres card. Also carry a copy of the FAA letter (for those in the US) or equivalent available in your country.

Even if I pack it in checked luggage, I plan to include a photocopy of the card (both sides) and once I find it, the appropriate letter for both UK and SA authorities taped to both back and front of the rig. That will hopefully get their attention.

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Skydivers should never travel to the US without medical insurance that covers parachuting!!!! But that’s another subject entirely……

Heh - I never travel anywhere to skydive without taking out an Endsleigh policy that covers the region I am jumping in. Sadly, their travel insurance also limits valuable items as checked baggage so it only helps with potential medial and public liability issues, not with gear theft or damage by the airline :(

[TaylorC 0]

Can always try and take it as carry on