Flying or shipping boards

We are going to Mexico on an Apple Charter in Jan. What started out as 12 people going ( 6 of them surf) Has ended up being 28 people going for a total of 18 surfers. I'm getting nervous that the plane will not accept all these boards. Has anyone ever shipped boards instead, and if so who did you use . We are thinking of shipping them directly to the resort. Any info would be a huge help. thanks in advance.

First, talk to the charter people and/or the travel agent. Tell them 'no boards, no trip' . Be unkind about it, as they are making enough $ out of the deal to make it happen for you.

Get any promises they make _in_writing_! Nothing is as ephemeral as a travel agent's verbal promise. Also note that Apple Charters' baggage damage insurance only covers to $250 per item if it's not a camera or jewelry . That's not replacement cost for a surfboard. Not all the airlines that Apple Charters uses specificly say they carry surfboards- http://www.applevacations.com/jsp/airlines/ airlines.jsp

If it's a non- US airline involved in the charter, they tend to take far better care of surfboards than a US flag airline.

Shipping boards is gonna be expensive and the shipping method varies from babying the boards enroute to delivering them via surplus B-29 bomber at 15,000 feet and then moving them around the airport via forklift stuck through the bottom of the board, shish-kebab style. No guarantees except that it will be expensive.

hope that's of use

charters do not take boards ... regular airlines take boards reluctantly and charge $75 per person per flight leg for boards ... 18 people with boards will rain havoc on a charter

No, they stick the fork blade into the rail and out the other, I seen them driving backwards at 30 MPH in those freight terminals!

> takefar better care of surfboards than a US flag airline.

Really?! I got my boards messed up several times by non-us airlines. Once they did manage to break my longboard completely.

IIRC DosZapatos was talking about doing something like this a couple of years back. Problem is the airlines keep changing things, esp. w.r.t. suddenly deciding not to take your boards at the last minute.

You know, I realised that was a damn fool request to make if I wasn't willing to put it together.

Okay.

Post yer good, bad and indifferent airline reviews here, I'll put 'em together.

I stumbbled on to this I don't know how current it is or if it even helps, but its much better then nothing v-