Advice for traveling with board(s)

[Kaffwynn]

dude. you gotta get out of Cumbuco. Time to spend the $15 and take the bus to Jeri. Nightlife there puts Cumbuco nightlife to SHAME. the clubs don't even open until 2 am. the entire beach is one giant bar.

Haha, been there, done that. I agree, Jeri has a fantastic vibe, but I like the convenience of sitting on my balcony and watching the wind come up, and then walking the 30 feet out to the beach to launch. ;) Call me lazy, I'm ok with that! At this stage in my life I think kiting is a bigger priority than nightlife?!

[GracieMarie]

When I pull up to the desk to check in, the first thing I do is ask the agent if there is any room in first class/business class.

Same day upgrades on, say, Alaska (international) are often as low as $50 for 1st class each way, but here's the best part: They don't charge their 1st class clients extra for larger/lumpier luggage.

So, if they are getting ready to ding you for luggage, spend the money instead on upgrading your class of service and then at least you get something for your money. Like real forks and wide body seats, not to mention Betty Ford Refugee quantities of alcohol.

Also: THE BEST deal in air travel is the executive lounge. For a couple hundred bucks a year, (which, in a year of traveling, I can burn in magazines, snacks and beverages) they not only feed/entertain you w/mags, hi-def tv., wi fi, etc., but they have cush lounges that keep one better rested on long trips.

They have concierge service, meaning: they have a person devoted to making your trip as smooth/easy/cost effective as possible. IF possible, they will try to upgrade you for 1st class if they have room (varies from airline to airline)....Happy Trails, and stay the hell out of Cumbuco! :)

[kitet]

Has anyone tried using a real golf bag?

My board is 135, so I think it would fit in a 53" soft case golf bag. In my opinion, none of the kiteboarding "golf" bags look like the real ones. They are too big and the graphics are very non-golf like (a giant "GOLF" written on the side doesn't really help either).

[kitet]

Anyone?

[rvv]

Check with the airline you are planning to travel with. Each one has new and ever changing baggage limitations. I have never used the golf bag scam but I believe that it mostly applies to domestic/business travel (where one could get a free piece of luggage in addition to normal allowances if it was golfing gear). Those days are fleeting fast!
In most cases in my experience of traveling extensively with all sorts of gear, as long as the item doesn't exceed their limitations (weight,length,height,width) I have always been fine.
On a recent trip to europe I traveled with a dakine 175sx kite bag with 2 boards (161,137) and 3 kites 2 bars. The bag was as tall as me but it was acceptable as "snowboard/ski" equip on british air for no additional fees. they never looked even after I offered on the way back from greece (not allot of snow ;-)) where I got a small amount of static until I pointed out their own regs said it was cool.
Lots of airlines have baggage rules pertaining to almost any type of sporting equipment, if you dont see kites listed come up with a close approximation and use that it works ie snowboard/windsurf/etc
good luck!

[mike]

Definitely agree with the previous poster that it's always good to check the airline's specific baggage policy. I don't know if the "real" golf bag would work, but seems worth a try.

Just to close the loop on my original post, I just returned from Brazil (awesome...), and fwiw for those going there in the near future, here's my experience:

I did not pay a single baggage fee. I flew SFO-DFW-GRU on American Airlines and GRU-FOR on TAM. I used the NSI bag to hold one twin tip, three kites, pump and three golf clubs - total weight just under 50 lbs. I also had one other "normal" checked bag.

It's worth noting that American's current checked baggage policy for flights from the US to Brazil is two checked bags, maximum weight of 70 lbs. per bag - yes, that's 70 lbs., not 50 lbs.

TAM's policy for domestic flights within Brazil is 23kg/50 lbs., but I called TAM prior to my trip and was told that because my itinerary originated on American, TAM would honor American's baggage policy.

I was not questioned by AA at SFO. I was asked about the contents of the bag in both directions by TAM in Brazil, and I answered "golf and other sporting equipment". However, it seemed to me that they were questioning only to help them decide whether to put a "fragile" tag on my bag, which they did on both flights, maybe they think golf clubs are breakable?

All in all, a positive experience.