Flying on United - $125 Baggage Charge

[Boom Vang]

After I found a great deal on United for a flight to California for a hog hunt, I checked their baggage fees. No mention of hunting or shooting equipment at all.

The normal practice when I've flown on other airlines is to treat a rifle case as one item of regular baggage. Delta, for example, as it spelled out on their website. All kinds of sporting equipment like archery cases, golf bags, etc are exempt from the oversize charges up to 115 linear inches - they are treated like regular checked bags for the usual fee.

So I send an email to United about it. Get an Indian-based non-response about declaring firearms in checked baggage. So I call the 800 number. Get another Indian. His statement:

Rifle case not exempt from oversize limits, must meet 62 inches in H+W+D, otherwise $125 Oversize Baggage charge. There is no way the average 2-rifle case is going to make that. Some deal I got...

 

[Animal Mother]

All the more reason to hunt with a handgun or a shorty AR-15.

 

[cleardiddion]

Well this is strange.
I flew United a little while back and there wasn't any mention of that.
In fact, it was just treated as another bit of luggage

 

[Hk Dan]

Hello Delta...

 

[jakemccoy]

I few days ago, I flew a friend out to my house for her birthday to go snowboarding. I bought tickets on United and thought I was getting a good deal. It's a good thing she called United before the trip. She would have been paying over $125 just to fly her luggage, including snowboard. She decided to rent snowboard equipment once she got here. Luckily the rented equipment worked out well. United blows.

 

[trickyasafox]

try a shorter case and partial rifle dis-assembly?

 

[KBintheSLC]

I don't know where in the country you are coming from, but I would rather drive than fly these days. I avoid the airline junk-show like the plague if at all possible.

 

[627PCFan]

The wife and I skii in NH several times a year, we have learned that one drives up, or we ship the equipment via UPS to her fathers house ahead of time, and yes believe it or not its cheaper than the oversized luggage costs..

 

[Oro]

we ship the equipment via UPS to her fathers house ahead of time

You can do this with your rifle. Just mail it to yourself at your destination. This is legal and covered in the BATF FAQ's should you wish to look into it.

 

[Mr_Rogers]

Be careful shipping firearms by UPS. We sent our shotguns to our friend's place for duck-hunting OK but we could not send them back to our homes. He is in a small town and for some reason you need to go to a major UPS store to ship a firearm. The nearest major UPS center was hours away.

 

[Buck Snort]

Airlines suck.

 

[jakemccoy]

Be careful shipping firearms by UPS. We sent our shotguns to our friend's place for duck-hunting OK but we could not send them back to our homes. He is in a small town and for some reason you need to go to a major UPS store to ship a firearm. The nearest major UPS center was hours away.

Could you have shipped the parts, except the receivers, through UPS?

That way, you're not shipping firearms.

 

[chris in va]

Seems to me it would be best just to have your FFL gun store ship it to another gun store and pick it up there.

 

[Speedo66]

Rather than a handgun, a Kel-tec SUB2000 rifle folds in half. With +Ps and the extra velocity from the longer barrel you're at about .357 power range.

Might do it for hogs.

Used to be special to fly, now you're treated like cattle.