Kayaks and airplanes

Has anyone ever tried to check there kayak onto a flight as luggage. I know that there is a weight limit so you would probably have to check it as cargo. Just wondering if it was possible.

Floatin,

I never tried to do that, exactly.  But I notice that KFS will ship from N.J. to anywhere in the country for just $69.  If you could somehow pull it off, it would be a lot cheaper than renting your yak when you get there.  At least for anywhere that I've priced renting.

Fishin-T

The reason I ask is there is a lodge I have been to before on prince of wales island up by whale pass. I thought about taking the ferry from wa to ketchican and then take the ferry from there out to the island. But in order to do that you have to have a lot of time cause the ferry is 3 days itself one way. (the ferry to the island is only a couple hours) so if you could fly with your yak it would save time. Just a thought. The ferry ride would be fun though.

The ferry isn't cheap either, it's ~$500 each way with a car, closer to $300 if it's just you and your kayak.

Some airlines will fly kayaks, but you may have problems with one much longer than 10 feet.  And you'll probably have to pay in the range of $70-100 each way.

-Allen

A kayak to go on an airline has to be small.  I think 9' or less.  When I owned a shop we got in some of the Bic folding kayaks, which can go as luggage. 
Once they work the bugs out I think the new Hobie inflatable is going to the ticket.  That's what I plan on doing. 

As to shipping for $69, that's a subsidized price.  It costs a lot more to ship a kayak then that.  KFS makes money selling the kayak and can afford to eat some profit on shipping to make the sale. 

Also, the price KFS quotes is for Air Terminal Delivery.  You'd have to take it to your local air terminal, and they'd ship it to the air terminal of your choice, and you'd have to go pick it up there.  KFS charges $130 I believe for delivery to a residential address on this side of the country.  I'm sure they soak up some of the cost, but considering their prices are already below retail....either there's a huge markup on Kayaks, or they are mostly saving money on the packaging process.  You'd probably have to spend atleast $50 for a crate and packaging supplies in addition to the shipping fees.  $50 really sounds like a low estimate on something longer then 12 feet.

KFS charges $130 I believe for delivery to a residential address on this side of the country.  I'm sure they soak up some of the cost

That's about right.  $130 is pretty typical for residential delivery.

-Allen

I was actually thinking I might ship a personal kayak like this someday.  When I end up getting a job that'll let me take 2-3 months off and saving up enough money (in that order), I'd like to Kayak down the Mississippi River, from headwaters to the ocean, in a SOT.  Probably fishing as I go.  Fly out all my gear on the normal flight and ship the kayak via air terminal or something.

I just looked on ebay for Kayaks over 14' and it seems the shipping they were charging was under $100.00 for the most part, I bet you could ship for a reasonable price if you researched it. I think I am going to do that. Will Let you know.

skyboy

second thought, we should probably post this question to Sean at GWKC. I am sure he would know. Sean??

I was actually originally going to purchase a Liquid Logic Manta Ray 14 from ebay, free shipping from the guy, and a good price at $710.  I'm a bit leary of dealing with ebay on such a big item.  The company seemed to have decent feedback scores though.  However, everything is generally more expensive to ship to Alaska and Hawaii, so you should definatly check that.  What may seem like low cost shipping from some companies will likely change when you mention it's to Alaska.

It sounds to me like it's going to cost you a minimum of $100 to ship a Kayak.  Keep in mind again that it's just freight charges, you'll still need to build a crate for it, get a ton of bubble wrap, and such.  And you'll have to package it back up to get it back.  You'd also have to find a way to get it from the air terminal in AK to the ferry terminal to your island.  That's going to require a special taxi of some sort, or a uhaul.  Or you'll have to rent a car, and I'm not sure of any rental company that allows carrying of kayaks on their roofs.  You need to factor that into your cost list as well.  You'll also need to find a place to put the packaging crate while you're on the island, unless you plan to take the crate on the ferry to the island, in which case you'll probably have to make special arrangments with the ferry people to help you put your large crate on the boat.

I don't know what plane flights would cost for you, but it sounds like you may not really be saving that much money by shipping it and flying, as opposed to taking the ferry.  It also seems like a huge set of things that you'll have to deal with and plan perfectly to pull off.  If something goes wrong, you'll be stuck with a large crate in Alaska with no car.

AK is definitely more expensive.  Most likely you will have it barged up.  It cost us about $140 each to have 4 kayaks shipped from shipping terminal to shipping terminal for our trip up in Valdez this summer.  It will be more if you have it shipped to somewhere other than the shipping terminal.

The minimum packaging would be bubble wrap, cardboard, and a plastic sheath around the whole things.  I say minimum packaging because there are a lot of shipping horror stories out there of damaged kayaks.  I wouldn't ship a non plastic kayak with only the above packaging.

-Allen

The minimum packaging would be bubble wrap, cardboard, and a plastic sheath around the whole things.  I say minimum packaging because there are a lot of shipping horror stories out there of damaged kayaks.  I wouldn't ship a non plastic kayak with only the above packaging.

-Allen

I had a chat w/ scwafish (owner of GWKC) @ BAM and he told me some real horror stories when he picked up yaks from the terminals. Seems if they don't have some kind of damage it's a miracle. Pack and label very well I'd say.

Z

By the way the terminals aren't at the airports.  They're generally nearby as a lot of freight goes through airlines, but not the kayaks.  They're all trucked.  The first company I shipped with was called Forward Air.  The terminal I used was in Newark, about 10 minutes from the airport.  Every kayak I have ever shipped went by truck domestically and in a cargo container (via boat) overseas.