Airlines Adding
Surfcharge
By Peter Pae, Los
Angeles Times
It might be "surf's up"
in Costa Rica, but
swelling airline fees
are wiping out surfers
hoping to catch the next
big wave.
Some airlines are now
charging surfers up to
$300 to take along a
surfboard. That's
significantly higher
than the $15 fee that
big carriers began
charging for the first
checked bag, a move that
has riled passengers.
The fee, among the
highest of airline
charges, is grounding
some surfers and has
created an unusual
uproar among an
otherwise mellow surf
community. Fees for
bicycles, skis and other
sports equipment also
have been rising, but
not as much as
surfboards.
Surfers note that most
airlines don't charge
for golf bags, while
surfers are paying up to
$300 per board for
international flights.
That's nearly as much as
a new board costs. Avid
surfers take up to four
boards in a bag, which
can mean a $1,200 bill,
or $2,400 for a round
trip.
Last year, British
Airways, despite
petitions from 14,000
surfers, went as far as
to ban surfboards
altogether.
"Why are we being
singled out?" asked Evan
Slater, a surfer and
editor in chief of
California-based Surfing
magazine. "It's not like
we're carrying nuclear
weapons, and these
surfboards aren't much
heavier than a
carry-on."
The charges have gotten
so gnarly that some
professional surfers are
calling for a boycott of
airlines that have high
fees and are putting out
their own personal list
of surfer- friendly
carriers that wave
riders should patronize.
One of the hottest
surfing websites is now
a guide to airline fees.
"It's a big issue for
us," said Rusty Long, a
professional surfer who
spends nine months each
year traveling in search
of the big wave. "It's
ridiculous when you're
having to pay more for
your board than the
price of your airline
ticket."
Long was on Nantucket
Island, Mass., last week
but was looking to chase
a swell moving up the
East Coast. He said he
has been telling his
fans to avoid Delta,
Continental and United.
All of them charge more
than $150 per board
depending on the
destination. He
recommends JetBlue,
which charges $50 a
board, and international
carriers such as Qantas
and Air New Zealand,
which don't charge for
surfboards.
Surfers say they've
considered shipping
their surfboards, but
the cost can range from
a few hundred dollars to
several thousand
depending on the
destination. Renting a
board also can be
expensive.
Decent boards rent for
up to $100 a day, and
most travelers spend
several days or more
surfing on a trip. |
