TargetTalk

Son will be flying to Colorado Springs for J.O.'s.With air rifle,mom is going with him.We are shopping for flight's and room. Is there much difference between airlines as far as extra charges for a rifle case etc.

The simple answer is yes, there is a difference between airlines.

Another factor to consider is to make sure that each bag is under the airline's individual baggage weight limit, or they will hit you for excessive baggage weight also....which can be upwards of $100 for some airlines.

In addition, there are some airlines that are less than shooter friendly.

It has been several years since I flew to a match, but I always had good success w/ United, especially flying into Colorado Springs.

ky99 wrote:Son will be flying to Colorado Springs for J.O.'s.With air rifle,mom is going with him.We are shopping for flight's and room. Is there much difference between airlines as far as extra charges for a rifle case etc.

Southwest is the only one that I know right now that isn't charging for baggage fees. Most are treating gun cases as oversize baggage in which case I think United and Delta are charging $75 for the rifle case.

Those sending youth by themselves take note.

United and Delta are the only airlines that will accept an air or smallbore rifle to travel with one under 18.

Almost all other airlines have a policy denying a minor to fly with any sort of gun checked.

Even with the extra baggage charge, it's cheaper to fly them direct into C Springs on United than to ship the gun separately.

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Ever time i have flaw to the OTC i had a rifle case that was an over size as well as my equipment bag was over size. I was never once change for over size, the people working there don't seem to check that.........but that may have changed now. I have only had to pay for the over 50lb weight limit. Make sure its under 70lb. Check the airlines your looking at polices about firearms and over weight baggage. You may find a $50 price differace be worth it if your bags are over weight and one airline is less expensive for over weight bags.

B.T.Carstensen wrote:Ever time i have flaw to the OTC i had a rifle case that was an over size as well as my equipment bag was over size. I was never once change for over size, the people working there don't seem to check that.........but that may have changed now. I have only had to pay for the over 50lb weight limit. Make sure its under 70lb. Check the airlines your looking at polices about firearms and over weight baggage. You may find a $50 price differace be worth it if your bags are over weight and one airline is less expensive for over weight bags.

This is a policy they started late last year at least at Delta and United. Our team was charged the oversize price on each rifle case regardless of the weight of the case when we went to the NRA 3P Air championship in Iowa last summer. It isn't just the weight they go by but the size of the rifle case. The airlines saw away to make money and they are going to take advantage of it especially when most people didn't complain. That is why Delta and United is charging for the first bag instead of just the second. They found out in their market studies that people didn't care about the fees, so they charged people for the first bag as well.

Thats what i thought was going to happen......the first time i flew with my case i thought i was going to be charged but i wasn't and everytime since then i haven't been.The problem for rifle shooters is their bags have to be oversized and the rifle case you don't want to cheap out on and get a smaller one. Oh well i guess........ill be flying in about a week to NCAA's i guess ill find out how much things have changed.

Here is United's current policy:

Maximum acceptable size per bag is 115 linear inches.
Anything over 62 linear inches costs an additional $175 EACH WAY.
Anything over 50 lbs, costs an additional $125 EACH WAY.

This is on top of any other charges for checking bags.

A Pelican 1750 case for example is 75.12 linear inches and weighs 25.57 lbs. with foam but without the gun.