Airline Travel

[Phil Lilley]

It's bad when I have to create a new forum to post my thoughts on airline travel, but I think it would be great to learn a few things before jumping on a plane.

Here's what I've learned in my limited travel lately.

Mark your bags with a neon strap or at least a colorful ribbon. That way you can identify your luggage easliy on the conveyor belt.

Careful of the limits. I haven't had any issues but have had people traveling to AK this summer that have. Delta in KC likes to measure check on luggage. If it's over 60 inches total (length, width, height) it's $100, no questions asked. But in St Louis they have curbside checkin which is WONERFUL! They don't even weigh your bags. They ask if it's over limit and lift it themselves to see if it is. I tipped him nicely this morning. I checked in 2 storage containers I bought at Walmart. I have luggage already at camp so I can bring my stuff back in them but the lockage storage boxes are very useful up there and also costly if I bought them in AK. $15 in Branson, $50 in King Salmon. They measured 63.2 inches. I had backup bags ready if they pitched a fit.

Lost bags. I'm not sure what to tell you about lost bags except always carry a set of clothes and essentials on the plane just in case.

Triple check your carry on. They are pretty thorough about what they let on and not. Had a bunch of ladies take piles of shampoos, cleaners, lotions and other bottles out of their bags in St Louis- they were traveling together and weren't too happy about their loss. They'll have to go shopping when they get to their destination

On my return trip from KS in July, I was asked by TSA if they could look thru my carry on. This bag had sat in my cabin, the cabin I built, with tools and knives thrown around for several weeks... and they found a razor blade in the bottom underneath my dirty clothes! How embarrasing is that!?! The guy said it happens all the time and let me go. All the time?!? When I got home--- I found another blade in the bottom of the same bag! Oppps!!!

[jdmidwest]

We flew NW Airlines out of Memphis. The counter girl had problems with the Bazooka rod holder we pack rods in. Then she really had a problem with the firearms I declared when I stepped up to the counter. Apparently she had never had a handgun issue while she was working. TSA came to her rescue and the pistols made it. They were rechecked by TSA after I turned them over and they left the TSA approved locks unlocked on the case. Anchorage was a breeze, they see firearms all the time there.

Memphis was a pain, strip off belts and shoes, remove laptop and cameras from bags. I ended up with 3 bins full for the security check. My fishing buddy forgot the shampoo in his carry on on the way out of Anchorage and was almost subject to a cavity check for other liquids.

Next trip, I need to carry less stuff. I did not need a fly tying kit, even the limited one I took. We could buy flies pretty cheap at all locations if needed and did not need any extras. I still have most of the flies I left with, I lost one salmon fly and 10 beads and gave some away. I took 2 backup rain tops and goretex pants, waders and a rain jacket were all that was needed. I took a sleeping bag that I only used one night and did not really need it.

Dry bags were a must, I took 3 of differing sizes and used all on the floats and portages to the cabin. GPS was nice. High end digital camera could have been left at home, the Minolta Dimage did well. Pistols and shoulder holsters were good comfort, we were in some pretty thick stuff. The Bear country that Lilley showed in the video was very open compared to what we had. Grass and brush that you could barely see over, visibility in brush along creek banks 10 to 20' at best. Vegetation was very lush in the areas we fished.

As far as the airlines go, planes were on time, luggage made the trip without problems. The travel gods were with us. We even had an upgrade with Avis to an Impala, which has a lower ground clearance than should be allowed by a couple of fisherman in AK. We left a few marks crossing a low cut at the cabin in Portage. At least the tides did not rinse out the undercarriage...

[TroutBum4wt]

To get a really good idea on what or what not to take on a flight, look at tsa.gov. Click on "for travelers" towards the top of the screen. It will go over everything.

[troutchaser]

Something I learned this summer is to try your best to use the same airline for all connecting flights.

I used a different airline for the final leg of a trip and they lost my luggage going out AND coming back. I was really annoyed when they told me the first airline didn't get the luggage to the plane on time. I didn't buy it, since the plane was 40 minutes late and the flight left the gate an hour late. When I finally got the luggage, I realized what happened. I was on flight 739. The bags were marked for (non-existent) flight 737.

[Rusty]

TSA = Tantrum Surely Advised

[Rolan Duffield]

Phil:

Have a great trip. Catch a bunch for us to see. Keep the waders dry and don't let those little ones swipe your flies.

Hope you will post on how the season and fishing conditions changes there.

See you in Oct.

Rolan

[Quillback]

I fly a lot for business, if you're making a connection chances are you'll get delayed or your flight may get canceled. Make sure you get a morning flight if possible, so that if you're delayed or canceled you can get another one out later in the day. This summer has been one of the worst in the history of US aviation industry as far as the number of delays/cancellations.

[Robert]

This past June when I traveled to New Brunswick for Atlantic Salmon I booked my flight with Hotwire. This was not a smart thing to do. It is better to book with the carrier. In my case that was Delta. The fare will be the same, but a ton of inconvence can be avoided. My booking thru Hotwire had me with one stop. Three days before the flight my flight going was changed to three stops. Got me in late and an unexpected hotel room. Coming back was four stops. By going to the Springfield airport I got one stop removed. The clerk was a nice guy. He told me if I had booked thru Delta online the price would have been the same. I'll be booking with Delta direct online for next June in Febuary. Springfield, to Atlanta, and then to Bangor, ME. It gets me in at 1400EDT and I can get to the lodge before dark.