Airliners: surfboards and surfers are not always welcome | Photo: Colleen Lane/Creative Commons

What are the best airline companies for surfboards and surfers? Are you traveling with your surfboard quiver?

Surfboard travel bags are usually seen as excess baggage by airline ticket agents.

Fees can easily change in a matter of hours. That means surfers never have an easy life when it comes to traveling by air.

Surfer-friendly airline companies are rare these days. Surfboards are never seen as an opportunity for airline companies.

They're fragile, large, and expensive. In other words, surfboards are headaches for airline executives.

But surfers are travelers.

It's impossible to explore and discover new surf spots without our own quiver, and there are good examples of airline companies for traveling surfboards.

Discover the best airline companies for surfers and which ones charge you for keeping your shortboard safe from cracks.

Aer Lingus

Country: Ireland
Max weight: 23 kilograms
Max length (International Flights): 2.77 meters (110 inches)
Max length (Regional Flights): 2.05 meters (80 inches)
Fee: To North America carried as part of the standard baggage allowance; other destinations $50-100

Air Alaska

Country: USA
Max weight: 23 kilograms
Max length: 2.92 meters (115 inches)
Fee: $30-$70

Air Asia

Country: Malaysia
Max length: 2.77 meters / 110 inches
Max weight: 32 kilograms
Fees: Free for boards weighing up to 15 kilograms; $15-$35 for excess weight

Air Canada

Country: Canada
Max length: 2.92 meters (115 inches)
Max weight: 23 kilograms
Fee: C$100 per surfboard bag

Air France

Country: France
Max length: 2.99 meters (118 inches)
Max weight: 23 kilograms
Fee: Free for boards under the above dimensions; up to €125 depending on the destination

Air New Zealand

Country: New Zealand
Max length: 1.9 meters (78 inches)
Max weight: 23 kilograms
Fee: Free for boards under the above dimensions

Air Tahiti Nui

Country: Tahiti
Max length: 2.50 meters (98 inches)
Max weight: 23 kilograms
Fee: Free

American Airlines

Country: USA
Max length: 3.20 meters (126 inches)
Max weight: 32 kilograms
Fee: $30-$150

British Airways

Country: United Kingdom
Max length: 1.90 meters (75 inches)
Max weight: 22 kilograms
Fee: Free for boards under the above dimensions

Cathay Pacific

Country: China (Hong Kong)
Max length: N.A.
Max weight: N.A.
Fee: Free, but if the length of the board exceeds 1.57 meters (62 inches), four times of extra baggage charge applies

Delta Air Lines

Country: USA
Max length: 2.92 meters (118 inches)
Max weight: 32 kilograms
Fee: $30, as long as the surfboard is one of two checked bags

EasyJet

Country: United Kingdom
Max length: N.A.
Max weight: N.A.
Fee: £37 for under 20 kilograms surfboard bags and £45 for boards weighing more than 20 kilograms

Emirates

Country: Dubai (United Arab Emirates)
Max length: 2.99 meters (118 inches)
Max weight: 23 kilograms
Fee: Free, as a part of your checked allowance baggage allowance

Hawaiian Airlines

Country: USA (Hawaii)
Max length: 2.92 meters (115 inches)
Max weight: 23 kilograms
Fee: $35 for neighbor islands; $100 to North America, and $150 for international destinations

Iberia

Country: Spain
Max length: 3.50 meters (137 inches)
Max weight: 23 kilograms
Fee: Free for long-haul flights; €45 for short and medium-haul flights

KLM

Country: Netherlands
Max length: 2.99 meters (118 inches)
Max weight: 23 kilograms
Fee: €50-€300 depending on the size of the surfboard, and the route

Lufthansa

Country: Germany
Max length: 3.15 meters (124 inches)
Max weight: 32 kilograms
Fee: Free, as long as the surfboard bag is one of your allowed two pieces of checked luggage; €70-€250 for any other situations

Qantas

Country: Australia
Max length: 2.70 meters (109 inches)
Max weight: 32 kilograms
Fee: Free, as long as your board bag is one of two pieces of checked luggage

Singapore Airlines

Country: Singapore
Max length: 2.00 meters (78 inches)
Max weight: 32 kilograms
Fee: Free, as long as the surfboard is one of two checked bags

TAP Air Portugal

Country: Portugal
Max length: 2.70 meters (109 inches)
Max weight: 32 kilograms
Fee: €55-€150 depending on the size of the surfboard, and the destination

United Airlines

Country: USA
Max length: 2.92 meters (115 inches)
Max weight: 45 kilograms
Fee: Free to/from California; $150 each way in the United States, and $200 for international destinations

Get the best surfboard travel bags in the world. Have you found a crack on your surfboard after a long flight? Fix it with the best ding repair kits.

The 2020 Surfer's Airline Board Bag Fee Guide has been updated on January 9, 2020.

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