Gear Bag for Airplane Travel

[WatertownNewbie]

Last Saturday night I went to SFO to check in for my return flight after a couple of days at Laguna Seca. The fellow at the counter eyed my Sparco bag, picked up a very large ruler, measured the length and width and height, and declared the bag to be five inches over the limit. I commented that I had flown for several years with that bag on Delta (including the flight out from Hartford) as well as United and American and had never had anyone pull out a ruler and tell me the bag was oversize. He replied that it would be a $90 surcharge for me to have them put the bag on my flight. With no choice, I paid the $90.

So the questiion I have is what bag do those of you who fly to race weekends use to tote your helmet, suit, other equipment, and general clothing? Clearly, I need to find one that (a) fits the linear dimension limits of Delta and any other airline and (b) protects my helmet and seat insert from abuse. Any suggestions? This is a pain in the butt, and with airlines looking for ways to scrounge up extra money from passengers, my guess is that enforcement of baggage limitations will only increase.

Thanks for any ideas.

[GregS]

I dont check bags and am lucky every time cause the helmet bag is a tad big
i finally figured out after almost 2 years that i can leave my seat with skippy
that means i never check bags anymore for the 40k/yr miles i travel for racing at SB

btw yes i should be in bed but i cant sleep - i snapped awake after 3 hours ...grr

[dalyduo]

Ted,
What was the dimension that you exceeded? The question would be is that dimension an arbitrary number that Delta made up to generate the fee or do all the airlines all have the same number but have chosen not to enforce it until now? They are making a huge killing with all those baggage fees now. Very frustrating.

Greg,
You fit all your cloths and gear for a race weekend minus your seat in an overhead bag? That's impressive. I'm guessing you don't bring much in the way of changes of cloths eh?

[GT-Subject]

Originally Posted by dalyduo

Ted,
That's impressive. I'm guessing you don't bring much in the way of changes of clothes eh?

Come to think of it I have noticed a particular odour coming from Greg after about day two on a race weekend!!!! Now we know the secret!!!

[LimeRockRacer]

Ted, I have used a separate helmet bag fro Hans and a large rolling duffel for my seat and clothes. The helmet bag can sometimes be carried on if the planes overhead is large e no ugh. On smaller puddle jumpers they generally allow me to gate check it which is ok since you get your bag back as soon as the plane arrives.

Not sure if the rules have changed recently.

[GregS]

Originally Posted by dalyduo

Greg,
You fit all your cloths and gear for a race weekend minus your seat in an overhead bag? That's impressive. I'm guessing you don't bring much in the way of changes of cloths eh?

i put my socks in my helmet bag

if they were paying attention - im bringing 1.5 carryons onto the plane

not having to check bags is a huge plus as i hate waiting for up to 2 hours for my stuff to roll off the plane.

[cdh]

still mystified at how you can carry on everything needed for a race weekend.

[LimeRockRacer]

Originally Posted by cdh

still mystified at how you can carry on everything needed for a race weekend.

Did you ever see his race weekend wardrobe? Can you say T SHIRTs?

If you use them at least twice by turning them inside out you can get a full after hours weekend in for the size of two Hanes!

[GregS]

Originally Posted by cdh

still mystified at how you can carry on everything needed for a race weekend.

my seat stays with SB

my helmet and hans fit into my racing helmet bag, which is just small enough that they dont stop me from bringing it onto the plane (at least not yet) and it really is too big.

my real carry on has my boots and and boots and laptop

after having flown away for so many races and hating to check bags, this has been a real boon for me!!!

btw - im starting to really like sebring
turn 17 and 1 are unique!!

[Tireman]

Ted, I've seen the bag you use, so I assume you were checking the bag and not looking to carry it on ?

If so, have you looked at the T&C's on Delta's (and the others) website to see if they have a documented size limit for checked bags?
If they don't, a letter is in order I'd say.

On the other hand, if you were looking to carry it on, most, if not all airlines, as you probably know, have those silly contraptions near the counters or gates that you can try to put your bag in to see if it fits the carry on size limitations. Rare is the bag that fits into them, from my experience.

Viz

[WatertownNewbie]

Originally Posted by dalyduo

Ted, What was the dimension that you exceeded? The question would be is that dimension an arbitrary number that Delta made up to generate the fee or do all the airlines all have the same number but have chosen not to enforce it until now?

It is not an arbitrary number nor special for Delta. The limit is 62 linear inches, which means add the length, width, and height and keep that sum below 62.

By the way, golf club bags are exempt from the linear dimension limit. As for my Sparco bag, perhaps until now the airlines have chosen not to measure and get picky. (Analgous to the slight cushion we generally all get on the highway with respect to the posted speed limit?)

Originally Posted by Tireman

Ted, I've seen the bag you use, so I assume you were checking the bag and not looking to carry it on ?

Yes, checking at the counter. The limit is noted in the various baggage regulations at the Delta website. I did write an email to them in which I mentioned not only my history of flying with the bag as checked luggage on Delta, United, and American, but also the fact that (a) while sitting on the plane I observed several persons with carry-on luggage that clearly exceeded both size and weight limitations and (b) while waiting at the carousel upon arriving in Hartford I observed a couple of bags come out that were even bigger than mine. I got a corporate mumbo-jumbo reply from Delta thanking me for my input (valuable customer, important to get feedback, blah-blah-blah) but telling me that what the guy did in charging me for the bag was correct. So much for even getting a token bit of customer relations.