If you’re headed on a relaxing beach holiday, one of the most frustrating things to deal with is the exorbitant prices charged to rent a beach chair. With this in mind, many people would prefer to bring their own beach chair from home. Alternatively, you might have purchased a beach chair while on holiday. You would like to bring it home with you instead of abandoning it at your holiday destination.
Most airlines will permit you to check a beach chair on a plane. There are several ways to bring a beach chair on a plane. It could be packed into your checked luggage, checked as an additional piece of luggage in a box or on its own, or brought onto the plane as part of your carry-on.
Airlines naturally restrict the size and weight of anything brought onto the plane. Depending on the airline’s specific restrictions and your beach chair’s overall dimensions and weight, you should have no issues getting it onto the plane. Naturally, you should consider the smallest and most lightweight type of beach chair to make traveling easier.
Can You Check A Beach Chair On A Plane?
Whether you have purchased a new beach chair while on holiday that you can’t bear to abandon or would prefer to bring your beach chair from home to use on holiday, rest assured you should be able to bring it onto the plane. Naturally, certain restrictions will apply to bringing a chair onto a plane. As with any other luggage item, the beach chair in question must meet certain criteria.
If your beach chair falls within the permissible size and weight range, the airline will allow you to bring it onto the plane. There are several different ways to bring a beach chair onto a plane. How your beach chair is brought onto the plane will depend on the airline’s restrictions and the size and weight of the beach chair.
Depending on the size and weight of your beach chair, you can pack it into your suitcase, place it into its own bag, wrap it up and check it in on its own, or package it in a carton. This will usually be stipulated by the relevant airline regulations.
Generally speaking, there are no specific restrictions related to a beach chair. As a result, you should be able to bring a beach chair on a plane, provided it falls within the weight and size limitations for checked luggage for that specific airline.
If your beach chair fits into your suitcase, there will be no problems if the suitcase does not exceed the permissible weight for the airline. Suppose your baggage exceeds the allowable weight and size limitations stipulated by the airline. In that case, you will be subject to additional charges by the airline.
How To Pack A Beach Chair On A Plane
To pack a beach chair on a plane, you must decide between several options. Firstly, suppose you want to bring your beach chair onto the plane as part of your carry-on luggage. In that case, it will need to fall within the same weight and dimensional criteria as a standard item of carry-on luggage.
If you are planning to take your beach chair onto the plane as part of your carry-on luggage, you will be better off with a compact version of a beach chair. This will ensure it is small enough to fall within the restrictions while remaining easy to carry around. There are various small, foldable beach chairs available.
Alternatively, you can pack your beach chair into your suitcase, provided it can fit inside. If you are transporting multiple beach chairs, you can pack them into a large tog bag, provided it meets the weight and size criteria.
Another option is to pack your beach chair into a cardboard carton and tape it up before checking it in as an individual luggage item. Alternatively, simply have it tagged and checked as is.
Beach Chairs On Southwest Airlines
On Southwest Airlines, beach chairs are permitted to be checked, provided passengers abide by certain criteria. Southwest counts a beach chair as a checked bag or luggage item. However, the airline stipulates that the beach chair must be boxed to be checked and transported by the airline.
Depending on where you are traveling, the airline may provide you with the necessary carton to pack your beach chair.
Beach Chairs On American Airlines
Each extra item, such as a beach chair with American Airlines, will be a separate checked bag. This means that a single beach chair will count as an entire checked bag. Whether you are flying in economy class or have elite flyer status, you may only be able to take one checked bag without incurring extra charges.
Those who have elite flyer status are permitted three checked bags. If you have more checked items than are permissible with your flight ticket, you will need to pay an extra fee to the airline for every additional bag or item you check in. The cost of these additional checked items, such as beach chairs, will be the same as a standard checked bag.
The price for each additional checked item will depend on the checked fees of the applicable destination. With American Airlines, you are permitted up to 50lbs per item/bag. Its overall dimensions may not exceed a total of 126 inches. This total is calculated by adding up the item’s overall length, width, and height.
Suppose the checked item such as your beach chair exceeds the permissible weight of 50lbs. In that case, the standard overweight fee will apply for items between 50lbs and 70lbs.
Conclusion
Like many other items that can be brought onto a plane, beach chairs are subject to certain restrictions. Provided your beach chair falls within the requirements stipulated by the airline, you should have no issues flying with your beach chair. It’s important, however, to check the most recent set of guidelines issued by the relevant airline to ensure that you abide by the airline’s rules throughout your travels.
Sources
- https://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/how-to-transport-newly-purchased-beach-chairs-mats-noodles-coolers-etc-when-taking-hawaiian-inter-island-flights-689213/
- https://www.aruba.com/forum/f33/question-bringing-beach-chairs-united-64352/
- https://community.southwest.com/t5/Travel-Policies/Checking-a-beach-chair/m-p/136296
- https://community.southwest.com/t5/Travel-Policies/Beach-Chair-as-a-Checked-Bag/td-p/75705
- https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g147247-i144-k11972514-Foldable_beach_chairs_on_a_plane-Aruba.html
- https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/baggage/specialty-and-sports.jsp