Flying with cue.
- Thread starter Mardayo
- Start date
Flying with a Cue
Last time I flew you couldn't board the plane with a cue. I recommend buying a suit case big enough to fit your cue case diagonally in it.
Last time I flew you couldn't board the plane with a cue. I recommend buying a suit case big enough to fit your cue case diagonally in it.
VonMort
Registered
Friends just went to Vegas not too long ago and they had to mail them or pack them in a suitcase. Cues fall into sporting goods which are not allowed to be carried on. I hate the thought of checking my cues. Last time I few with my cues I had mine and the wives in hard cases on a lil cart for carry on's. Waiting in line to board a lady asked me what I played.. I said 8-ball without thinking. LOL.. She said... "Oh.." 
You'll have to check it.
Buy yourself one of these and put your hard case inside. It'll also hold a pair of jeans, shirts and underwear. Put a TSA lock on it and you're good to go.
Lou Figueroa
Attachments
I have used it with a 2x4 Whitten and it fits pretty easily. I think you could also get a 2x1 in there but most of the clothes might have to go separately.
Lou Figueroa
I use to use a soft case to put my hard case into but switch to a larger suit case. TSI inspects both but the handlers know when the pool tournaments are and the soft case becomes a easy target since they know a cue is inside. A larger suit case hides the fact that there is a cue inside.
We are free to carry on ice skates (bladed), bowling balls, tennis racquets, screwdrivers/wrenches (up to 7"), knitting needles (up to 4"), corkscrews, dry ice....
But a pool cue? Heavens no, that could be perceived or used as a weapon!!
That's why the TSA lock. Also, a bag like mine could be anything and, in fact, the agents at the check-in desk always ask "what's in the case?" because its not obvious.
Clearly, anytime you're checking a high value item you're taking a chance. That's why a few years ago I got my wife to give me a "travel" Ginacue for an anniversary present, so my really expense Ginacue never has to leave home.
Lou Figueroa
I'm well aware that that that is possible but it's the risk we all take when flying and checking luggage. I doubt you'd get it past TSA nowadays at most major airports. Maybe some smaller markets have less stringent security.
Basically I choose to trust, have done what I can to minimize my risk, and am willing to suffer the consequences if I get ripped off. So far, after numerous trips all over the country, so good.
Lou Figueroa
I simply print out a big invoice that somebody will post up on here and tell them I want to ensure the bag for the $20,000 or so that the cue stick invoice is for.
Every time i've insured the package while giving it to bag check, it gets personally handed back to me at baggage claim (their internal control that I don't commit fraud and claim somebody stole my bag off the conveyor belt).
They will still open the bag, but it gets some personal treatment. And if they want to loose my cue in transit, then i'll be able to purchase a new one at whatever event i'm going to with the insurance payment.
Last time it was $10-20 for insurance (2011).
Every time i've insured the package while giving it to bag check, it gets personally handed back to me at baggage claim (their internal control that I don't commit fraud and claim somebody stole my bag off the conveyor belt).
They will still open the bag, but it gets some personal treatment. And if they want to loose my cue in transit, then i'll be able to purchase a new one at whatever event i'm going to with the insurance payment.
Last time it was $10-20 for insurance (2011).
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As many have posted..no, you can't currently carry a pool cue on a flight but TSA makes mistakes in both directions and I'm sure occasionally people do. A year or so ago they almost changed the rule but at the last minute left it as is.
I fly a lot for work and have for 25 years. I've gone thru stretches for years where I would never check a bag because of a bad experience and I've had strings of checking bags probably 100 times in a row without a single issue. A lot of it has to do with the type of flight. If I fly Delta , Detroit to Atlanta, checking a bag is low risk. Both cities are Delta hubs, if it gets left behind there is another flight an hour or so later and I have a high enough "status" with Delta for the bag to be checked free and get special tagging and treatment. Its generally one of the first on the belt. If I am changing planes with a short layover time or using multiple airlines or would be really screwed if the bag didn't get there when I did..... I'll carry it on. The bags definitely get a lot of wear and tear when checked but I've never had anything outright disappear or get destroyed. That being said I wouldn't ever check anything worth more than a grand $$ or something I couldn't replace.... stuff does happen.
The easiest and best way I've found to bring a cue is to get a hard side, plastic or aluminum, utility case (rifle, bow, shotgun... whatever) that my regular case will fit into with room for a layer or two of bubble wrap and be done with it. Not a cloth bag with a little plastic inside to hold the shape....a real hard case. If you wouldn't be comfortable standing on it, it isn't what you want. Mine is a ratty old aluminum case that was originally for some type of surveying equipment I think. I got it on Ebay years ago.
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