Flying with Cue Sticks

[CrankyThunder]

Never flown with my cues before, how do you guys fly commercial airlines with your cue sticks?

Is it ok as a carry on piece of luggage?

Do you pack your cues in your cue case and then stuff it in your suitcase and let it go in the general baggage compartment?

Ever have any problems with damage in the luggage compartment?

Thank you.

 

[Icon of Sin]

Supposed to check them with/in your luggage. I've heard some people got through with them as a carry on but those results are very inconsistent. I believe the actual law/rule/guideline/whatever is to check them.

 

[garczar]

Never flown with my cues before, how do you guys fly commercial airlines with your cue sticks?

Is it ok as a carry on piece of luggage?

Do you pack your cues in your cue case and then stuff it in your suitcase and let it go in the general baggage compartment?

Ever have any problems with damage in the luggage compartment?

Thank you.

They have to be checked. No carry on.

 

[bbb]

Never flown with my cues before, how do you guys fly commercial airlines with your cue sticks?

Is it ok as a carry on piece of luggage?

Do you pack your cues in your cue case and then stuff it in your suitcase and let it go in the general baggage compartment?

Ever have any problems with damage in the luggage compartment?

Thank you.

Never had a problem
I put case(hard) in my duffle bag
Clothes all around it
I put tsa locks on the zippers of the case
And for the duffle bag
Did have case inspected once
Tsa left a note stating so

 

[DryFlyTrout]

I've never done it. If/when I do, I'd strongly consider mailing them next day to the hotel I was staying at. I know quite a few people who have lost their luggage flying. Or just had it rerouted around the world for a bit. UPS doesn't seem to lose packages as frequently.

 

[hang-the-9]

Never flown with my cues before, how do you guys fly commercial airlines with your cue sticks?

Is it ok as a carry on piece of luggage?

Do you pack your cues in your cue case and then stuff it in your suitcase and let it go in the general baggage compartment?

Ever have any problems with damage in the luggage compartment?

Thank you.

Unless you absolutely must have your main cues/shafts with you, it's safer to buy a cheap travel cue to carry around with you on vacatoins/work trips. Just get a cheap butt with the same pin as your shafts and bring that with you in the luggage with a soft case. Mailing with insurance is probably safer than flying with them.

 

[Biloxi Boy]

Ship ahead to a known/identified person who agrees to receive and care for them. (Be sure to insure your cue and case with a rider on your insurance.) This method worked fine for me, but I was not traveling frequently. I also preferred to fly "carry on only". If I had traveled a lot, the cost of shipping might have been prohibitive, but now at least one carrier is charging to check baggage, so shipping should be cheaper or, at a minimum, break even.

 

[Dognit]

If you like your cues/worth something, ship them. I lost a bag on a non-stop direct flight. Over 6k worth of clothes, cue/case, prescription glasses etc. Airline gave me $600, (and fought me over EVERYTHING) Home owners insurance gave me $1800 (balance owed after airline check, less "collectables") I proved EVERYTHING with replacement costs, Cue maker letter etc. Clothes depreciate they said....and Collectables (cue) are not covered in loss. One of the biggest clusterfuks in my life. My guess is the bag scanner-xray guy saw a cue and nabbed it.

I went all the way to the TSA about carryons. They claim a cue can be used as a weapon. I asked if they ever have been hit in the head with a guitar. They were not amused.

Shipping a cue, you can declare value upfront. Its a pain, and expensive. Last cue/case I shipped cost about $85 for $1500 declared value via USPS.

I now just have a cue stored in all my travel destinations, although it is never your favorite to play with. It really just sucks.......no good solutions.

 

[Black-Balled]

I don't fly that much and the s*** I've seen happen to check bags frightens me.

Sure, you can stick a tank of a case inside of a carry-on, but now you've got a valuable cue and evaluable case to lose.

As said before, mail them to a place you trust if you must have them

 

[Chicagoplayer]

Never flown with my cues before, how do you guys fly commercial airlines with your cue sticks?

Is it ok as a carry on piece of luggage?

Do you pack your cues in your cue case and then stuff it in your suitcase and let it go in the general baggage compartment?

Ever have any problems with damage in the luggage compartment?

Thank you.

Be careful if your cue contains ivory anything and certain species of rosewood are banned,
They’ll confiscate your cue and bring charges on banned items.
Check the CITES website.

 

[jimmyco]

Be careful if your cue contains ivory anything and certain species of rosewood are banned,
They’ll confiscate your cue and bring charges on banned items.
Check the CITES website.

Is this happening on domestic flights?

I thought Customs handled this as TSA has more than they are qualified for screening for explosives and weapons.

 

[jay helfert]

Spirit Airlines broke my favorite playing cue on a flight from Houston to L.A. It was packed in a Justis hard case and that was put in a large travel bag. It had to have been removed and broken somewhere along the way. It did not come down with the regualkr luggage and I had to go to the Spirit office to collect it. They knew something was wrong with my cue and tried to hide it out of sight. No insurance, no nothing! Never flew Spirit again!

 

[mikemosconi]

I would never recommend placing any item worth more than a few hundred dollars in a checked bag. Either buy a cheap cue and case to pack or just ship it ahead.
At one time guys like Balabushka could send his cues COD ( cash on delivery) via regular U.S. mail parcel post and never have an issue- the world is not the same.