Heads Up Vegas Bound: New Luggage Charges!

[Fast Lenny]

I flew Delta a few weeks ago RT to NY and i packed one suitcase and one carry on.I put my cue is a soft case,Earl Strickland style,lol and put it in sideways in between my clothes in the suitcase and it fit in fine,plus i knew it would be protected and not singled out as being a pool cue if it were checked by itself.

 

[easy-e]

I'm going to offer some advice here, take it or leave it. Get a weapon case from Pelican. They make nice hard black cases that you can lock. They are designed to carry rifles (at least that's why we use them) so they are long enough to hold a cue. I am packing for Vegas right now and have my Instroke case full of cues resting comfortably in my luggage. After my cue is in there, I have room for all of my toiletries and at least four outfits and an extra pair of shoes. I take it every time I fly! You could throw this thing off of a building and nothing will get hurt.

 

[BRKNRUN]

I'm going to offer some advice here, take it or leave it. Get a weapon case from Pelican. They make nice hard black cases that you can lock. They are designed to carry rifles (at least that's why we use them) so they are long enough to hold a cue. I am packing for Vegas right now and have my Instroke case full of cues resting comfortably in my luggage. After my cue is in there, I have room for all of my toiletries and at least four outfits and an extra pair of shoes. I take it every time I fly! You could throw this thing off of a building and nothing will get hurt.

Well...I guess.......the good news is......if your plane crashes your cue will survive...

 

[SphinxnihpS]

I fly very rarely.

What I am having a hard time believing is that ANYONE would consider a poolcue dangerous.

but

I have a far harder time believing that anyone would actually tell me with a straigh face (it's the internet, he may have been smirking), that they feel safer because you can't carry pool cues on airplanes. I laughed my ass off.

No problem with the $25. Big problem dropping $3500 into the hands of men paid to throw luggage around. I've been to the airport enough times to see how they handle luggage.

Positive I would be happier if everyone on the plane had a gun, RPG, or pocket nuke.

 

[J$Cincy]

I'm going to offer some advice here, take it or leave it. Get a weapon case from Pelican. They make nice hard black cases that you can lock. They are designed to carry rifles (at least that's why we use them) so they are long enough to hold a cue. I am packing for Vegas right now and have my Instroke case full of cues resting comfortably in my luggage. After my cue is in there, I have room for all of my toiletries and at least four outfits and an extra pair of shoes. I take it every time I fly! You could throw this thing off of a building and nothing will get hurt.

BECAREFUL, AS YOU CANNOT LOCK YOUR BAGS. IF YOUR BAG IS THE LUCKY ONE THAT GETS XRAYED THEY WILL LITERALLY CUT THE LOCKS OFF OR BREAK THE LOCK AS NEED BE. THE FAA HAS A BAG OUT WITH A LOCK, BUT EVERY BAG TAKES THE SAME KEY, SO THEY CAN GET INTO ANY BAG THEY CHOOSE. SO IF YOU LOCK THAT THEY WILL PROBABLY BREAK IT OPEN AND YOUR SHIT WILL BE FALLING OUT ALL OVER, IF THE LATCH IS BROKEN IN THIS PROCESS...JS

 

[ragoo1]

I just got back Sunday from Vegas and flew Southwest without additional charges. There are additional charges if your bag weighs over 60lbs I believe

 

[easy-e]

BECAREFUL, AS YOU CANNOT LOCK YOUR BAGS. IF YOUR BAG IS THE LUCKY ONE THAT GETS XRAYED THEY WILL LITERALLY CUT THE LOCKS OFF OR BREAK THE LOCK AS NEED BE. THE FAA HAS A BAG OUT WITH A LOCK, BUT EVERY BAG TAKES THE SAME KEY, SO THEY CAN GET INTO ANY BAG THEY CHOOSE. SO IF YOU LOCK THAT THEY WILL PROBABLY BREAK IT OPEN AND YOUR SHIT WILL BE FALLING OUT ALL OVER, IF THE LATCH IS BROKEN IN THIS PROCESS...JS

False. I travel all the time and bring that bag every where! They simply send it through the x-ray machine with me standing right there. Once it passes through I am free to go with a guarantee that the lock will not be removed. Don't take my word for it, see for yourself.

 

[wayneward]

Locks

You can lock your bags with a TSA approved lock that you can buy at Wal-mart for a few dollars. TSA has a set of the master keys. No problem, I fly alot.....

The hard shelled golf bags are a great idea....

 

[Celtic]

You have been required since, I believe 9/11, since they can be used as a weapon. I don't mind - better than some fantic terroist taking a swing at the pilot with his cue.

How is a terrorist going to take a swing at a pilot with a cue through their locked reinforced door that seperates the pilots cabin from the rest of the plane again?

There are far more dangerous objects that are allowed to be carried onto a plane then a pool cue.

That said I have no idea why they do not have a large lockable storage compartment in the cabin of the plane where people can put their carry on goods that are assumed to be a possible weapon. The stuff goes into the compartment, the compartment is locked previous to the planes door being closed, and it is not unlocked until the plane's door is again opened at the arrival airport gate. This way people can carry their smaller items like a pool cue onto a plane and yet during the flight that item is locked away in a compartment that is not accessable until the plane lands. I would be totally fine with this type of system and it is not at all hard for the airlines and airport security to implement.

 

[easy-e]

How is a terrorist going to take a swing at a pilot with a cue through their locked reinforced door that seperates the pilots cabin from the rest of the plane again?

There are far more dangerous objects that are allowed to be carried onto a plane then a pool cue.

That said I have no idea why they do not have a large lockable storage compartment in the cabin of the plane where people can put their carry on goods that are assumed to be a possible weapon. The stuff goes into the compartment, the compartment is locked previous to the planes door being closed, and it is not unlocked until the plane's door is again opened at the arrival airport gate. This way people can carry their smaller items like a pool cue onto a plane and yet during the flight that item is locked away in a compartment that is not accessable until the plane lands. I would be totally fine with this type of system and it is not at all hard for the airlines and airport security to implement.

All this security, IMO, is pointless. If someone wants to bomb a plane, or hijack it, they can do it. These security measures just make people feel better and stop the really DUMB terrorists.

 

[Race2-9]

2nd bag fee

I fly often and check my bags (clothing and cue) I check one bag of clothes and the second is a Haliburton type case sold by Mueller. I lock the cue case and when checking in, as easy-e says, I stand at security and they x-ray the case and then I go to my gate. Rarely, TSA will open the cue case container, look inside, then relock the case hand me back the key and off I go. As for the fee for a second bag, I think it's a RIP OFF...THE AIRLINE MAKES YOU CHECK A CUE THEN CHARGE YOU TO DO SO. Main thing to do is either add insurance to the bag with the cue because the coverage on lost or damaged property is no where near the cost if covered at all. Lastly if wishing to lock bags with a lock, use TSA approved locks and they can unlock them without destroying the lock. GOOD LUCK hope this helps

 

[Celtic]

All this security, IMO, is pointless. If someone wants to bomb a plane, or hijack it, they can do it. These security measures just make people feel better and stop the really DUMB terrorists.

This is 100% correct. The reality is 9/11 was a success for the terrorists not because security measures were too lax, it was a success because security FAILED. The terrorists managed to get box cutters and all of the stuff needed to make a fake looking bomb onto the plane. Box cutters were not allowed to be taken onto a plane even before 9/11 so the problem was not too lenient security measures, it was the fact that the airport security failed to stop the items that were already banned from making it onto the plane.

The whole "well now you cannot take on a pool cue or a bottle of water!" bullcrap is the ultimate misdirection by airport security. The fact is they failed to stop the items that were already banned and therefore 9/11 took place. How the hell did they let people slip through with friggin box cutters, large lumps of clay/plasticine that looks like explosives, wires, and all that other stuff? Was the X-Ray broken that day? Security could not even stop the items they were already supposed to, so they add more items as if that was the problem and not their inability to do their job in the first place, WTG.

 

[Luxury]

It is the height of idiocy that you even have to check a pool cue, there are fountain pens that would be a more deadly weapon in the hands of a person that actually wants to do something stupid on a plane. Now we get to pay for the privilege of checking our cues and risking them being stolen or damaged by the baggage handlers while the airline claims flat out they will not insure the cue or guarentee it's safety.

Thank god I am driving. If I were you I would take that $50 you will need to pay anyway and put it towards a very large suitcase that can take your cuecase within it. I have a hard 3X6 case that fits diagonal into my very large suitcase and feel alot better about my cuecase going in like that buried in clothes.

A few years ago There was a bad pool fight between my friend and a big guy who was beating on my unconscious friend who had had his head slammed into a ledge while my girlfriend was underneath both of them. (She had foolishly tried to stop the fight.) I took the butt of my break cue and hit him over the head to stop it all. He jumped up and said, "You didn't hit me hard enough! You wanna fight with sticks?!!!"

He grabbed a house cue and tried to unscrew it to no avail. Mean while I'm holding the butt end of my cue like a club yelling, "Come on!" In my head I was wondering what would happen if he charged me and I thrusted the screw end of the butt into his chest. The casino security came into the pool room and grabbed him before I could ever find out. I do know if he had picked up a pen I would have felt like a huge favorite.

The security cameras were reviewed and they decided that I did the right thing and didn't ban me. I was also told that if I was stronger the blow could have killed him and I'm lucky I only weigh 185.

Anyone ever seen the screw end of a cue butt stabbed into someone's body or eye for that matter. did it penetrate?

 

[Celtic]

I do know if he had picked up a pen I would have felt like a huge favorite.

You might have felt differently in the tight confines of the aile of a plane cabin, a low ceiling, and even lower storage cabins over the seats. If the guy had a expensive metal pen or metal mecahnical pencil he is going to be one hell of alot more likely to get inside your defence before you can effectively swing that cue with all those things in the way and then it is over.

 

[Luxury]

You might have felt differently in the tight confines of the aile of a plane cabin, a low ceiling, and even lower storage cabins over the seats. If the guy had a expensive metal pen or metal mecahnical pencil he is going to be one hell of alot more likely to get inside your defence before you can effectively swing that cue with all those things in the way and then it is over.

I guarantee a strong man could easily knock unconsious the stewardesses and the pilot with the butt of pool cue. That is why they are not allowed on a plane. The point is that the stewardess or the pilot could grab a quality pen but they are not guaranteed to defend themselves.

In reality though, knowing what we know about hijackers the whole plane would gang tackle a terrorist with either weapon I would hope.