I was traveling from Beijing to US last month via United Airline and surprised that they let me carry my racquets on board. I noticed that US bound passengers goes through more thorough screening. They searched my bag at the security and then again at the gate when boarding the plane.
i would say to the person that regulates what is hand luggage, "if this breaks are you gonna pay for it? cause it costs XXXXX(usually say over 300 dollars)" then the person will be afraid and be oh ok, its just a badminton racquet anyways, also if that doesn't work, just tell the person how fragile they are, and if used as a weapon, it probably would break before the other person even gets a bruise
My wife & I went to Hong Kong last month. On our way back to Manila, we were not allowed to "hand carry" the racket my wife bought. So we ended up packing it in our luggage before checking them in.
Update! Just went though the airport last week. And in my experience, no one even stop to ask me about my rackets as a carry on. Not even during the x-ray machine. So I suppose it's fine to carry them on domestically. Not sure about internationally though as I don't have an recent experience in that area.
those girl at the entrance who checks handcarry baggages are annoyingly strict on the size limit. furthermore, the size limit for boarding in the HKG airport is stricter (smaller) than the general accepted limit in other countries like the US. that makes it much harder to carry things onto the airplane. and often due to how strict they are, it often turn into an unpleasant experience if a wheel or a handle sticks out from your carry-on bag.
Thats suprising. I have no problem carrying rackets to Manila from HK. I'm using the normal badminton bag used by the pros. Even from Malaysia to HK i have always been hand carrying them.
one more word of advice for boarding in HK, it is generally easier to carry a soft shoulder bag onto the airplane than a rigid case like those roller bags. i guess they know that the objects are more compressible and they will less likely to be able to stop you. i usually keep my rackets safe in my hard shell suitcase when i travel to HK.
My dad retired from Air Canada (still get his benefits ) and I commute betw vancouver and toronto about 3-4 times a year and have had no issues bringing rackets (i've brought 4) as carry on. Details: -I only have 2 bags when i fly: 1) My yonex 724 6 racket bag (backpack straps) containing all my clothes and my rackets are stored in racket cases (2 per case) 2) My notebook bag containing my notebook, ipod, and nintendo DS Lite. Both bags are carry on. In the event that my racket bag is deemed "too big" as carry on...i simply pull out my rackets (already in cases w/straps) and take them as carry on while I check in my racket bag. Anything larger then a 6 racket bag will not make it as carry on. Never tried international flights. Just domestic. Hope this helps for all you canadians!
How to bring a racket onto the plane? Hi, I am interested in buying a racket aboard and bring it with me onto a plane. I afraid that I would break that if I put that in my suitcase. Generally, does the airline usually let you bring the racket as a carry-on luggage onto a plane? k
Short answer to your question - they will generally NOT let you handcarry a racquet on an international flight. So stow the racquet in your suitcase (preferrably a hard shell one) surrounded by all your clothes as "padding".
I had a couple of (international) experiences.. ..the first one was over 2 yrs ago as i traveled from S'pore back to the U.S. At that time, i decided to carry my racket as a carry-on. During the screening process after it went thru the x-ray, just before i boarded, the security people asked me to open up the bag, asked me what it is, and inspected the racket. Fortunately, i was let thru and on i went with my racket. Funny thing was, i also brought some tubes of shuttles. When they ran the tubes into the x-ray machine, they immediately asked me to open them and see what's inside. I showed them the "birdies" and off i went. The second time around was this yr, as i also brought back a racket. But this time i went thru 2 airports. First airport, same thing and same security screening procedure. But this time, to my surprise, the officer didn't ask me to open and check the bag. I was let thru with ease. Then on my transit trip, i had to go thru another screening procedure and i was let thru with ease Personally, i like to carry it/them as a carry-on luggage (put in the overhead compartment). I thought about putting it in the suitcase/luggage along with the clothes, but putting it/them in the suitcase/luggage can be a bit risky (due to the racket(s) being fragile & being squeezed into a tight compartment). And all those possible pounding when the luggage loader "throws around" the suitcases/luggages. Although, i'm sure many of us have ordered rackets from overseas..And who knows what those package handlers might have done to our orders.
Well, i went to Japan and Taiwan this summer, and bought rackets in taiwan. My uncle gave me his two older ones as well. I also bought 6 tubes of feather birdies. The birdies, i packed in the checked luggage. The rackets, i had the two my uncle gave me in one bag and my new MP88 in its own bag. Security from Taiwan to JP, they didnt mind at all, i just walked on, and the for takeoff and landing i put them under the seat in front of me, during flight, they were on my lap, or beside my legs, leaning against the seat. Japan to USA was much the same, but due to the longer flight, it was under the seat in front of me all the time. The security was no different, tho this time, i saw the screener pause the image and look at the rackets carefully...(note: i could see the monitor and saw the Ultinum Ti in the shaft-hazy rods, and the T-joints-t shaped objects), but no major problems. I also went thru HK, but it was really quick and I went thru wo/any trouble
So you could have your racquets with you as carry-on from HK to US? If so, then I am feeling pretty happy right now,
yes, i could have. i only stopped at their airport for like 5 housrs, but we went out of security to shop the stores in the sirport, so we didnt leave customs, but security let me through without a hitch! good luck!!! i carried them all the way on the flight, and the only thing was during takeoff and landing, since they had to be under the seats in front of me, i was worried about stepping on them, but just be careful, and take them out as soon as takeoff is over. I have gotten away with it out on takeoff tho, depends on your airline and flight attendants
I see, I flew with United last time (but for other reasons, I won't again, ). I'm planning my next trip for Air Canada to HK, I'll drop the same question here again when I finalize my trip (sometime next year) and see if anything has changed. But so far, Canada has similar flight policies to the US, except being more lax, so things sound good for me, .
Just curious.. ..why didn't you store/put your rackets inside the overhead compartment??..that way you'll have more leg space and don't have to be hassled with holding on or moving them....did you carry a large racket bag?? were there not enough space in the o.h. compartment??..
well, ther overhead compartments on our international flight were plenty large, but there were like 4 pieces of baggage already in there and they move. i never trust overhead bins with long fragile object.... luckily for me, there was turbulence in flight, alot of it, and so if i put it in there, it may have been crushed... im a student, i dont have that much money to buy another racket!!! but, i would if i had a large racket bag...it eould occupy the whole bin, so nothing else could fit!!! i had the small individual racket bags, so they weren't a big hassle. better dafe thean sorry!
Ah, i see.. ..okay, that explains it..I thought you had a larger racket bag to store the rackets..Actually, for myself, i put my racket & racket bag *on top* of the carry-on luggage; so, that way, it won't get "crushed" (we experienced 1 lengthy heavy turbulence also on the flight back)
