Flying Basic Economy with gear

[Fitmom]

How do you pack your gear? Usually I bring my Dakine boot bag stuffed with my boots and helmet (boots have my pants and stuff in them). We do a carry on with the rest of essentials and then a sportstube with our skis, poles and husbands boots.

We’re making another trip to Colorado next weekend and I’m trying to figure out how to bring my helmet and a personal item (needs to fit under seat) while flying basic economy.

 

[MissySki]

I usually clip my helmet to my purse or carryon and then put it under the seat with my purse. It’s never been questioned, but I’ve always planned to stick it on my head to board if they gave a problem lol.

 

[Fitmom]

Haha. That’s what I’ll plan on. We aren’t the best at planning ahead and these last minute trips get us haha

 

[SarahXC]

This approach went viral a year or so back. Still I think wearing the helmet would be a whole lot easier...

 

[elemmac]

I normally bring a backpack that will fit under the seat, generally with my helmet clipped to the outside of it too. One of my packs is a tight fit under the seat, but has a helmet carry feature on it that helps keep everything packaged together nicely.

This was with my boots clipped to it too, but without them, it’ll squeeze under the seat. This gave me two options if anyone gave me a hard time, put on boots, helmet or both.

 

[marzNC]

When I started flying with boots for trips out west, I used a Transpack SideKick for boots and helmet plus a carry-on size suitcase and checked a ski bag. Usually took the boots out of the pack and carried them over my shoulder when boarding. I put the boots and helmet in the overhead and didn't get much grief. But the helmet and Transpack can squeeze under a seat, depending on how stuffed it is.

 

[Christy]

I'd just check everything in as few bags as possible and carry on your boots. It's definitely a drawback not being able to use the overhead bin. Does your airline allow you to check a boot and ski bag together as one item? If so, maybe use the boot bag and stuff it and the ski bag as full as possible (maybe then you don't also have to check a suitcase?), then just hand carry your boots on and put them under the seat.

I know airlines have dimensions for the "personal item" someone in basic economy can have. If you were planning to try to bring a backpack and stuff it under the seat, you might look at travel forms like Trip Advisor (they have an air travel forum) to see how rigidly they enforce size rules in basic, or if people are getting away with larger packs than are technically allowed but that still fit under the seat.

 

[DvR]

I have a bag that carries my boots and the helmet also fits on it and have always carried it on the plane but sometimes I have to take the helmet off to fit in the overhead. My clothes get checked in and I shipped my skis via Luggage Forward.

 

[NYC2VT]

I usually clip my helmet to my purse or carryon and then put it under the seat with my purse. It’s never been questioned, but I’ve always planned to stick it on my head to board if they gave a problem lol.

my friend had to do that a few years back- he was going on a work trip to Utah and tagged on a few days to ski after the meeting. so he's at JFK in business attire and had to put on the helmet to board

 

[alison wong]

My friend and I flew basic economy to Big Sky last year, we had no access to overhead bins and could only put our bags under seats.

When we got on the plane, my friend saw there was space in overhead bin, she just put her Dakine ski bag there. She did the same for both "to" and "from" trips. No one checked or said anything.

I wonder, once you get on the plane, would flight attendants really bother to check?

 

[santacruz skier]

Not skiing but this is kind of funny. A bit of a thread drift. I flew basic economy (no carryon) from Puerto Vallarta to San Jose - also means you cannot get a seat in advance (not even 24 hours). So at checkin I was given a PREMIUM economy seat as those were the only seats left.

 

[MissySki]

my friend had to do that a few years back- he was going on a work trip to Utah and tagged on a few days to ski after the meeting. so he's at JFK in business attire and had to put on the helmet to board

This is awesome!!

 

[Christy]

My friend and I flew basic economy to Big Sky last year, we had no access to overhead bins and could only put our bags under seats.

When we got on the plane, my friend saw there was space in overhead bin, she just put her Dakine ski bag there. She did the same for both "to" and "from" trips. No one checked or said anything.

I wonder, once you get on the plane, would flight attendants really bother to check?

You'd have to get really lucky, if you are boarding last as basic economy requires, to find room in the overhead bin. So while it could happen you wouldn't want to count on it. You'd have to hope that everyone else in basic economy wasn't also planning on flouting the rules.

 

[marzNC]

My friend and I flew basic economy to Big Sky last year, we had no access to overhead bins and could only put our bags under seats.

When we got on the plane, my friend saw there was space in overhead bin, she just put her Dakine ski bag there. She did the same for both "to" and "from" trips. No one checked or said anything.

I wonder, once you get on the plane, would flight attendants really bother to check?

My guess is that it would only be an issue if someone boarding relatively late needed space in an overhead bin. Flight attendants seem unlikely to be checking while many people are boarding. It's not like the boarding passes are color-coded. The airline would need to provide tags for all carry-on bags going into an overhead bin for people who buy the more expensive tickets.