Hoverboards banned on airlines

[tomtnt]

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/delta-hoverboards-fire-danger-bans-35701572?nfo=/desktop_newsfeed_ab_refer_homepage

wow - this sucks! will they really take the time to distinguish between Piece of shit hoverboard and the onewheel? probably not - I'm pretty sure no onewheel on flights either.

About to head to the Bahamas next week and was planning on taking the onewheel via United. what a bummer.

[LGUMI]

lol, the NYC police station claimed to ban people riding hoverboard as well, but those cops don't give a shit to the hoverboard riders in fact.....

[tomtnt]

@LGUMI NYPD has better things to do - airline backage checkers, not so much... would love to hear from someone who's taken a recent united flight! would hate to be turned away and have to leave my OW in airport storage!

[craiger123]

I know just saw the clip minutes ago. I'm sure you won't be able to even have them in checked luggage either!

Dang!!!

[braswell]

DAMMIT...I have a month long Euro trip coming up that I was planning on taking my onewheel on! I leave this saturday on american flight... fuckers, I hope I don't have an issue.

[tomtnt]

@braswell good luck and please keep us updated...if nothing else, the OW looks nothing like those Piece of crap

[scalthom]

Awesome... I was hoping to take mine down to Florida on Tuesday with Jet Blue. If any of you guys traveling before Tuesday try to take your onewheels on a plane can you let me know how it works out?

[skideeppow]

The article i read said any self balancing propolsion device is banned. The problem is the 48 volt Lithium Ion battery. Really blows.

[forzabucks]

Looking like 2 options now:

Ship these out to your destination ahead of time (like golf clubs or skis)

Onewheel rental opportunities should open up in key markets

[skideeppow]

@forzabucks
glad i saved my box. great idea.

[piratenyberg]

Article says lithium ion batteries are banned which are used in those cheap two wheeled devices from China,while your onewheel uses a lithium iron phosphate battery which is probably still allowed. This is assuming the airline clerk has some knowledge of any type of chemistry.

[braswell]

@piratenyberg

[braswell]

I think Im going to have to leave it home now :-1: I rather not chance it, I'm sure I can get it past security in MIA Airport by checking it in my luggage but I don't want to risk having any issues in London a month from now when I try to return home. Shipping would be a bitch... damn cheap ass Chinese batteries!!!

[tomtnt]

@piratenyberg Lol, I'm pretty sure the underpaid baggage handlers and ticket counter lady will not care about the differences between different lithium chemistry...

http://qz.com/565173/every-major-us-airlines-policy-on-bringing-a-hoverboard-with-you-on-your-flight/

well, lets just say pretty much every airline has banned any sort of powered devices > 100WH (the onewheel is 132WH). Southwest allows up to 160WH devices.

I guess I will be leaving mine at home instead of the Bahamas =(

[nhindi2007]

has anyone flew with their onewheel since this ban?

[scalthom]

This post is deleted!

[scalthom]

Sorry for the double post.... I asked Onewheel and the following is what I got for a response:

From my understanding as long as your board is in your luggage and not clearly marked with lithium ion battery you should be able to fly with no problems. I also believe that TSA does not enforce these new regulations and if you carry-on your board you should be able to put it in the overhead bin/under your seat without any issue. You can find your board's battery information located on the underside of the board (just in case you are asked). Since are batteries are not removable the airline should not give you any trouble (I guess there are more strict regulations regarding removable batteries). We have flown all over the world with boards as carry-ons or checked with no problems. Hopefully this still holds true and those so called "hoverboards" don't ruin the fun for everyone.

[tomtnt]

@scalthom yea, TSA doesn't give a crap -the airlines are covering their asses though... even if 8 times out of 10 they let you on, have to ask youself if you have a backup plan for when you are denied passage

Here's United's statement:

"Personal devices installed with a lithium battery of less than 100 watt hours are permitted in carry-on and checked baggage. " - the OW clearly states 132WH on it.

Southwest:

"Due to concerns regarding the lithium batteries used in hoverboards (balance boards, gravity boards, self-balancing devices, etc.), effective Saturday, December 12, 2015, Southwest Airlines will not transport hoverboards in either checked luggage or as a carryon item."

you should just argue that there's NO battery in it - that you just use it to practice your balance.... lol

[braswell]

Update...

So I decided to leave my board behind and boy was that the right decision. Not even 2 minutes walking into the airport I see large poster signs at the gate check in with photos of the 2 wheeled boards, a solowheel and one of those big 1- wheeled bike thingys

With prohibited all over, I laughed then proceeded to check in my bags, not even a hello "do you have any Lithium batteries or hover boards in there?" I noticed a sheet with the same hoverboard photos on her and every other counter. Looks like they're in full force.

Haha well this sucks :// I guess all my future plans of roaming the world on my onewheel have been stomped

I'm not shipping for now but damn I really wish those piece of crap boards coulda waited a month to catch fire! - as others have mentioned it's probably not worth trying to get pass at the moment since it's such a topical subject for the holidays.

[scalthom]

Thanks for the update.... Looks like $85 to ship to Florida for the holidays. Amazing, because I paid $79 for my flight from DCA to FLL.

[tomtnt]

Even boosted board with their 99WH batteries are now prohibited:

https://m.reddit.com/r/boostedboards/comments/3wjr0r/at_the_airport_with_my_boosted_board_and_tsa_just/

[braswell]

@tomtnt damn no one is safe!!! haha this is really a bummer, I travel a lot for work and fun, already had so many plans to take this little guy everywhere :(

[NYC]

This had me pretty bummed out as I live in NYC and going to Fresno for the holidays. I really wanted to take advantage of the wide open streets to get some good carving in. I got quotes from Fedex and UPS and they were really high. Then I tried this app called Shyp after seeing them all over the subway cars. They picked up my Onewheel (I kept the original box) in 20 minutes professionally packaged it themselves and it's already on it's way to Fresno for 51 bucks. Also with 1500 dollars of insurance. Expected delivery is 6 days.

[J-Glide]

Sounds like I'll be doing more road trips than flying. At least flying with it was fun while it lasted.

[sml]

Ridiculous. Taking my board come Wednesday. bastards. Through heaven or hell.

[thegreck]

@sml said:

Ridiculous. Taking my board come Wednesday. bastards. Through heaven or hell.

You mean you're going to try to take it on an airplane? Good luck man! Let us know what happens and which airline/airport! It really pisses me off that those stupid cheap-ass "hoverboards" are ruining it for everyone else!

[Grace]

read this article before you buy one
http://bit.ly/1IpDFpa

Hoverborad is banned on amazon now , no one can buy from it

[callenj357]

@Grace They are banned on Amazon because they are low quality SHIT. Notice how the Razor hovertrax is NOT banned. The boards being banned are very low quality and not worth a cent. Don't come to these boards and spam info about your shit please.

[mdwatson1957]

In checking major airline websites it now appears that airlines are not accepting any type of board device with lithium ion batteries regardless of battery size

[forzabucks]

The Onewheel is a lithium iron phosphate battery, but good luck explaining the difference to TSA workers during the holiday rush...or anytime for that matter.

[callenj357]

@forzabucks A Lithium iron phosphate battery is a type of Lithium ion battery. But usually a higher quality one compared to the hoverboard lithium cobalt oxide batteries. There are well know safety risks with lithium cobalt oxide batteries, especially when damaged. Lithium iron phosphate batteries usually have a lower power density compared to lithium cobalt oxide, but are much safer.

Try explaining that to TSA and watch their eyes gloss over.

[forzabucks]

The only analogy I can think of in regards to the airlines response would be the following:

Someone tried bringing an alligator on a plane, so the airlines made sure to ban anything with four legs and teeth.

Now I can't bring my dog on a plane.

[MichaelW]

Who's flown since the ban? Has anyone tried to check their OneWheel on a flight yet? As a check in? I am sure if you just check it in and don't tell them what it is you should be fine. Maybe even just put it in an unmarked box? Any rebels out there try this yet?

[mdwatson1957]

I would be very careful about just checking a board in your luggage without disclosing this to the airline. I believe you need to verify during check-in that you are not transporting any forbidden items. This could be a federal offense. It could also result in your board being confiscated should it be discovered in your bag.

[forzabucks]

If you want it wherever you are going, just ship it ahead of time to be safe. Not worth having it stuck in TSA limbo, which is basically the worst kind of limbo there is, and I'm including the limbo that borders Hell.

[jp]

We could set up a separate forum topic for holiday home exchanges where a OW comes with the house.

[sml]

@thegreck
No go. Didn't let it pass through security heading to miami airport.
This sucks. I need a board in miami

[MichaelW]

@sml Sucks! Damit! Those pretend Hoverboards officially ruined it!

Why do they call them hoverboards anyway... They are forward facing and they have wheels.... NOT A HOVERBOARD PEOPLE!!!

American, Alaska, Delta, Hawaiian, JetBlue, Southwest and United Airlines have banned hoverboards on passenger flights, and the US Postal Service has stopped shipping hoverboards by air as well. Amazon and Target both temporarily suspended sales, and Overstock.com has stopped selling hoverboards at all.

[Dude]

Check this post to help complain to the Airlines about this.

Post with Links to Airline complaint pages by: @callenj357

[scalthom]

It only cost $42 and took two days to send mine from DC to south Florida last week via UPS

[toddtimes]

Just saw this thread and thought I'd relate my own experience: I took mine on Alaska Airlines as carryon on 4 separate flights (SFO-SEA-MSY-SEA-RDM) right around new years, didn't see any signage about hoverboards and the worst thing TSA did was swab it down on my first leg from SFO to MSY. No questions asked by the airline (despite a blog post stating a ban on "hoverboards" on Dec 10th) and it went into the overhead both directions and was gate checked a couple times on smaller or crowded planes. One thing I did notice, the board is a bit too long for some overhead bins in some airplanes if you have it with the LEDs facing into the aisle. I flew on two different Boeing 737s and it just barely fit in one and didn't in the other which was frustrating but I managed to turn it sideways and get it in. Be prepared on a busy flight to gate check it despite it fitting inside the airlines carryon bag measuring box. My guess is because it doesn't look anything like a hoverboard no one is confusing it for one.
Your mileage may vary so don't get angry at me if TSA or your airline gives you a hard time about your board.

[miketech]

In my humble opinion, what the onewheel community needs is for onewheel to issue a statement. We need something we can take with us to the airport and show upon inspection to state things like:

This is not a hover-board
This board does NOT use a Lithium Ion battery
This board was manufactured in the U.S.A. and there have been zero incidents of any form of catastrophic malfunction.

Please don't think that I believe a document of this nature will mean you won't have any trouble getting a OW through airport security, but I do believe it would state the situation in a more matter of fact and official way than I could in the moment. I believe it might mean that you could convince someone who would otherwise have turned it away.

I believe a good document would include the basics as I mentioned above and get a little more technical about Lithium Iron batteries as well. I believe this would help to ensure whoever it is that is looking at it can understand it on any level.

The OW community is growing, no doubt. Don't let people's fear of Chinese knock offs stifle that. This is a truly amazing product, and people want to take it with them everywhere.

Please, Future Motion, give us something to defend ourselves with.

[thegreck]

@miketech Agree 1,000%.

[jim]

Just tell them it's a spare part from a rolling machine that you are going to service. Don't even act like you try and balance on it. It looks so industrial that no one will question you.

[boomtho]

Damn. I literally just got mine a couple days ago. I live in LA and my GF is in Vancouver and was planning on taking it back and forth. Future motion has really been silent on this? No public statement whatsoever? I have PTSD from buying a Fisker a few years back haha. The silence from fisker was the worst!