America West

America West Airlines Website

America West flies poles for free. The container must be under 16 feet, and the poles must be able to fit on the plane.

Official Policy from their website

http://www.americawest.com/services/travelpolicies/sv_specialitems.htm#vault
Vaulting Poles
Vaulting poles will be accepted in the normal free baggage allowance in lieu of a piece of baggage. One item of vaulting equipment consists of: • One pole and container with a maximum length of 16 feet.
Vaulting poles cannot be transported on America West Express. Vaulting poles should be enclosed in a container of sufficient strength to protect the pole from accidental damage.

One pole per container?? Sounds like this policy could use some rewording. I wonder if this was a recent change. If they open your pole bag, you could always try telling them that those are all pieces of one pole.

User Experiences

Name: Kris Allison
Date Traveled: July 2004
Airline: America West
Experience: I looked up America West's policy online and discovered they fly poles for free. I flew my poles from San Antonio to San Diego without problem. The airlines lost my luggage for a day and a half, but the poles made it safely. On the trip back the poles did not fit on the first leg of the trip. They were flown with a later flight and I was able to pick them up from the airport the next day.

Do you have an America West experience to share? Copy and paste the following information into an email. Make the subject "FLYING WITH POLES". Send to becca@polevaultpower.com

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