Air travel

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Warning

No one seems to have found the perfect method. There is always a risk that you can travel with your board to your destination without issue, then run into trouble on your return flight home. However, the tips below are from folks that have successfully made the journey.

Key decision

The community is split as to whether you should a) carry-on the entire board, b) check the entire board, or c) carry-on the battery and check the wheel (the board can go with either one as long as battery is disconnected from wheel).

Many have found success with all options. However, it seems like the only 100% success method is carrying-on the battery and checking the rest.

Tips

  1. *Never* call it a hoverboard. Confidence is everything! Act like you've done this before.
  2. Use a good rollerbag. See below for additional options.
  3. Include documentation for TSA and the airline that the Onewheel is a camera dolly, needed for professional filming
  4. Include airline-specific documentation on their policies:
    1. Alaska
    2. Southwest
    3. Lufthansa
  5. Battery tips
    1. Include documentation on Onewheel battery certification and the battery safety sheet
    2. Make it clear that it is *not* a Lithium Ion battery. It's a Lithium Iron-Phosphate battery.
    3. Highlight that the battery is protected from short-circuit
    4. Drain the battery to < 50%
    5. Know how to prove the battery is only 130 watt hours. The label is located on the bottom rail in the center near tire. FAA only allows 100 to 160.
  6. Cover the power port with some tape
  7. Deflate the tire so it doesn't over-expand at altitude (although plenty have traveled just fine without doing this). Use a mini pump to inflate at your destination.
  8. Include TSA inspection slips from previous trips


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Bags

Neewer Roller Bag for Photography Photo Video Studio on Location Shoots.jpg High Sierra AT7 Rolling Duffel Bag Black 30 Inch.jpg
Buy on Amazon Buy on Amazon

Removing the battery

Battery removal

Success stories

Date Airline Departure location Arrival location How'd you do it? Contact / Thread
Dec 2017 United Unknown Unknown Carry-on Nick B.
Oct 2017 Delta Seattle, U.S. Paris, U.S Carried it on in 2 pieces Piotr P.
Oct 2017 Spirit Fort Lauderdale Colombia Carry-on Chris N.
Sept 2017 Southwest Unknown Jamaica Carry-on Nathan W.
August 2017 Southwest DC Denver Carried on battery. Checked the rest. Chris J.
August 2017 Southwest Unknown Unknown Checked Denny L.
August 2017 Southwest New York San Diego Carry-on in hiking bag Nick S.
August 2017 Unknown San Francisco Honolulu Checked Yishan W.
July 2017 Southwest New York Unknown Carry-on Paul M.
July 2017 Southwest San Diego Baltimore Checked John G.
June 2017 Alaska Portland Hawaii Carry-on Ryland L.
June 2017 Alaska Seattle, U.S. Denver, U.S. Checked (has worked 13/14 times!) Joshua S.
June 2017 Southwest Oakland, U.S. U.S. Carry-on Peter C.
June 2017 Unknown Neward Unknown Denied as carry-on. Worked was checked. George P.
June 2017 Unknown San Francisco, U.S. Austin, U.S. Carry-on George P.
June 2017 Westjet Unknown Unknown Checked David L.
2017 United Unknown Unknown Carry-on battery. Check the rest. Renato R.
2017 United, Air Canada, Delta, Westjet Unknown Unknown Checked. Worked multiple times. Rodrique B.

Sad stories

Date Airline Departure location Arrival location How'd you do it? Contact
Oct 2017 Southwest Unknown Unknown Checked. They called me as I was sitting on the plane. Dakota S.
Oct 2017 AirFrance Paris Warsaw I had a layover in Paris traveling from the US. I had the wheel separated from the board in carry-on and the security didn't want to let me go because they couldn't determine by using xray that there is nothing dangerous inside the wheel. After lot of stress they let me go, but it wasn't easy to convince them and they didn't want to speak english, so I would say it was lucky, but it is a good lesson to not take the wheel in a carry-on. They didn't have any problems with the board that I was carrying in hand. Piotr P.
June 2017 United Vancouver Raleigh Checked. Onewheel looks to have been stolen out of my checked bag flying united. Vancouver, Canada to Raleigh, NC. Bag was inspected by Canada TSA{can't recall their name at the moment} with a note saying nothing removed. Onewheel was in hard shell suit case then inside mafia bag so relatively hard to see from outside. Trevor S.
March 2017 Southwest Unknown Portland Carry-on. Their official and final verdict from the Southwest corporate hq was that the letter received directly from FM, even with the logo on it, was not good enough as proof cuz the battery specs were not stated on the OW website so it couldn't be independently verified if the battery was a dry cell. Minhford C.
2017 Alaska Unknown Unknown Yeah, I was on Alaska Airlines and tried checking it and somehow TSA found it and I got a call from Alaska to go get it or let them take out the batteries. I chose to get it and bring it home which caused me to miss my flight. I successfully checked it on Alaska once, but that was before they were so paranoid about Lithium batteries. Harry S.
Late 2016 Horizon Seattle, U.S. Bend, OR, U.S. Tried carrying on. Barely made it through security line (TSA Pre) and then had to lie to the Horizon gate agent who didn't want to let me head to the plane. Evan B.
Late 2016 Southwest Unknown Unknown They confiscated my friends who tried to put it on checked luggage. I took mine ON the plane with me in carry on, after twenty minutes of explanation, facts material data sheet, and under the 500kwh allowed (according to Southwest) they let me take it with me. On the return flight same twenty minute conversations, they wouldn't let me take it. My cousin shipped it, on an airplane. Go figure. If you try on your carry on, don't let it out of your sight, and be prepared to ship it, should they not allow it. George P.
Sept 2017 Air Canada Saskatoon, CAN Calgary, CAN I checked the Onewheel in my home city of Saskatoon, but after going through security and arriving at the gate, I was called to the Air Canada desk. It was an agent in the baggage department. The agent said, "you've got some kind of hoverboard in your luggage." I explained that it wasn't a hoverboard and there is was evidence that these caued fires; I had also packed the documentation showing it's safety record and battery testing. For them, the fact that it had a lithium-based battery meant that there was no way it could go on the plane. Fortunately, this happened in my home town and I had someone come by and pick up the bag. Eddie R.

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