Air travel

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.

Many have found success with all options.

Tips

Use a good rollerbag.
Include documentation to TSA the airline that it's a camera dolly, needed for professional filming
Include airline-specific documentation on their policies:
1. Lufthansa
2. Alaska
Include documentation on Onewheel battery certification and the battery safety sheet
*Never* call it a hoverboard
Confidence is everything! Act like you've done this before
Tell the airline it's protected from short-circuit
Cover the power port with some tape
Deflate the tire so it doesn't over-expand at altitude (although plenty have traveled just fine without doing this)
Drain the battery to < 50%
Include TSA inspection slips from previous trips

Success stories

Date	Airline	Departure location	Arrival location	How'd you do it?	Contact
Oct 2017	Delta	Seattle, U.S.	Paris, U.S	Carried it on in 2 pieces	Piotr P.
June 2017	Alaska	Seattle, U.S.	Denver, U.S.	Checked it	Joshua S.
June 2017	Southwest	Oakland, U.S.	U.S.	Carried it on	Peter C.
June 2017	Unknown	San Francisco, U.S.	Austin, U.S.	Carried it on	George P.
June 2017	Westjet	Unknown	Unknown	Checked	David L.
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	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.
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. [1]