Beers on a Plane!

[mdf191]

I have had it with these mother ******* BEERS on this mother ******* plane!

Ok I haven't actually seen snakes on a plane, but that quote is to rediculous to pass up.

Anyways. I have searched around the site a bit for information on traveling "in planes" with beer. With the liquid container airline rules I am pretty sure I have two options. 1) Put the beer in my checked baggage. 2) Ship it. I want to give these bottles as Xmas gifts and one needs to get from east coast to west coast.

Does anyone have any idea if the checked bag area is really pressurized? I am assuming if it wasn't that would mean exploding beers...? Has anyone traveled with beer recently? Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

 

[IowaStateFan]

I sent a couple of beers back to Germany with my mother-in-law and they made it fine in the checked baggage. No beer bombs!

 

[Bokonon]

Yes the cargo area is pressurized. If it wasn't then your bathroom liquids would likely end up all over your clothes, as well as your pets all over the inside of their containers.

I used to carry on a case of beer every time I flew, but can't do that anymore. So I just stick each one in a sock and wrap them in clothes in my hard walled luggage that I check.

I'll generally wrap a bundle in a garbage bag to make sure if it did break it wouldn't make such a mess but I've never needed it. In fact once I've opened my bag at my destination to find that the bag was tore open and all the beers had been removed and replaced (I could tell because they were inserted in my socks the other direction). The TSA was nice enough to wrap everything up the way I had it though, and everything made it through.

I'm flying on saturday and planning to take a bunch of beer with me. I think this time since I'm bringing more than normal I might do some in my luggage as well as a box packed up like I ship beer. Each bottle bubble wrapped and a box within a box with extra padding all around.

 

[cheezydemon]

For a few seconds I thought that you were a raging alcoholic trying to sneak beers on to drink on the plane lol.

How do people ship them in the mail? That would be tons worse than just a plane ride.

 

[ShortSnoutBrewing]

I used to carry on a case of beer every time I flew...

Man, those were the days. I was at school in PA, my now wife was at school in TX and lived in OR. I'd ALWAYS bring back a carry on case when returning to PA from visiting her.

I'm planning on taking a case of wine back east with me next week. I've read you can check boxes no problem. Anyone have experience with that? Do you label the box with it's contents? Pack as if you were shipping?

 

[FlyingHorse]

Do you label the box with it's contents?

I wouldn't. Things "disappear" in baggage handling. I have friends (plural) who've lost cases of wine this way.

Pack as if you were shipping?

Yes.

 

[homebrewer_99]

Two summers ago I carried 2 minikegs on the plane from Germany and had 2 more in my check-in bags...THEIR RULES SUCK NOW...

 

[jezter6]

I dunno how that works, because I fly to Ft Lauderdale quite often and see people bringing back bottles of rum and such from the cruizes and they all seem to carry them on.

You should call 1) the airline or 2) a TSA hotline to find out for sure.

 

[RoaringBrewer]

I packed away 8-10 beers in my checked luggage (wrapped in pants/shirts, etc - man that would have suck had they burst) before and they made it home just fine.

I got the "Your bag was searched" notice, but they seemed to only unwrap one to see what it was and then rewrapped it without touching the rest...

 

[98EXL]

oh boy, I'm bringing home beers for sure now. I so need another bag after all of the gifts and crap I've bought

 

[Brewsmith]

I just brought back a ton of beer from Seattle over thanksgiving. Some in the suitcase, and a couple boxes that I checked. Nothing broken.

 

[Ó Flannagáin]

Just flew from Denver to Dallas with a bottle of wine in a box. Checked it with 0 problems.

 

[98EXL]

Well I guess I need to buy my extra bag, and go buy some more local beers, and pack everything all up nicely

 

[FlyingHorse]

I dunno how that works, because I fly to Ft Lauderdale quite often and see people bringing back bottles of rum and such from the cruizes and they all seem to carry them on.

You should call 1) the airline or 2) a TSA hotline to find out for sure.

Not sure how they're doing that.

http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/prohibited/permitted-prohibited-items.shtm

The following rules apply to all liquids, gels, and aerosols carried through security checkpoints.

1. All liquids, gels and aerosols must be in three-ounce or smaller containers.

 

[98EXL]

Not sure how they're doing that.

http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/prohibited/permitted-prohibited-items.shtm

Duty free has some restrictions....but you can totally check it

 

[Dycokac]

Duty free has some restrictions....but you can totally check it

yup, last december my wife and I brought back 12 bottles total of rum and other liqours from St Thomas. We did have to check it though, everything made it back safe .

what i read while on the island is that the cruise people are restricted to like 3 bottles a person (might be a restriction of the cruise lines) any one flying from the island could take 6... i was so glad i was fly'n

 

[TexLaw]

As the others said, the cargo area on your standard passenger plane is pressurized, so no worries there. However, freight planes usually are NOT pressurized, so shipping ain't such a good idea.


TL

 

[jesse]

I used to bring back beer from costa rica once a month in a cooler taped up...and only about 1/2 to 3/4 made it each time ..

 

[shafferpilot]

freight airplanes are absolutely pressurized. Any aircraft that flies above 12,000 feet for more than 30 minutes is pressurized. There are after all still pilots on that plane who need to breathe. If you want to ship bottles, I reccomend using plastic bags surrounded by spray insulation foam inside a cardboard box. Styrofoam peanuts work most of the time, but the bottles can migrate to the bottom of the box due to vibration.

 

[malkore]

try slipping them inside shoes for a little safety barrier. wrap em in shirts and spread them out inside but away from the edges.

 

[chefjosh]

Here is another question to add to this thread... is it okay to bring empty co2 tanks on a plane? The bottle will be empty, with the regulator removed, and the valve fully opened. This will be in my checked baggage. I am doing this because they are free where I am flying to and I have 5, 10, and I think 20lb tanks to choose from.

This page is a little unclear. I can easily remove the regulator, but I'm not sure if I can get the tank to a state where you could see inside of it to inspect for bad stuff. You would be able to visually see that the valve is twisted to the "on" position so it technically wouldn't be sealed, but is that enough?

I've tried calling but it's just a long wait on hold.

http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/assistant/compressed_gas.shtm

 

[Liquidicem]

Here is another question to add to this thread... is it okay to bring empty co2 tanks on a plane? The bottle will be empty, with the regulator removed, and the valve fully opened. This will be in my checked baggage. I am doing this because they are free where I am flying to and I have 5, 10, and I think 20lb tanks to choose from.

This page is a little unclear. I can easily remove the regulator, but I'm not sure if I can get the tank to a state where you could see inside of it to inspect for bad stuff. You would be able to visually see that the valve is twisted to the "on" position so it technically wouldn't be sealed, but is that enough?

I've tried calling but it's just a long wait on hold.

http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/assistant/compressed_gas.shtm

Based on the link, I don't think you could get away with it. No unless you removed the entire valve assembly from the top of the tank. Just ship it back UPS.

 

[tranceamerica]

I dunno how that works, because I fly to Ft Lauderdale quite often and see people bringing back bottles of rum and such from the cruizes and they all seem to carry them on.

You should call 1) the airline or 2) a TSA hotline to find out for sure.

often, you will get your duty free merch after security, and therefore can carry it on the plane. however, you are screwed when you have to switch plane and go through security again.

my experience w/buying rum in the tropics is that simply buying it at the grocery is cheaper than the "duty free" places, because the duty free places jack the price. Then, you pack it into your checked baggage. never had a problem this way.