Short notice: Visiting Seattle, coming from Austin

I am flying to Portland in 2 weeks from Austin as well and thinking about bringing up a 12 bottle shipper as well. Have you had any problems checking one of them? How badly did the box get beat up? I am curious if the box will be usable on the way back as well....

 

FWIW, i just flew back from SF last week with a 12 bottle shipper. no problem checking it, it's pretty standard for airlines to check boxes. they are marked as "unusual" baggage, so remember that it will not be on the conveyor belt - it'll be somewhere off to the side.

it noticeably went through some carnage, but it wasn't egregious. no worse than any fedex shipment i've received. the words "this side up" and "fragile" don't mean much for airports, but if you pack it right you should have no problem. just make sure you fill any void spaces.

 

I plan to pack only bombers in it - so the things should be pretty snug already. It is the exact same shipper that I have received from wine shops that send me beer and I have never had a problem with them. I am just a bit nervous dealing with luggage on planes since I know how beat up my bag has gotten.

 

I have checked several boxes ( and bags with beers with clothes around them) and everything has made it just fine.

 

I have done bags but never a box. Guess I will test the waters with a box this time.

Hopefully the 12 JK beers that I am taking up make it for trades.

 

If you can get down to Georgetown, Full Throttle got some of Black Raven's new batch of Beaktweaker IPA bottles.

 

That is some Advocacy right there.

 

Much easier for the guy to get down to Full Throttle than the brewery in Redmond without a car!

 

Out of curiosity, when you check the box, do you tell them what is in it? Do the airlines care that you are shipping beer?

 

They are used to seeing 12 bottle shippers. The first thing I am asked is what winery I visited, and how was it. When I tell them it's beer, I get unusual looks.

 

Definitely tell them. Depending on which airline, they will likely place some Fragile stickers on the box. They don't care about wine/beer but anything to alert the baggage handlers not to throw your box around the better.

Of course, on the other hand, this may also alert them to the contents and they may be thirsty!

 

Ha...I didnt know if it was like FedEx. Out of curiosity, I plan on FedExing the box back instead of checking it. I have always done small trades and can justify saying it is BBQ sauce. What do you say for a 12 bottle shipper when using FedEx?

 

You really shouldn't have to say anything. If they ask, just say it's a carburetor for a motorcycle or something. Just don't say it's a liquid or breakable as they might be inclined to check. I just print off labels at home (I realize you are from out of town. Perhaps the hotel has a printer/computer you can use?), walk in, make eye contact with a worker and say "It's good to go", place on counter/ground near register and walk out. Easy.

 

If you have your own label then you can just drop it off and leave. If you're paying for shipping in store, they most likely will ask what's inside, and you do have to tell them. (Well, you have to tell them something.)

Whether or not you have your own label, they're allowed to search the box if they deem it necessary.

 

So basically exactly what I said.

 

I'm sure you have reasons to go this route instead of checking it, but it's hard to beat the convenience / cost-effectiveness of paying $20 (or whatever your airline charges) to bring up to 50 lb of beer home with you. I mean, the beer gets there when you land (better than overnight shipping!), there's no need to be sneaky about the contents, and in the unlikely event something breaks during transit, you don't have to worry about the box being shipped back to the location of the original sender, etc.

 

Yeah, it was just the "You really shouldn't have to say anything" that I was disagreeing with. Every single time I've sent anything through FedEx or UPS, they've asked what's in it. So I'd say that's the norm, not the exception.