Joel Tudor goes to war with Hawaiian Airlines after longboards rejected from flight

"I’ve flown with Hawaiian for at least 35 years and I’ve never in my life had a problem taking my longboards.”

Ah the many and varied joys of traveling with surfboards. The sweaty slog to airline counter, the hoping for no peeking inside board bag, the stomach drop when baggage handlers are viewed, from airplane seat, using board bag as a jackhammer, the interminable waiting at “large items” claim area, the sweaty slog to rental car counter, the sweaty stuffing board bag inside rental car all while thinking “surf trips are not worth it.”

Well, I suppose we should count our blessings, especially us shorter boarders.

The many-time surf champion Joel Tudor, famous for riding longer surfboards, was, days ago, not allowed to board his Hawaiian Airlines flight even though Hawaiian has a “surfboards-count-as-normal-luggage” policy. In a to-camera piece, Tudor explained how he was told his boards couldn’t fly, that his ticket would be cancelled, though he would still be charged, that they would not help him re-book and that they would keep the fee he had already paid for his tools to travel.

He then declares that most surfers in the world ride longboards and warns them all about both Hawaiian and Alaska, as the two recently merged.

Tudor is also angry that Hawaiian used a clip of Zeke Lau riding a longboard with his daughter to advertise surfboards flying as luggage.

A clear bait and switch.

According to Beat of Hawaii, “Hawaiian’s sports gear promise applies only within strict size and weight limits. Anything longer than 115 linear inches or heavier than 50 pounds can be refused at the counter, even if the fee has already been paid. Those limits mean that many larger items, from long surfboards to bulky bicycles, fall outside the scope of the pledge.”

115 inches is 9.58 feet for the longer board curious.

Thoughts?