Airline
Report Cards
How
does your favorite carrier measure up when it comes to flying with firearms?
Deviant Ollam
While all domestic airlines, as of the time of this writing, allow passengers on US flights to transport firearms in their baggage (which I believe to be their obligation under common carrier status, although some people disagree with me) the actual manner in which these airlines implement such travel provisions varies a great deal from one carrier to the next. Airline policies, public statements, and of course actual real-world practices of their employees can differ more than one might expect. This page is a guide that aims to serve as an overall summary of each carrier's stance on flying with firearms. In addition to making special note of any airline policies that differ from or go beyond the federal standard* as mandated by the TSA, i have sought to include any comments that travelers have shared along with any public statements made by the companies themselves. In the end, for simplicity's sake, a simple and basic letter grade is assigned to each carrier. If you are planning to travel with firearms via a specific airline in the near future, check their rules summary here. If you have plans to travel with guns in the future but have yet to book your flight, consider voting with your wallet after consulting the facts on this page... expressing ourselves in the marketplace is one of the best ways that we can make our voices heard. * NOTE - The federal standard is simply packing firearms and no more than eleven pounds of ammunition in hard-sided luggage that is locked in a manner where no one else has the key or combination and declaring the presence of these guns and ammo when checking said bag at the airline counter. For the sake of simplicity, this page does not repeat such text for every airline but instead only makes mention of specific deviations or additional facts that some carriers have included in their written policies. |
The factors that most typically result in poor markings in this overview are nonsensical policies that are in place as a means to artificially penalize armed citizens with increased baggage fees or those which have the appearance as "rules simply for rules' sake" with no other meaningful purpose. Limitations on how many firearms a passenger may transport are chief among such unnecessary rules that are sometimes seen. Language hostile to firearm ownership and use (either in the text of their rules or in public statements issued by a given air carrier) are also grounds for slightly lowered scores. Very open, welcoming policies and a lack of additional regulations imposed beyond the federal standard yield good marks. Feedback as seen in stories of travel by average citizens similarly affect an airline's score in either a positive or negative way.
Grade: - |
Airtran
Airtran no longer exists, having been acquired by Southwest Airlines in 2014 |
Grade: A |
Alaska
Alaska appears to be one of the best carriers for firearm transport. They allow much more ammunition than many other carriers on a large number of their flights and they have no limit to the number of firearms one can pack. |
Grade: B+ |
American
American Airlines (I refuse to use their new logo because absolutely nothing will ever top the classic Massimo Vignelli design) is respectably minimalist and straightforward with their rules concerning firearms. |
Grade: - |
Continental
Continental no longer exists, having merged with United Airlines in 2012 |
Grade: B- |
Delta
While Delta is not openly hostile to gun owners, some of their policies are clearly designed simply to generate revenue. While they explicitly state that a case may contain a total of four long guns, in subsequent sentences they specify that anything more than two rifles or two shotguns will result in an extra baggage fee. While Delta does not mandate "original manufacturer packaging" for ammo like some airlines, their policies are still restrictive enough that a holstered magazine would seem to not be allowed. Although, of course, I have personally traveled with ammo in this fashion many, many times on Delta. |
Grade: A |
Frontier
Overall, I really like Frontier's publicly stated policies. |
Grade: - |
Go!
Go! airlines was an inter-island carrier who operated within Hawaii until they ceased operations in 2014 |
Grade: D+ |
Hawaiian
Hawaiian Airlines does not seem to be a particularly firearm-friendly carrier. |
Grade: - |
Horizon
Horizon Air and its sister carrier Alaska Airlines are subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group, and all Horizon-operated scheduled flights are marketed and sold by Alaska Airlines. As such, policies and regulations that passengers must follow can be found on the Alaska Air site instead. |
Grade: C- |
JetBlue
JetBlue has a lot of standard language in their policies but goes a bit further in throwing up arbitrary hurdles and barriers for passengers with respect to: |
Grade: - |
Midwest
Midwest Airlines merged with Frontier Airlines in 2010 |
Grade: - |
Northwest
Northwest Airlines merged with Delta Airlines in 2010 |
Grade: - |
Republic
Being a regional connection carrier (who partners and code-shares with three of the largest domestic carriers -- American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines -- Republic refers travelers to each of those airlines' web sites. |
Grade: A- |
Silver
Silver Airways firearms policy language may be the most minimal I have ever seen. |
Grade: - |
Skywest
Being a regional connection carrier (who partners and code-shares with four of the largest domestic carriers -- American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and Alaska Airlines -- SkyWest refers travelers to each of those airlines' web sites. |
Grade: C+ |
Southwest
Southwest is something of a mixed bag. |
Grade: B- |
Spirit
Spirit seems unique in their desire to have each separate firearm covered by a separately completed and signed declaration card or form. |
Grade: A- |
United
Other than their limit of 5 firearms per case (which is likely due to a desire to limit their liability in case of damage or bag loss, I presume) there are few challenges with flying United while transporting firearms. Even that limit of 5 firearms per case is specified with them saying that multiple gun cases are allowed. |
Grade: - |
US Airways
US Airways no longer exists, having been merged with American Airlines in 2015 |
Grade: B |
Virgin
Virgin Atlantic, being primarily an international carrier, focuses a lot on the import-export rules and they go into further detail on their site about specific countries. Overall, however, they seem to fall mostly in-line with common policies. |
Please email me and inform me if I have gotten anything incorrect or if you have your own personal stories and feedback to add concerning any of these (or other) airlines.
Sometimes people ask me what policies I should like to put in place if I had the power to change the laws on this subject and impose standards that all airlines would have to follow. I certainly know what I would consider appropriate and good...
Definitions
A "firearm" is any device that expels a projectile by means of a combustible propellant. This includes conventional guns, flare guns, starter pistols, and blank/stage firing replicas. Serialized parts for any of these items (for instance, stripped receivers) are also treated as firearms.
The Right to Travel with Firearms
It is the right of American citizens to travel with firearms that they legally possess, and as such firearms are permitted on all flights to and from any destination, either domestically or internationally. It is the passenger's responsibility to research and comply with all relevant laws wherever their travels will take them; the airline shall take no responsibility for a customer's failure to comply with the rules of any state or nation.
Secure Luggage
Firearms and ammunition can only travel in checked baggage. Luggage that is suitable for such a task must be hard-sided and lockable. When secured, an individual should not be capable of inserting a finger anywhere into the firearms case by means of prying or bending its housing or material.
Sizable Luggage
Small handgun cases can be useful tools for securing a pistol or revolver against damage and mishandling, but they are not suitable for protection against theft. Handguns cases should be inserted into larger hard-sided luggage which is itself locked in order to be safe from theft during air travel. (Naturally, i would revise my opinions here further if we would get our heads out of our asses an mandate security cameras in the non-public areas of airports, with specific focus on areas of baggage handling.)
The Passenger's Locks
TSA-compliant (a.k.a. "SearchAlert") locks are NOT allowed to be used when transporting firearms... a proper lock must be used and only the passenger traveling with firearms (along with members of his or her traveling party, if they are part of a group) are ever allowed to be in possession of the key or combination to said luggage. Should a luggage inspection be necessary for any reason, the passenger must be directly present and they alone shall be the one who unlocks the luggage in question. Again, ONLY THE PASSENGER may ever unlock and open firearms-bearing luggage. The passenger must remain present to observe such proceedings, and then will verify that all their firearms and ammunition are still present and properly packed before re-locking the luggage at the conclusion of the inspection. At no time will passengers ever be separated from their key or combination, nor shall firearm-bearing luggage ever be opened out of their presence once it has been secured.
Additional Fees
There are no limits concerning how many firearms shall be packed with a piece of luggage, however no special provisions are made for baggage weight. If luggage is over the fifty pound limit, additional fees maybe imposed by the airlines as they see fit. However, airlines may not impose any specific "gun case fees" or in any other way penalize passengers who are traveling with guns and ammunition.
Additional Designations
Passengers must fill out the declaration card [in my ideal world, the card would be standardized and available both at airline counters as well as via the web so customers could fill it out in advance] stating that their firearms are unloaded and this card will be kept inside the luggage during the flight. At no time will this or any other indicating tag be affixed to the outside of firearms-bearing luggage. Furthermore, the airline's printed baggage tracking tag will not display any markings or characters used to designate a bag as containing firearms. A passenger's entry in the airline computer shall also not contain any special details indicating their travel with firearms.
Ammunition
There are no limits for how many rounds or what size caliber ammunition a passenger may pack aside from a maximum weight limit of fifty pounds. Ammunition must be packed in a manner that protects against crushing or the rounds becoming loose. The original box, or an after-market vessel designed to carry ammunition, or clips and magazines are all appropriate ways to pack ammunition provided that it is completely enclosed and there is no exposure of the rounds. Ammunition may be packed in the same container as firearms, as long as it is packed in accordance with these standards.
Liability
Passengers are responsible for verifying that their firearms have arrived safely at their final destination. Upon arrival at their final destination, an air traveler will have the right to briefly open and inspect the contents of their luggage in order to assess if things are safely in order. Passengers have a duty to report lost or damaged firearms and ammunition as soon as such a situation is discovered. Airlines are fully liable for loss, theft, or damage caused by non-routine handling of firearms and ammunition that they are transporting. Passengers traveling with firearms shall never be prohibited from purchasing additional insurance coverage for their luggage, but such coverage is not mandatory. In the event of theft or loss, it will be the airline's responsibility to contact law enforcement and fill out all reports. If lost firearms are not recovered within thirty-six hours of a passenger's arrival at their destination, the airlines must compensate the aggrieved party accordingly.
Perhaps i'm reaching a bit too far with some of those provisions of my hypothetical "flying with firearms" law... but a man can dream. Good luck to all who travel with firearms. Stay safe out there!
- dev