Getting to Costa Rica was quiet the journey for me. To check my backpack, my staffs, and my buugeng, almost cost me $200. So I had this great idea to try and avoid that fee by bringing my buugeng on the plane as carry on (they are non collapsible). I had them all packaged and wrapped up as to try and be inconspicuous... or so I thought. TSA was not having it. I even showed them a video of buugeng to demonstrate that they are used for flowy, meditative style dance. I expressed to them that I could not afford to check a 3rd item. And I made several promises not to use them aggressively. They refused to let me through with my props.
Here's where things turn south. After speaking with the supervisor, the gentleman who led me out of TSA sent me to the wrong place. Instead of sending me straight downstairs to simply throw my buugeng under the plane, he sent me all the way back to gate 4 where I had to wait in line to speak to an agent in order to re-check in. By the time I had gotten through the line, I had missed my time window for checking in bags. So they refused to let me on my plane. They passed me around from person to person for a while trying to figure out what to do with me. Finally, I'm on the verge of tears when one of the ladies finally tries to help me out. She waved my $150 fee to check my buugeng and puts me on stand by for a flight that could get me to Atlanta in time to catch up with my two bags and catch the one flight a day that leaves to Costa Rica for that airline. The fight she found me was already overbooked. So it was a long shot, but worth the try. So I sit in LAX for 4 more hours, waiting to see if I can make it on this flight. It becomes very apparent very quickly that there was absolutely no room for me. I checked in with the boarding directors and explained my situation to them. No such luck.
For the next part of my adventure, they escort me to customer service where I begin to explain to them how I had gotten to that point. They proceed to tell me that they do no feel responsible for my predicament and have no intention of helping me. But politely inform me that I can buy a brand new ticket for $400. At this point I did cry from frustration.
To bring this saga to an end, I found a different, more affordable flight through a different airline and continued my journey to Costa Rica where more memories, challenges and adventures took place. And I lived happily ever after. ;)
But the point of me sharing this story is not to complain about my airport experience or to garner sympathy. I share this with you because I would like to share what I learned from all of this so that none of you have to go through the same madness I went through.
So here is how to fly with fire props.
Step 1: Clean your props
You can use soapy water to clean off any metal or plastic or non gripped parts of your prop that might be covered in soot.
Although I do not advise spinning with kerosene, for those of you who do, I would suggest burning with a cleaner fuel before flying. Not only will that help burn off residual kerosene, but it will help with the smell. You can also remove your wicks, wash and dry them if you feel like taking the extra step
Step 2: Wrap it up
Wrapping your wicks with plastic and electric tape is a very useful percaussion to take. Especially for any props with wick sizes bigger than a fist. It was suggested to me recently to put balloons on your wicks to make them look like practice props. I dont advise that myself but feel that I was a valid suggestion if your trying to be extra careful. Some people also put socks over their wicks. And for staff spinners (and I'm sure other props as well), the beer bottle cozies with the zippers make excelent wick covers.
Step 3: Baggage
Instead of checking each prop individually, like I naively did, I learned that you can check them all together in one bag. Check them as sports equipment can sometimes make it more affordable for you. A surf board or snowboard bag can hold my buugeng, my staffs and all of my smaller props. But any oversized equipment bag will do. I also learned on this adventure that not all airlines provide fragile stickers. You can find some online or at your local office supply store.
Step 4: language
I have also found that the language you use can assist in making this a smooth experience for you. Politely inform your airline that you are checking sports equipment used for performance arts. If they ask any further questions just say it's for dancing. They generally dont inquire further than that. There is no need to alert them that they are fire props or draw unnecessary attention to yourself.
I hope this information is helpful and I hope you enjoyed my crazy story. I wish you all happy flying and safe spinning. And also safe flying and happy spinning.
💜
Here's where things turn south. After speaking with the supervisor, the gentleman who led me out of TSA sent me to the wrong place. Instead of sending me straight downstairs to simply throw my buugeng under the plane, he sent me all the way back to gate 4 where I had to wait in line to speak to an agent in order to re-check in. By the time I had gotten through the line, I had missed my time window for checking in bags. So they refused to let me on my plane. They passed me around from person to person for a while trying to figure out what to do with me. Finally, I'm on the verge of tears when one of the ladies finally tries to help me out. She waved my $150 fee to check my buugeng and puts me on stand by for a flight that could get me to Atlanta in time to catch up with my two bags and catch the one flight a day that leaves to Costa Rica for that airline. The fight she found me was already overbooked. So it was a long shot, but worth the try. So I sit in LAX for 4 more hours, waiting to see if I can make it on this flight. It becomes very apparent very quickly that there was absolutely no room for me. I checked in with the boarding directors and explained my situation to them. No such luck.
For the next part of my adventure, they escort me to customer service where I begin to explain to them how I had gotten to that point. They proceed to tell me that they do no feel responsible for my predicament and have no intention of helping me. But politely inform me that I can buy a brand new ticket for $400. At this point I did cry from frustration.
To bring this saga to an end, I found a different, more affordable flight through a different airline and continued my journey to Costa Rica where more memories, challenges and adventures took place. And I lived happily ever after. ;)
But the point of me sharing this story is not to complain about my airport experience or to garner sympathy. I share this with you because I would like to share what I learned from all of this so that none of you have to go through the same madness I went through.
So here is how to fly with fire props.
Step 1: Clean your props
You can use soapy water to clean off any metal or plastic or non gripped parts of your prop that might be covered in soot.
Although I do not advise spinning with kerosene, for those of you who do, I would suggest burning with a cleaner fuel before flying. Not only will that help burn off residual kerosene, but it will help with the smell. You can also remove your wicks, wash and dry them if you feel like taking the extra step
Step 2: Wrap it up
Wrapping your wicks with plastic and electric tape is a very useful percaussion to take. Especially for any props with wick sizes bigger than a fist. It was suggested to me recently to put balloons on your wicks to make them look like practice props. I dont advise that myself but feel that I was a valid suggestion if your trying to be extra careful. Some people also put socks over their wicks. And for staff spinners (and I'm sure other props as well), the beer bottle cozies with the zippers make excelent wick covers.
Step 3: Baggage
Instead of checking each prop individually, like I naively did, I learned that you can check them all together in one bag. Check them as sports equipment can sometimes make it more affordable for you. A surf board or snowboard bag can hold my buugeng, my staffs and all of my smaller props. But any oversized equipment bag will do. I also learned on this adventure that not all airlines provide fragile stickers. You can find some online or at your local office supply store.
Step 4: language
I have also found that the language you use can assist in making this a smooth experience for you. Politely inform your airline that you are checking sports equipment used for performance arts. If they ask any further questions just say it's for dancing. They generally dont inquire further than that. There is no need to alert them that they are fire props or draw unnecessary attention to yourself.
I hope this information is helpful and I hope you enjoyed my crazy story. I wish you all happy flying and safe spinning. And also safe flying and happy spinning.
💜
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