I plan on flying down to Phoenix/Flagstaff for a 21 day Canyon trip this spring (stoked!) and would love to bring my boat. Anyone had any recent experience (good, bad, ugly) with particular airlines and their kayak+paddle hauling policies? Anyone ever kayaked the grand canyon? I am trying to weigh the value of having my boat to paddle during this trip vs just being a raft oarsman/ passenger. Thanks guys!

JayB and I went boating a few years back on the east coast and rather than deal with the airlines and their ambiguous boat policies - we used a freight service.  Ended up being around $125(?) or so each way for the boat and paddle (wrapped together).  The boats were shipped to a facility right by the destination airport - so pretty convenient.  I think the charge was pretty close to what the airlines were charging anyway.  I think a creekboat would be too big for most airlines (or Greyhound - another option we looked at).

Yeah you'll want your boat alright.

Everyone told me to bring a long boat with a planing hull so I did. It was fine, but I sometimes wished I had my regular play boat. Just bring something you're comfortable sitting in for long days, and make sure it's a boat where you can get the ends down (if you're into that sort of thing). Lots of great wavewheeling to be had, plenty of little holes, etc. to play in as well. On the other hand there are also big green waves that are hard to catch in a short boat. Definitely don't bring a creeker.

For flying just call the airline and see what their length limit is. Usually it's 8' in my experience. I've flown my boat around and just duct-taped the paddle to it and slapped fragile stickers on. You'll get charged an oversize fee, but it's at the counter agent's discretion so flutter your eyelashes and act cute and maybe you'll get a freebee.

Southwest is the way to go. The best rates for Kayaks and they fly to all the west coast destinations.

$50 each way for the boat. They let you put the paddle inside the cockpit at no extra charge. Bring a roll of box tape with you.

I've flown with SW multiple times during the last 2 years with boats and nothing but positive feedback and the price is the lowest.

I used one of those freight services a couple years ago to go to DC. DONT DO IT! Pain in the ass getting it to/from, and significantly more expensive than just paying for the luggage with Southwest or Alaska.