Checking Your Ski Bag? Here are Baggage Policies on 5 Major Airlines

Skiing in new places is one of the coolest ways to travel, but it doesn’t come without its own hassles. For one, traveling with skis means checking a bag basically 100% of the time. Luckily, most airlines allow you to check a ski bag with standard checked baggage fees, as well as a boot bag, as long as both are under 50 pounds.

Unfortunately, pretty much all major airlines charge a standard checked baggage fee of about $35 these days. If you have an airline-specific credit card or are in their member rewards programs, sometimes those fees are waived, so if you’re going to be doing a lot of travel with a ski bag, it could be worth looking into these for whatever airline you fly the most.

While a lot of the policies specify what can be packed in a ski bag, as long as they aren’t over 50 pounds, you can usually get away with adding more stuff to avoid a second checked bag as well. (For example, one time I checked a ski bag full of whitewater kayaking gear on United, and the woman at the check-in desk told me to say it was ski gear, even though it wasn’t, and I avoided extra fees.)

Here are the baggage policies for most major airlines, but always double-check to make sure nothing has changed.

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United

United Airlines allows passengers one ski bag/set of ski equipment, which can be checked the same as a regular bag, with normal baggage fees. Baggage fees on United start at $35 and can change based on ticket, weight, and destination. The airline specifies that a set of equipment must be consolidated to one bag that can include:

• One set of water skis
• Up to two snowboards and one snow boot bag
• Up to two pairs of snow skis and associated equipment, and one ski boot bag

If you bring a boot-only bag, it’s still considered a bag of ski/snowboard equipment, and boot bags containing anything other than ski boots or ski equipment are subject to standard bag and weight limits. Any ski equipment checked in addition to the allowed one bag will be charged as an extra bag. If ski equipment weighs over 50lb./ 23kg, you’ll have to pay overweight baggage fees.

Alaska Air

Alaska Airlines allows ski bags to be checked as normal baggage and waives any oversize fee for ski equipment specifically (as well as a handful of other sports equipment), provided it weighs under 50 pounds.

Additionally, Alaska defines ‘one piece of ski/snowboard equipment’ as a ski bag and a boot helmet bag. Ski bags exceeding 115 inches will also incur an oversize baggage fee. Standard checked baggage fees start at $35 on Alaska Air; however, Alaska has lots of fee exceptions for rewards members, cardholders, and anyone traveling within the state of Alaska.

Delta

Delta Airlines allows passengers to check ski bags and ski equipment for standard checked baggage fees, including one boot bag per person. The combined weight of a ski bag and boot bag may not exceed 50 pounds, or an oversize baggage fee will be charged. Bags also must not exceed 115″ in length. Checked baggage fees start at $35 for Delta Main and Delta Comfort passengers.

American Airlines

American Airlines allows one pair of skis and one ski equipment bag to be checked as standard baggage. If the combined weight of the two bags exceeds 50 pounds, the items will be checked as two separate bags and standard fees for two checked bags will apply. Overweight fees apply for bags 50 pounds to 70 pounds, but oversize fees do not apply. American Airlines also doesn’t allow ‘lighters or torches’ for applying ski wax. Bag fees on American Airlines start at $40 for the first bag and $45 for the second.

Southwest

As of May 28, 2025, Southwest has changed its checked baggage fees and policies. For all trips booked, ticketed, or changed after May 28, 2025, Southwest allows sporting equipment, including skis, to be checked as standard baggage with oversize fees waived. Ski bag and boot bags will be accepted as one item, even when packaged separately. If bags are over 50 pounds, overweight fees will apply. Checked bags start at $35 for the first bag and $45 for the second.

Related: The Secret to More Ski Time? 6 Resorts Just Minutes From the Airport