The Truth About Checking Beach Chairs (22 DIFFERENT Airlines!)

You may have wondered: can you check beach chairs on a plane?

You can normally take your beach chair on the plane as a checked bag as long as it is properly secured. You can sometimes even bring them on as carry on baggage, if it’s small enough.

The size requirements for different airlines will vary but you are usually safe to check your beach chairs when you fly. This article is a look at the baggage policies of 22 different airlines and whether or not they will let you take beach chairs on the plane with you.

Can I Take a Beach Chair on a Plane?

Generally speaking, there are no restrictions on bringing beach chairs on an airplane. Most airlines have strict size and weight limits for the luggage that you can take on board. If your beach chair fits within these restrictions, you will normally be allowed to take it on the plane.

However, you will have to make sure that the beach chair is properly secured. If the airline does not give special instructions for packing beach chairs, you will have to either fit it in a suitcase or duffle bag or bind it into a folded up position for travel.

However, you might not be able to have your beach chair with you on the plane. Most beach chairs are too long to meet the carry on requirements for most airlines. This means that you will most likely have to include the beach chair as part of your checked baggage.

Walking on the beach can be hard on your body if you have bad knees. If you are thinking about bringing a beach chair when you fly because you want to rest your bad knees, you can check out these beach chairs for bad knees.

Which Airlines Can I Take My Beach Chair On?

If you are wondering whether or not you can take your beach chairs on a plane as checked baggage, here is a summary of the policies for 22 major airline companies. These airlines will all allow you to bring your beach chair as checked baggage, but your chairs are almost certainly too large to fit their carry on requirements.

American Airlines

You can check in a beach chair on American Airlines if it does not exceed the size limitations. The chair cannot have a total size that is greater than 126 inches. Carry on items have a maximum dimension of 22 in by 14 in by 9 in.

If your beach chair can fit within these dimensions, you are welcome to check your beach chair when you are flying on American Airlines.

Delta Airlines

The baggage policy for Delta Airlines is a little bit more complicated. If your beach chair fits the size and weight requirements, you can most likely take it on the plane.

If you don’t wish to check your bags, you can also choose to purchase an extra ticket for your beach chairs. If the item can physically fit in a seat next to you, you can take it as a carry on.

Southwest

With Southwest Airlines, your first two bags fly free, as long as they do not exceed their size and weight requirements. This means that you can check your beach chairs on a Southwest Airlines flight as long as the total dimensions of the chair are not greater than 62 inches and the weight is not greater than 50 pounds.

The maximum carryon size on Southwest is 24” by 16” by 10”.

British Airways

British Airways does not strictly prohibit you from checking a beach chair when you board one of their airplanes. Your beach chair is probably too big to fit their carryon requirements but if you are wondering if your beach chair is small enough to be checked in, they provide a free calculator on their website that helps you find out.

Emirates

Emirates Airlines has special rules for how they transport sporting goods on their flights. For example, if the total dimensions of the beach chair are greater than 118 inches, you cannot take it on the airline. You have to send it cargo or freight. 

If your beach chairs are particularly large, you might end up getting charged additional fees for oversized baggage.

Easyjet

Easyjet has some of the most restrictive luggage policies of any airline out there. However, you should still be able to check your beach chairs when you fly with them, provided that the chairs meet the size requirements. Every passenger on Easyjet Airlines can purchase up to three spots for checked bags. The normal weight for checked bags is 23 kilograms (50.7 pounds).

Iberia

You are allowed to check a wheelchair when you fly on Iberia Airlines, which means that you should not have any problem checking your beach chair as well. That is, as long as your beach chair fits under the maximum size requirements.

The total size dimensions that you can check are 158 centimeters or 62.2 inches. If your beach chair meets these requirements, you will be fine.

Indigo

Beach chairs are not a sensitive or dangerous item which means you will be able to check them when you fly with Indigo Airlines. If you fly with Indigo Airlines, you can check your beach chair on the flight as long as the total dimensions of the beach chair are less than 62 inches. 

Jetblue

You should be able to take your beach chair on a JetBlue flight as long as it meets the size requirements for checked bags. The normal requirements on JetBlue Airlines are that the total dimension be less than 62 inches. If the dimensions of your beach chairs exceed 80 inches, they will not be allowed on the plane period.

Jet2

You should not have any problem with checking a beach chair when you fly on Jet2 Airlines, as long as your beach chair does not exceed the size and weight requirements.

You cannot check a beach chair on Jet2 Airlines if the weight of the beach chairs is over 32 kilograms. There are no listed size requirements on the website, so you should call Jet2 to check.

Jetstar

Jetstar Airlines will normally allow you to include beach chairs in your checked baggage, as long as they meet the standard size requirements for checked bags.

There is a maximum dimension for the checked bags that you can take on a Jetstar flight. If your beach chair fits under the maximum size of one meter or 39 inches, you can take it on the plane as a checked bag.

KLM

The size of your beach chair is the most important factor in determining whether or not you can bring it on a KLM flight as a checked bag.

The maximum dimensions of anything you include as a checked bag is 158 centimeters or 62 inches. If your beach chairs are under this size, then you should be fine bringing them on the plane.

Lufthansa

Lufthansa has some of the most generous checked baggage policies of any airline in the world. When you fly with Lufthansa you will be able to take your beach chairs on the plane as checked baggage as long as they are under the size requirements. This means that the total dimensions of the chairs cannot be greater than 315 cm or 124 in.

Qantas

You should be allowed to bring a beach chair onto a Qantas Airlines flight as a checked bag as long as it is properly secured, and it meets the size and weight restrictions.

If your beach chairs are under 32 kilograms or 70.54 pounds, they will most likely be allowed to go as checked baggage when you board our Qantas flight.

Qatar

Whether or not you can take a beach chair onto your flight as checked baggage when you fly with Qatar Airways depends on where exactly you are flying to, as well as the type of ticket that you have.

If the total dimensions of your beach chair are less than 62 inches you can probably take it as a carry on. You shouldn’t have any problem bringing it as a checked item.

Tui

Tui airlines does not explicitly prohibit you from taking a beach chair on board in your checked luggage. They also do not explicitly list any size requirements on their website.

However, if for some reason you have a beach chair that weighs more than 15 kilograms or 32 pounds, you will not be able to take this in your checked luggage.

Turkish Airlines

You should be able to check your beach chair when you fly on Turkish Airlines without any problem. As long as the beach chair does not exceed 115 centimeters or 46 inches in total dimensions, you should be fine to carry it onto the plane as a checked item.

Swiss

When you fly on Swiss Airlines, you are usually allowed to carry your beach chairs on the flight as checked luggage.

The maximum size luggage that you can bring on a Swiss Airlines flight as checked baggage is 115 in. However, you will be charged excess baggage fees if you bring something this large. To avoid these fees, bring a beach chair that is smaller than 62 in.

Singapore

When it comes to check in baggage, Singapore Airlines has specific limitations on each dimension of the item.

If your beach chair is less than 200 cm long by 75 cm wide by 80 cm high, you should not have any trouble bringing it on the plane as a checked bag. This converts to 78.74 inches long by 31.49 inches high by 31.49 inches wide.

United

Like with the other airlines, you should not have any problem taking your beach chairs onto the plane as a checked bag when you are flying with United Airlines.

They will accept checked bags up to 50 pounds or 23 kilograms and their maximum dimension restriction is a total of 62 inches. As long as your beach chairs fit within these dimensions, you can check them on the plane.

Wizz Air

You can check your beach chairs on Wizz Air as long as the chairs fit within the airline’s size restrictions. The dimensions have to be smaller than 149 cm by 119 cm by 171 cm. This is equivalent to 58.66 in by 46.85 in by 67.32 in.

Virgin Atlantic

Like with the other airlines, you can take your beach chairs on a Virgin Atlantic flight as checked baggage as long as the chairs meet the size requirements.

On Virgin Atlantic you will have to pay for oversized baggage if the size of your beach chairs is greater than 90 cm by 75 cm by 43 cm. This converts to 35.4 in by 29.52 in by 16.9 in.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can You Fit a Beach Chair in a Suitcase?

Most beach chairs are going to be too large to fit comfortably inside of a suitcase. If you want to bring a beach chair with you when you fly, you will most likely have to buy a special beach chair that is specifically made for traveling.

What Kind of Objects Are Not Allowed on Airplanes?

Generally speaking, the only objects that are not allowed on airplanes are things that are illegal and/or could potentially cause harm to other passengers or to the airplane itself.

Can You Carry a Beach Umbrella on the Plane?

You probably want to bring a beach umbrella to go with your beach chair.

Unfortunately, this is another item that you will normally have to include with your checked baggage because it will probably be too large to be considered a carry on. Additionally, some umbrellas have sharp or pointed parts that can be considered weapons by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

However, small umbrellas that can easily fold up and fit into your carry on bag may be okay to carry on as long as they cannot be considered weapons.

Final Thoughts

You can generally get away with taking your beach chair on the plane with you as a checked bag. Some airlines will even let you bring it on the plane as a carryon item, but your beach chair will probably be too big for this.