Big-wave champ calls out Hawaiian Airlines after being unable to check surfboard

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Maui native and big-wave champion Billy Kemper is calling out Hawaiian Airlines, asking for the carrier to re-visit its baggage policy after he could not check in his surfboards.

Kemper was on his way back to his home island earlier this week, set to surf the legendary Jaws waves at Peahi, when he was hit with another obstacle — he couldn’t get his boards on the plane.

Kemper posted a video to his Instagram on Tuesday after he was not allowed to fly with his board bag which was at first 18 pounds over Hawaiian Airlines’ weight restrictions and after he removed everything except his two boards, it was still two pounds over weight.

Kemper pleaded to pay the overweight fee, but was told it was against their policy to accept it.

“It wasn’t the fact that they didn’t allow me to bring a surfboard that was overweight and the fact that they wouldn’t let me pay for it, I’m OK with paying an overweight fee or oversized fee.” Kemper told HNN.

That prompted Kemper to book a flight on Southwest Airlines, which allowed his boards to travel.

A video he posted on social media got over 10,000 likes.

“It was really part of the way I was treated by the people there at Hawaiian Airlines,” Kemper said.

“There was no ... aloha spirit, in my opinion.”

This is not the first time surfers have had to deal with airlines when traveling to compete, many stories like Kemper’s have come up and others where boards were damaged in transit.

“No, this has been ongoing for years and, you know, I’ve seen a couple airlines make a big difference and gain a lot of publicity and positive, feedback from making changes.” Kemper said.

In the wake of the incident, Hawaiian Airlines has revised its policy and released this statement:

“We spoke with Billy Kemper and listened to his concern about being unable to check-in a surfboard bag that exceeded our 50-pound weight limit. To better support traveling surfers, in a few days we will implement a new policy that will allow us to accept and safely transport surfboard bags over 50 pounds. We treat surfboards differently than other sporting equipment because they are uniquely bulky and fragile, and require special handling through the airport and onto the aircraft. We value guest feedback and always welcome suggestions to improve our services. In 2017 we began allowing multiple surfboards per bag and this latest change will provide surfers more flexibility when traveling with us.”

That response made Kemper happy.

“I’m glad that Hawaiian activated as fast as they did and to hear that within just a few days that the policies will change,” Kemper said. “I mean, we’re already off to a good start, I’m very happy that they heard me.”

Hawaiian did not say what the new rules will be or when they will start.

Kemper says he has more meetings planned with the airlines in the near future.