The Hoverboard Saga

As we traveled from market to market in Guangzhou fall of 2015 the one reoccurring item that surfaced was a hoverboard.  They were everywhere, on every corner and whizzing past on every street.  We also began to see them on campus at South China University of Technology.  They came in every color imaginable, metallic, camouflage, splat paint you name it, it was available.  The accessories were mind boggling, wheels 6.5inch, 7 inch, 8 inch and 10 inch you could choose the Benz style wheels or the Lamborghini style wheels.  LED lights in the front, LED lights on the deck and to top it, Bluetooth, remote control all were also available.  It began to remind me of ordering a car!  We were hearing rumblings about the lithium batteries, Chinese batteries versus Samsung.  Several online articles were cautionary about getting the right battery. 

One Thursday, the day we didn’t have classes we decided to visit a factory to see what exactly the deal really was.  I am not sure why we thought visiting the factory would be helpful; it was more of the mumbo jumbo that you hear on the streets and from the vendors.  Everything was wonderful, how many would you like to purchase???? It took us all day to figure that out!

We had already booked our flight back to the U.S. on Delta so the next step was to contact Delta to see if they allowed hoverboards checked as luggage.  Fortunately we had arrived with three suitcases, one empty, and an additional one full of food that had been consumed so we had two empty suitcases to return back home with.  Wouldn’t it be great to take hoverboards home to our grandkids for Christmas?

I went to the Delta website and found other customers had already inquired about this issue and there didn’t seem to be a concern with checking hoverboards with our luggage.

Information from the Delta website and Delta Assist on 1 December 2015:

Delta: ✅ The airline said it allows hoverboards in checked baggage.

Thanks! and are they allowed in checked luggage, too?

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Delta Assist

✔ @DeltaAssist

@misscaileyanne You're welcome! Yes, you can always check them. :-) *SD

2:42 AM - 1 Dec 2015

Hoverboards don't qualify as permitted electronic device under most airlines' existing policies. But they are one of many devices with lithium ion batteries that have the airlines and regulators concerned.
Currently, these are the regulations in place for hoverboards at different airlines:

·       United: Allowed in checked luggage, but battery must be removed and taken as carry-on

·       Delta: Allowed as checked luggage or carry-on

·       American: Allowed as carry-on only

·       Southwest: Allowed in checked luggage if battery is under 160 Watt-hours

·       JetBlue: Not allowed in checked or carry-on luggage

·       Virgin America: Not allowed in checked luggage

·       Current FAA guidelines state that in a carry-on, "Passengers may carry all consumer-sized lithium ion batteries (up to 100 watt hours per battery). Passengers can also bring two larger lithium ion batteries (100-160 watt hours per battery) in their carry-on."

·       The same batteries allowed in carry-on luggage are allowed in checked, except for "spare (uninstalled) lithium metal and lithium-ion batteries," which are completely banned. "The batteries must be protected from damage and short circuit or installed in a device. Battery-powered devices — particularly those with moving parts or those that could heat up — must be protected from accidental activation."

Off to the market we went and made our purchase of four hoverboards, one for each family.  Wouldn’t that just be the greatest Christmas gift ever!  We were feeling pretty proud of ourselves and so excited to be able to be part of the cutting edge. Of course we bought all the bells and whistles, everything you could load on our hoverboards. Nothing but the best for our grandkids! (I had memories of the Cabbage patch doll Christmas we experienced when Craig brought dolls home from Germany when they were not available in the U.S.)

 All packed up in B4 bags and ready to go!

 A mere ten days latter after we had made our purchase. On the morning of December 10 this news flash crossed the CNN app on our computer.

Delta bans hoverboards out of safety considerations

By Staff Writer • posted Dec. 10, 2015

Despite hoverboards' presence on many gift lists this holiday season, Delta decided today to stop allowing them on aircraft out of safety considerations.
Employee and passenger safety remains the airline’s top priority, driving Delta to disallow hoverboards and all lithium battery powered self-balancing personal transportation devices in carry-on and checked baggage effective Dec. 11.
Poorly labeled, powerful lithium-ion batteries powering hoverboards are the issue. Delta reviewed hoverboard product specifications and found that manufacturers do not consistently provide detail about the size or power of their lithium-ion batteries.
This investigation revealed devices often contain battery varieties above the government mandated 160-watt hour limit permitted aboard aircraft. While occurrences are uncommon, these batteries can spontaneously overheat and pose a fire hazard risk.
In addition to the 160-watt hour or less requirement for lithium ion batteries, any spare batteries (or any battery not already installed into an electronic device) must be in carry-on baggage, and no more than two spares are allowed.

Holy cow, we are now ten days from takeoff with our hoverboards all packed in the B4 bags only to read this horrifying new flash! Enter Panic!!!
DHL, UPS, and EMS also refused to ship the boards air cargo. Craig loaded one hoverboard in our grocery cart and went to China Post to see if we could ship them slow boat from China.  After a two hour wait in the mail line we were told in Chinese they were a safety consideration and each board would need to be in an individual wooden crate, actual shipping cost would be approximately $50 each depending on the crate construction.  Terriffic, where do you get wooden crates built on short notice? Turns out some students had some experience trying to ship their lab equipment and knew of a spot that would build wooden crates.  A little phone research by Chinese students revealed that the custom wooden crates would be double the price of the hoverboard.  Not really a good option, never mind that the shipping costs would be added on the now heavier wooden boxes.  We were very quickly running out of options.   At the end of 24 hours it was clear that our grandchildren in California, Colorado, and Arizona were never going to see a Chinese hoverboard for Christmas 2015.  Our $500 investment in the best Christmas present ever was becoming a $500 liability! What to do?? We decided that our best option would be to try to make some children in Guangzhou International Branch a Merry Christmas. 
It just so happened that the Branch Christmas Party was scheduled for Saturday night, December 12. We asked a few questions of President Qain about which parents would allow the hoverboard and which families were in need of a boost in their Christmas budget.  After an eventful Sunday, bus trips, metro trips, almost 24 hours after we began this adventure all four hoverboards had been moved out of our apartment to new homes and remaining in China.  They will make someone very happy on Christmas morning; sadly it won’t be our grandchildren. Sometimes we insist on learning things the hard way! We have actually been part of our own “Christmas Miracle.”