Checked baggage fees: A good excuse to drop $1k on a new board?

The reason I worked to keep the size and weight of my gear down to normal checked baggage requirements (as I mentioned in my previous post: Kiteboarding Pack List ) is that the airlines I’ve booked with so far (Delta and Avianca) have specific fees for kiteboarding equipment. For Delta, a standard checked bag costs $25 (for the first bag, $40 for the second), whereas kiteboarding equipment costs $150. For Avianca, one checked bag is complementary, but there is a $100 fee for a kiteboarding bag. That means that so far, I’ve saved $225 by being able to pack into a normal checked bag. There was only one way to accomplish this – buy a splitboard. The price tag was a hefty $1,000, so we’ll see if it pays off in the long run. Not all airlines are charging for kiting equipment yet, but it’s starting to get on their radar. That means that more and more probably will, and I’ll have to book several more flights before I’m heading home. As for the performance costs of a riding a splitboard, so far they seem very minor, but I’ll write a thorough review once I’ve spent more time on it.