[maria]

Has anyone recently tried to take a cooker on a plane? I’m planning on taking my colman (cooker head attached to fuel container and doesn’t detach) stove down to invercargil on Friday. Would this be a go?

[Andrew]

If you want to know what the rules are I’d suggest getting in touch with the carrier you’re flying with (anonymously perhaps!).

I’m guessing the formal policy has not changed, that is – no cookers. There has been discussion in the past (I recall John Rhodes pursuing this issue and articles in FMC bulletin) that airing the fuel tank for a week minimum or filling with water (definitely don’t do this with a Peak) can be done to get around rules – but this depends on the checkin person’s interpretation of the rules. The other alternatives are to lie when asked or get your cooker down by land (although I hear the bullock train to Invercargill takes a good 2 weeks from Picton).

From a safety perspective a depressurised and well aired cooker probably poses alot less risk than the average cosmetics bag.

I take my MSR stove regularly to Sth Isl as I have a spare fuel bottle in CHCH – I don’t believe it poses any risk (pump disassembled and aired). Yet another advantage that the MSR has over the Peak.

Happy trampng

[Andrew]

The Canadians seem to have a sensible approach taken at the regulatory level – see link to http://www.tc.gc.ca/CivilAviation/commerce/DangerousGoods/NewsInfo/Notice/Nulifying/menu.htm

if its good enough for them …

[Grant Newton]

John Rhodes is the expert on this topic (he may be able to put you in touch with the right person), but it may be no-go with a Coleman with the cooker head attached to the fuel tank. John told me they are taking a much more sensible approach to cookers, which may allow MSR’s and Colemans to be carried. Check with the airline as you may be able to make arrangements.

In the past I have left my Coleman at home when flying and carried a cheap Kovea cooker that takes cannisters ….. and bought the cannisters at your destination.

Finding someone travelling by ferry and road/rail would make things easy.

Cheers
Grant

[Glynne Lloyd]

I tried to take my MSR to Melbourne this year. I decided best to not even try taking the fuel bottle as I could get one in Aussie for $25. Even with no fuel bottle they found my stove in the x ray machine and it had to stay in Wellington.

I may have had better luck if I had left the burnt aluminium foil guards behind and cleaned the cooker part a bit more and perhaps put the bits through out my luggage.

Glynne

[Andrew Chisholm]

I rang Air NZ and was told it was ok as long as the cooker and bottle had been empty and aired for 48 hours prior to travel.

From John Rhodes, when I enquired:

The following was supposed to be in the latest FMC Bulletin. I dunno why it got left out.

Camping stoves on aircraft

In Bulletin 145 (August 2001) carried three items about the carriage of stoves on aircraft. Dave Brennan, then with the Air New Zealand-Ansett Group, backgrounded the issue from the airlines’ perspective and flagged a proposed addition to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Technical Instructions and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Dangerous Goods Regulations.

Under the proposed addition, suitably prepared camping stoves could be carried as checked baggage, “with the approval of the operator” (ie the airline concerned).

The additional regulation described by Dave Brennan has now been adopted by IATA and will apply from the beginning of 2003. The only change to the wording given in Bulletin 145 is that the scope of the regulation has been broadened to include fuel containers as well as stoves.

However, implementation of the new regulation is in the hands of individual airlines, which may choose whether or not to adopt it. At deadline for this Bulletin, we have spoken with the Ground Operations staff of Air New Zealand and Qantas. They say a procedure for dealing with stoves will be in place at the check-in counters of both airlines before 1 January. Details of the procedure are not yet available.

If you want to carry a stove on an aircraft in New Zealand this summer, our advice is to get in touch with your airline before you fly and ask what their requirements are.

We hope to publish more information in the March Bulletin.

John Rhodes

[Andrew]

I had a look at the IATA website which had a separate section for climbers/hikers – it specifically says that solid fuel cookers can be taken on so long as not pressurised and aired out. It would be a shame if NZ airlines took a harder stance – John’s advice above seems sensible. Lets hope they’ve sorted it before Xmas.

[maria]

Thanks for all the replies – have just checked again with Air NZ – got a bloke who looked up everything they had on dangerous goods and its not a go at the moment.
anyone for 8days of cold dehy??

[Shane Connolly]

Hi,

This seems like an annual problem…

After hearing about John Rhodes problems last Xmas someone I know went to the lengths of posting my cooker to a friend in Christchurch. NZ Post seemed happy to take it ( Without fuel and aired of course).

I also have considered dismantling my MSR into numerous parts. This may not work with a coleman.

“What cooker,sir? It’s only spare parts. And I happen to have a red aluminium water bottle.”

Filling fuel bottles with water is another hazard. Small droplets have a habbit of blocking fuel lines.

Cheers,
Shane

[Wayne Stevens]

I personnally never carry a cooker with me when i got on planes – instead i take a MSR primus without any fuel… (ie 100% safe and rovided there are no fuel vapours and its all disconnected there is no risk.. an MSR primus without any fuel isnt going to burst into flames – how can it?)

i wouldnt carry fuel or gas bottles on the plane.. that would be stupid..

the reality is that there are thousands of tourists coming to nz each year as backpackers and they are not buying cookers here.. but off course they are not carrying fuel with them (i hope)

so the answer to this problem i think is to answer the question asked by the checkin staff quite directly ie if they ask u if u have a cooker (but instead u have a primus) say no. Alternatively if they ask u if you have a primus (but you call it a cooker) answer no also..

hope this helps!!
Wayne

[Ruth]

I have just been speaking to Air NZ re this very topic as I want to take my MSR on the plane this christmas. I spoke with a Tony Bolton (Air NZ wellington airport terminal) who looks after this kind of thing.

The recomendation was for MSR cookers:
Cooker must go in the checked baggage.
Fuel bottle, pump & stove must be disconnected.
Fuel bottle must be drained for at least 1 hour & then aired for a further 6 hours min.
Fill fuel bottle with cooking oil the & replace fuel bottle lid. The vege oil aparently absorbs any residual fuel.
Seal bottle & wrap in leak proof manner (so as not to get cooking oil throughout everything if it leaks!)

If this is done then it is classified as non hazardous…. and is in accordance with IATA. I was told that as of Jan 1 it will be a world wide regulation to have done this & you will need to sign a piece of paper to say you have.
There was no mention of the stove / cooker head part other than to air it out also.

I think that everything is xrayed these days so you should tell them that you have it & that you have donr the recomended preparations.

I was a bit concerned about filling the fuel bottle with cooking oil but rang Pete at Bivouac & talked with him about it. His recomendation for when draining the oil was to rince out the fuel bottle with some whitespirits/fuellite before filling it completly, any residule oil may affect the performance of the stove so rincing is a good idea. I was going to test it out with a jar to see how easy the white spirits will rince away oil but have not done that yet.

Best advice is to speak to the airline about your specific cooker. I can give you the phone number of the guy at air nz if you need ( I had a heck of a job trying to find the correct person to talk to one woman thought I was saying i wanted to take a dog!!!, ended up being put thru to cargo who then put me on to Tony Bolten).

Ruth

[maria]

thanks Ruth, I think this is one area where MSR’s (with a separate fuel bottle) truimph over Colemans! as luck would have it, we are alble to borrow a stove in Chch.

[stuart]

Maria wins a special club prize for getting the most replies to her Forum message. A box of cabin bread is on its way to you Maria. Well done and happy flying.

By the way Maria, we dont need you to bring a cooker on the trip, Fiona is bringing two, but thanks for the research…

Stuart

[maria]

Great work, trip leader – had already sussed that out with Fiona. Might have saved numerous Govt. depts loads of lost work time if you’d let me know you’d reallocated the trip gear!

[Andrew]

But just think of the private company benefits our endless phonecalls to airlines will now lead to – keeps those call centres in business.

[Geoff Keey]

I was told I could not take an MSR with me. I then e-mailed their customer complains line for an explanation and … I’m still waiting!

Maybe if the Canadians have a sensible policy we should do a FMC lobby of the politicians and get a media photo shoot of a line of trampers with empty stoves that they can’t take on a plane and bottles of flammable alchoholic drinks that they can.

I would be heppy to help organise a lobby.

Cheers

Geoff

[maria]

You’ve already made it into the Sunday Star-times this year…

[Ruth]

The problem with call centres is that the ‘customer service officer’ on the other end of the phone generally only knows the answers to the commonly asked questions & obviously questions tramers ask are just far to difficult…

[Author]

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