More replies below (thanks all!!). Sounds like in Europe, checking in
the dry shipper is not an issue. No idea of US - I assume absence of
responses means nobody's bothering to try it, presumably too much hassle.
phx
Ed said (bb post) that airlines are meant to be happy to take dry
shippers on planes if they're empty, because FAA says they're safe.
Julia:
Seeing the replies you collected I think I should add that we almost
always check in our dewars rather than shipping them beforehand unless we
go to ESRF (where we ship them both ways because we have to ship them on
the way back anyway). We've had no trouble checking in dewars in Stockholm
(home), Berlin and Zürich (with SAS, Lufthansa, Swiss Air, Norwegian, Air
Berlin...). We usually ask to check it in as bulky luggage, then the
check-in staff asks us what it is, we say it's a giant thermos, and that's
it, they're happy, they don't even want to know what's in the giant
thermos. Sometimes they ask if we've checked dewars in before, we show them
the old luggage tags or just say yes, and they're happy. Last time we
arrived in Zürich customs people told us next time we should go through the
red channel (which we don't intend to do because we don't have anything to
declare), but they let us pass anyway after we showed them a description of
a dry shipper. It's always a bit nerve-wrecking because of course the
dewars usually don't travel upright, but it's always been fine for us so
far. I don't think I'd risk it for a long-haul flight (and I have no idea
what it's like flying to the US), but then again couriers probably don't
treat the dewars any better, you just don't see it. We've actually had some
bad experiences with couriers losing or significantly delaying dewars,
which is why we prefer to take them with us now.
[I must add, we never had problems either. phx.]
Armin:
for some recent experiments at Diamond, [XXX] bought an extra ticket for
the dewar to have it in the cabin. That was with Lufthansa between
Hamburg and Heathrow. At least on one occasion the dewar travelled in
the cockpit!
