checking CPAP in luggage

On another thread, chunkyfrog said we should never check our CPAP when flying. Why not? I checked mine and it was fine; I padded it well, and it seems rather sturdy to begin with. Is there some other reason besides breakage that we shouldn't check them? Thanks.

surf_rower wrote:On another thread, chunkyfrog said we should never check our CPAP when flying. Why not? I checked mine and it was fine; I padded it well, and it seems rather sturdy to begin with. Is there some other reason besides breakage that we shouldn't check them? Thanks.

Yes, What will you do when either your luggage gets misrouted/disappears or your CPAP gets stolen from your luggage?
That's why there is a medical exemption for traveling with essential medical equipment so that it is not counted against any carry-on limits or charges.

You can always get new clothes, etc. when you are away from home but getting a new CPAP machine in a strange city is really iffy.

How about lost or stolen?

You wouldn't believe how much stuff gets lost all the time. My parents volunteer at a charity that gives out baby supplies. We live near the main office for Alaska Airlines. Once items spend 3 months in the lost and found office, they are donated out. My parents pick up a full van load every 4-6 months. Car seats, booster seats, strollers (some of them really nice), clothing, etc.

And things get stolen out of luggage all the time. Many cpap machines, when packed in their bags, look like laptops.

The last thing I want to do when traveling is sleep without my cpap machine. Even if it is just late luggage, that could cost me a few nights of sleep when I most need it. And if it is stolen or damaged, I am out a machine until insurance can help me or I can buy another one used. Anybody know if insurance will replace a cpap machine that goes stolen in luggage?

It is so much easier to simply carry the machine and make sure it doesn't go missing.

JDS74 wrote: Yes, What will you do when either your luggage gets misrouted/disappears or your CPAP gets stolen from your luggage?
That's why there is a medical exemption for traveling with essential medical equipment so that it is not counted against any carry-on limits or charges.

You can always get new clothes, etc. when you are away from home but getting a new CPAP machine in a strange city is really iffy.

Oh duh, my luggage never gets lost (please don't hate me) so I didn't even think of that. And, I didn't realize it wouldn't count against carry-on. (Usually my carry-on is maxed out by my camera equipment and laptop.) Thanks.

zoocrewphoto wrote: Many cpap machines, when packed in their bags, look like laptops.

Laptops? There are flat ones? Mine looks like a big brick.
But, of course you guys are right. Thanks.

Just watch to make sure that your machine doesn't come off the rollers at the TSA checkpoint as it emerges from the xray machine, and roll right off onto the floor before you can catch it.

(Guess what happened to me last week at the airport)

ZooCrew:

It's likely that the coverage would come from a homeowners policy under mysterious disappearance clause and not from a medical claims clause.

I would suspect that you would have to prove the value of the loss and reimbursement might take weeks or longer while the bureaucracy creaked into gear.

surf_rower wrote:On another thread, chunkyfrog said we should never check our CPAP when flying. Why not? I checked mine and it was fine; I padded it well, and it seems rather sturdy to begin with. Is there some other reason besides breakage that we shouldn't check them? Thanks.

Our luggage has gone to various points in the world and come back with tire marks on it.

Oh and "United Breaks guitars"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo

Oh and I worked for a major airline - nobody at work would put any electronics in luggage EVER!!!!

surf_rower wrote:

zoocrewphoto wrote: Many cpap machines, when packed in their bags, look like laptops.

Laptops? There are flat ones? Mine looks like a big brick.
But, of course you guys are right. Thanks.

I have the S9 autoset. Out of the bag, it is taller and not as deep as a laptop. But when you put it in a padded travel bag, the bag isn't that different from a nice laptop bag.

I always carry my machine on board with me!!! It is exempt from counting as a carry on. Don't risk it getting lost, stolen, smashed etc. never send it thru with regular baggage it's too risky.

Carrie