Kodiak flight logistics for meat

[Bluffgruff]

Assuming I kill an elk on Afognak, am I going to be able to get 3-400lbs of meat to the kodiak airport in time to make the 7am flight out? Or should I plan to take the 340pm flight that requires an overnight in a PNW hotel/airport? I've read several threads about how great the staff is at ADQ, but my concern is being able to arrive early enough to handle that much weight, by myself.

 

[Bluffgruff]

Anybody live in Kodiak or has done an elk hunt in those parts and brought meat home as luggage?

 

[cedahm]

Assuming I kill an elk on Afognak, am I going to be able to get 3-400lbs of meat to the kodiak airport in time to make the 7am flight out? Or should I plan to take the 340pm flight that requires an overnight in a PNW hotel/airport? I've read several threads about how great the staff is at ADQ, but my concern is being able to arrive early enough to handle that much weight, by myself.

Most flights from ANC back to the lower 48 are red eyes departing between 8 and midnight (eastern cities earlier, western later. Seattle being a notable exception and having flights all day long).

I think United has recently added a mid-day departure to DEN, but for the most part, they are all in that 4 hour window.

So - assuming (big assumption) that you arrive in ANC without a lengthy delay, the afternoon ADQ-ANC flight will give you ample connection time and won't require an overnight layover.

In the dozen-ish fishing trips we did up there, we generally took the early flight to ANC from whatever outstation we were at. Partly for "weather insurance" against delays, but mostly because there is a lot more to do with 5-10 hours in Anchorage than in King Salmon, Bethel, Kodiak, et al. We did not have hundreds of pounds of meat, so not apples to oranges, but as you note, the folks in ADG are accustomed to that.

 

[JColony]

Another option to think about is having it processed locally in Kodiak (or even in Anchorage possibly). Many meat processors up here are known shippers w/ Alaska Air Cargo and can ship the frozen processed meat. Not knowing when your hunt is, it can be pretty mild here in Anchorage in the fall and I would worry about my meat sitting in the baggage area waiting for your connecting flights. This is definitely not the cheapest route and I know many find joy in processing their own meat, however the risk involved in losing your meat might out weigh all that. In 2018, while I was living down in Arizona, I came up to do a moose hunt with some old high school friends and was fortunate to be successful. Had I handled the meat as baggage, it would have been with me for an extra day in Fairbanks waiting for my flight, sat in Seattle waiting for connecting flight, to be retrieved at the carousal in Phoenix. I opted to have it processed in AK (highly recommend Delta Meats if you're ever needing processing in that area). They are a known shipper w. AK Air Cargo. Once finished processing, they delivered to airport in Fairbanks and shipped it as cargo to Phoenix. Showed up that night frozen solid.

Just some food for thought. The logistics up her can be quite challenging to say the least.

Good luck on your hunt!

 

[Bluffgruff]

Another option to think about is having it processed locally in Kodiak (or even in Anchorage possibly). Many meat processors up here are known shippers w/ Alaska Air Cargo and can ship the frozen processed meat. Not knowing when your hunt is, it can be pretty mild here in Anchorage in the fall and I would worry about my meat sitting in the baggage area waiting for your connecting flights. This is definitely not the cheapest route and I know many find joy in processing their own meat, however the risk involved in losing your meat might out weigh all that. In 2018, while I was living down in Arizona, I came up to do a moose hunt with some old high school friends and was fortunate to be successful. Had I handled the meat as baggage, it would have been with me for an extra day in Fairbanks waiting for my flight, sat in Seattle waiting for connecting flight, to be retrieved at the carousal in Phoenix. I opted to have it processed in AK (highly recommend Delta Meats if you're ever needing processing in that area). They are a known shipper w. AK Air Cargo. Once finished processing, they delivered to airport in Fairbanks and shipped it as cargo to Phoenix. Showed up that night frozen solid.

Just some food for thought. The logistics up her can be quite challenging to say the least.

Good luck on your hunt!

I found a processor on Kodiak who will freeze and ship the meat for a small fee (in addition to the shipping) via Alaska Air Cargo. I'm leaning that direction, currently. I need to figure out the air cargo price.
If it's more than double the luggage price, guess who's gonna have 4 tubs of semi-frozen meat at DIA? This guy.

 

[cgasner1]

Air cargo is cheaper that putting it on the plane with you and makes for much less of a hassle if live near the airport

 

[Bluffgruff]

I found a processor on Kodiak who will freeze and ship the meat for a small fee (in addition to the shipping) via Alaska Air Cargo. I'm leaning that direction, currently. I need to figure out the air cargo price.
If it's more than double the luggage price, guess who's gonna have 4 tubs of semi-frozen meat at DIA? This guy.

I wanted to update this thread so no one falls into the trap that I did.

Very long story short, DO NOT USE KODIAK ISLAND SMOKEHOUSE for packing and shipping your meat.

I took my boned out elk too them with the understanding and a contract that the elk would be bagged without processing, frozen, and shipped via Alaska Air Cargo for the cost of the freezer boxes and an airport dropoff fee (and I would pay the cargo bill). I specifically asked them not to process it, and that was written on the contract. They proceeded to bag it, not process it, and pack it up in the freezer boxes, but then sent me an invoice asking for full processing fee of $2.20/lb ($803) before they would ship it. I went in person the next day to try to solve the charge situation, even offering a packing fee, and "the person who decides things" was gone for the day, at noon. I ended up getting my meat shipped, and disputed the charges with my credit card company and got my money back because I had the contract saying what we had agreed on, and they had charged me for something they didn't provide, but I got lucky. It was a giant PITA with me spending several nights of my Wyoming elk hunt submitting photo evidence and writing a long drawn out dispute letter so that I could prove they tried to screw me over, and then lied about "the customer noted goods received in order" to my credit card company.

I wouldn't want anyone to have the same experience. Next time, I'm just buying freezer boxes and freezing meat at my hotel and carrying it on the plane.

Again, DO NOT USE KODIAK ISLAND SMOKEHOUSE for packing and shipping meat.

 

[Dave Bergman]

Thank you for the advice