Alaska Known Shipper Help

[ddavis_1313]

My wife and I are headed back to Alaska this September for a moose float hunt. We will be in the field from Sep 3 - Sep 17 with a Sep 5-15 season. I recently was told about the direct shipper option on here by another member and was wondering if some of you that have used this option could fill in some details.

I have an Alaska airlines credit card which is getting us a 2-1 flight. Not sure if that is applicable to the known shipper option.

We will be flying in and out of Bush Intercontinental in Houston.

I just applied for the known shipper through my business. I thought I read that they needed your business tax ID number but never saw anywhere to put that info in.

Some of the questions are as follows:

How do you schedule a shipment? (This will be for return only if we kill a moose. we pack light. everything we need will fit in one check bag and our packs as carry on's plus two gun cases)

Where in Anchorage do we process and package meat prior to shipping and what containers/boxes do we use? Are those boxes/containers locally sourced?

Is the meat then frozen after packaged prior to shipping?

How soon after we depart for home does the shipment usually ship?

Is it frozen when it arrives to its final destination (Houston Texas)

Can anyone provide a ballpark estimate for shipping a processed (deboned) moose through this service?


Through my research it seems that this would be a lot less stressful and less expensive than loading meat into rubber maid totes and sending them through luggage claim. ( at least that's my interpretation of checking meat at the airport)

I appreciate the feedback and guidance. We hunted in Alaska in the Brooks Range for caribou in '21 and my wife was successful in shooting a really nice bou. Unfortunately, Yogi came by daily to collect his tundra taxes and we went broke after two days. LOL. We never got to the part where you fly home with your harvest, just a skull cap and cape that we practically slept on top of to salvage something from the trip. I passed on shooting anything from the simple fact that it would be for nothing other than feeding bears. We boogied on day 4 and spent the next 6 days fishing all the way down the peninsula to Homer.

 

[fmyth]

I used by buddies known shipper account to ship two 50lb boxes of frozen fish from Wrangell Island to Phoenix. I think it cost me $98 which is about $1 a pound. I just drove it down to the airport's shipping office and filled out the paperwork and paid. Then picked it up in Phoenix a few days later. They kept it in a freezer in PHX until I got there to pick it up. Yes, you'll want to freeze it first. My last shipment got stuck overnight in Seattle and they could not tell me if they would keep it in a freezer. Fortunately for me it was frozen solid and arrived still frozen in fish boxes 2 days later than expected.
We have only shipped fish and use fish boxes w plastic bag liner. You can buy them nearly anywhere in AK for $15 each and they hold 50lbs of fish. We don't use coolers because we are paying by the total weight of the shipment. Yetis are heavy. People that live in remote areas of AK use AK airlines known shipper program often to ship all kinds of stuff. I was in Larsen Bay on Kodiak last year and my friend had a Tommy Gate for a pickup truck and lower unit for a boat shipped from the lower 48 to Kodiak then put it on a Cessna Caravan and flew it to Larsen Bay.

 

[fmyth]

I've flown home from Wrangell with a carry on bag of clothes, 1 checked bag of gear, one 50lb box of frozen halibut, and one 90lb box (2 fifty pound fish boxes packed and taped together) of crab and shrimp. Pretty sure that cost me $150 extra. I only ship via AK known shipper if I have more than the checked baggage limit.

 

[fmyth]

Better call and ask specifically about checking in the moose rack. When I flew home from Anchorage last June I flew home with a friends 51" rack and checked it. I did have to tape pipe insulation over all the points and stretch wrap the whole thing. They told me that the rules were changing for 2024. Ask lots of questions. You may have to split the rack if you shoot a big one.

 

[ddavis_1313]

Better call and ask specifically about checking in the moose rack. When I flew home from Anchorage last June I flew home with a friends 51" rack and checked it. I did have to tape pipe insulation over all the points and stretch wrap the whole thing. They told me that the rules were changing for 2024. Ask lots of questions. You may have to split the rack if you shoot a big one.

Hard to split a rack if it’s still ok a skill for a euro! Lolol

I’ll figure out how to send it down other way if that’s the case.

Oh, just got verification that I was approved.


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[AKBorn]

Hey Dan,

Can't help with the known shipper portion, but may have some sources for shipping boxes. Last September when I was there I was looking around for boxes to ship caribou meat. It seemed that Sportsmans Warehouse, Fred Meyer, and WalMart were all selling a light colored box with an embedded liner. I was looking for the dark brown waxed boxes that have a visqueen bag inside, not attached to the box - I feel like those hold a little more meat than the new boxes.

Thanks to a tip from Schmalz on this forum, I was able to get the wax boxes at Alaska Butcher Supply in Mountain View (a section of Anchorage).

Good luck this fall!

Michael

 

[ddavis_1313]

Hey Dan,

Can't help with the known shipper portion, but may have some sources for shipping boxes. Last September when I was there I was looking around for boxes to ship caribou meat. It seemed that Sportsmans Warehouse, Fred Meyer, and WalMart were all selling a light colored box with an embedded liner. I was looking for the dark brown waxed boxes that have a visqueen bag inside, not attached to the box - I feel like those hold a little more meat than the new boxes.

Thanks to a tip from Schmalz on this forum, I was able to get the wax boxes at Alaska Butcher Supply in Mountain View (a section of Anchorage).

Good luck this fall!

Michael

Awesome! Thanks for the tip on sourcing boxes!


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[Legend]

Awesome! Thanks for the tip on sourcing boxes!


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We used known shipper to send 2 moose skulls home and over 800lbs of meat. We built a box out of wood and cardboard for the skulls (pulled the brain and all meat off). The cost to ship this box was based on the dimensions of the box and not the weight. So we threw a bunch of random stuff in it since weight did not matter.

Worked great.

 

[cardiac5]

A lot of stores have the styrofoam boxes. We used trophy expiditers once. Shipped 4 boxes of meat and a moose rack $970.


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[JBrown1]

I’ve never gone to the trouble to complete the “known shipper’ application, but I’m still able to ship stuff through Alaska air Cargo. I believe that all that the known shipper thing does is to make it easier for them to process your paperwork.

“50 pound fish boxes” are available in just about every Alaskan community, and can be found in most of the general stores and supermarkets in the larger cities. These waxed boxes with a plastic bag/liner are made for shipping fish or meat via the airlines. They cost about $20.

Whether you have a butcher cut and wrap your meat, or if you just plan to toss the meat in the boxes to be processed at home is up to you.

You don’t need to schedule the shipment, just show up to the Alaska Air Cargo office with your boxes. They have you fill out some paperwork, show your ID, then you bring your boxes to the loading dock where they weigh them. Then you head back inside to pay.

Your boxes will probably arrive at your destination airport a few days after you get home, but they will be held in cold storage.

Remember, thousands of people do exactly what you are doing each year, so Alaska Airlines is pretty well versed on helping people get their fish/meat home from Alaska.

 

[ddavis_1313]

A lot of stores have the styrofoam boxes. We used trophy expiditers once. Shipped 4 boxes of meat and a moose rack $970.


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My current plan is to use trophy expediters but if we get two moose it’s gonna add up fast. lol


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[jtevanMT]

Alaska Airlines Visa allows for 1 free checked bag per person. Second checked bag is $40. On a recent trip to AK we (4 people) checked 200 lbs of frozen fish (4 x 50 lb boxes) for free. Of course, all of personal items fit into overhead cary-on bags. This may not be possible with a checked rifle and other gear needed for a moose hunt. Each of you can check a second bag or 50 lb box for $40 (likely less expensive than a shipper).

 

[FAAFO]

I’ve never gone to the trouble to complete the “known shipper’ application, but I’m still able to ship stuff through Alaska air Cargo. I believe that all that the known shipper thing does is to make it easier for them to process your paperwork.

“50 pound fish boxes” are available in just about every Alaskan community, and can be found in most of the general stores and supermarkets in the larger cities. These waxed boxes with a plastic bag/liner are made for shipping fish or meat via the airlines. They cost about $20.

Whether you have a butcher cut and wrap your meat, or if you just plan to toss the meat in the boxes to be processed at home is up to you.

You don’t need to schedule the shipment, just show up to the Alaska Air Cargo office with your boxes. They have you fill out some paperwork, show your ID, then you bring your boxes to the loading dock where they weigh them. Then you head back inside to pay.

Your boxes will probably arrive at your destination airport a few days after you get home, but they will be held in cold storage.

Remember, thousands of people do exactly what you are doing each year, so Alaska Airlines is pretty well versed on helping people get their fish/meat home from Alaska.

Actually Alaska Air Cargo changed their policy this year. If you are shipping to the lower 48 you must be or using a known shipper account FYI. The only exception is Seattle.

Friday I was at AK air cargo and there was a group of 4 guys trying to ship their caribou meat and racks to the lower 48. They did not have a known shipper account and were scrambling to figure out their logistics.

 

[FAAFO]

My current plan is to use trophy expediters but if we get two moose it’s gonna add up fast. lol


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Thats a solid plan. You could also take the meat home from one moose and donate the other moose to save costs. Depending on your family size two moose is a lot to eat.

Good luck on your hunt!

 

[ddavis_1313]

Actually Alaska Air Cargo changed their policy this year. If you are shipping to the lower 48 you must be or using a known shipper account FYI. The only exception is Seattle.

Friday I was at AK air cargo and there was a group of 4 guys trying to ship their caribou meat and racks to the lower 48. They did not have a known shipper account and were scrambling to figure out their logistics.

I have a known shipper account. I just need to find out how long they will store meat at the air cargo before they ship. Or, where I can store meat before we leave. We are out of the field by the 17th (if weather cooperates) but not flying home until til the 21st.


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[ddavis_1313]

Thats a solid plan. You could also take the meat home from one moose and donate the other moose to save costs. Depending on your family size two moose is a lot to eat.

Good luck on your hunt!

Yeah, I may. Even a second plane to fly it out is a lot of coin… lol


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[william schmaltz]

Actually Alaska Air Cargo changed their policy this year. If you are shipping to the lower 48 you must be or using a known shipper account FYI. The only exception is Seattle.

Friday I was at AK air cargo and there was a group of 4 guys trying to ship their caribou meat and racks to the lower 48. They did not have a known shipper account and were scrambling to figure out their logistics.

The Known Shipper program was started after 9-11 by TSA. TSA put it in place as a database of shippers approved by TSA for transporting cargo on passenger aircraft as another terrorism measure. The airlines have no say in how or when it applies. When the rule was put in place, intrastate cargo on passenger airlines within Alaska was exempt because of how much the state’s residents rely on air cargo. That’s why most Alaskans have never had to deal with it. If AK Airlines is shipping without known shipper approval to SEA/TAC only, it’s probably because that’s the only hub outside of AK that has a cargo-specific flight.

 

[FAAFO]

The Known Shipper program was started after 9-11 by TSA. TSA put it in place as a database of shippers approved by TSA for transporting cargo on passenger aircraft as another terrorism measure. The airlines have no say in how or when it applies. When the rule was put in place, intrastate cargo on passenger airlines within Alaska was exempt because of how much the state’s residents rely on air cargo. That’s why most Alaskans have never had to deal with it. If AK Airlines is shipping without known shipper approval to SEA/TAC only, it’s probably because that’s the only hub outside of AK that has a cargo-specific flight.