Surfing Waves

Im a newer surfer. I am located on the great lakes USA (fresh water) but have only surfed the ocean on vacations. I am buying a board for surfing locally and would like to be able to bring it with me when I go to the ocean instead of renting. Im looking at a 10ft board as that feels like a good spot for me with my skill level atm. Im heavy at 250lbs and was planning on a 86L 10ft board but noticed most airlines have a cut off at 9"6". Will i be greatly impacted by getting a 79L at 9' 4"? This would allow me to travel but has a 9% decrease in volume for an already heavy surfer in fresh water. Any thoughts? Same board style just 8" shorter.
Thank you,
Cal

1) If you treasure your board, DON'T take it on the plane. It will get damaged, and then you are stuck with a repair away from home and/or have to rent a board anyways.

2) Even if you get it on the plane, most taxi or rental cars won't fit a 9'0" foot plus board. ( let alone a 6'6" )

3) 9'4" is without packing. What size will it be with insulation foam around the rails , and packed in a box ?

I flew with a 9.0 longboard in an FCS 9.2 double roller bag a few times without problems. But of course we added padding etc. I have the FCS soft racks which worked fine on rental cars on medium distances up to 3h. But also consider storage at your destination - you don‘t want to leave it on the car overnight.

A lot depends on the airline, www.wavetribe.com has a comprehension airlift and their requirements!
My 9’3”. boards have a tough travel bag, for some journeys I use the stiff corrugated sign plastic cut to the board shape top and bottom doesn’t weigh much and to protect the rails the swim noodles type foam!