International Flight with Bicycle

[Michael Wileman]

In <[email protected]> [email protected] writes:

>Scott Gordo writes:

>> I'm planning on taking an overseas trip in May with my bicycle in a
>> full-sized box. I've done it once before and it was free. I'm not
>> sure if this is standard practice. I'm in the middle of choosing my
>> flights. Can anyone point out a listing of airlines that provide
>> this service for free?

>I didn't check it out and got reamed by Continental last year 2 x $80.
>When planning to book, ask the airline whether there is a charge. You
>can do this by email or phone if you look up their web site. I was
>never charges in the past. Times are getting tighter.

I almost got burned on this once when Sabena told me on the
phone it was free, but the Delta check-in agent insisted I
pay the Delta fee.

Take the name and number of whoever you speak to, and ask
them if they will fax you a statement of the cost. Anything
to support your case when the person behind the counter is
clueless.

Mike

 

[Scott Gordo]

Scott Gordo wrote:
> I'm planning on taking an overseas trip in May with my bicycle in a
> full-sized box. I've done it once before and it was free. I'm not sure
> if this is standard practice.
> I'm in the middle of choosing my flights. Can anyone point out a
> listing of airlines that provide this service for free?
>
> Thanks,
> Scott

Found this: http://www.ibike.org/encouragement/travel/bagregs.htm
It's hardly in stone, but I appreciated the resource/attempt.

I've had two people at Air France (800-237-2747, spoke to Pablo)
confirm that I can bring a bicycle on board free of charge, but no one
will give me WRITTEN confirmation for the showdown I'm expecting to
encounter at check in. Supposedly it's somewhere on the site, but
they're not making it obvious.
Also emailed Air France ([email protected]) who, of course, told me
to call the 800 number above.
Whee!

Scott

 

[Per Löwdin]

"Scott Gordo" <[email protected]> skrev i meddelandet
news:[email protected]...
> I'm planning on taking an overseas trip in May with my bicycle in a
> full-sized box. I've done it once before and it was free. I'm not sure
> if this is standard practice.

It depends, across the Atlantic you can usually have 60 kilo in two pieces,
if one is a boxed bike no sweat as long as it is neatly boxed. We flew from
San Diego to Stockholm once with boxed bikes, and from San Francisco another
time, changing in Chicago, no problems.

We have also flewn with everything stuffed into four boxes, two each, as we
had BOBs, worked fine, though the security people in the US found it a bit
unusal, we heard some comments, but then there is no law against travelling
with boxes instead of suitcases.

In Europe and Asia it can vary a lot. Sometimes there is a fixed surcharge,
e.g., at flights to Mallorca or the Canary Islands, at other times it
appears to depend on the mood of the people that check you in.

Per
http://lowdin.nu

 

[RobertPerkins]

The legal limit is generally 62" length plus width plus height. The
_only_ way I know of to get your bike to travel free is to get a bike
with S&S couplers. Then, you can pack the bike to fit into a
26"x26"x10" case. Check out http://www.sandsmachine.com/regs.htm.
I have such a bike. It takes 30-45min to assemble and tune it (after
practice). It weighs in at 48lbs bike and case, which is just under
the newer, lower domestic bag weight limits of 50lb.

 

[[email protected]]

Per Löwdin wrote:
> "Scott Gordo" <[email protected]> skrev i meddelandet
> news:[email protected]...
> > I'm planning on taking an overseas trip in May with my bicycle in a
> > full-sized box. I've done it once before and it was free. I'm not sure
> > if this is standard practice.
>
> It depends, across the Atlantic you can usually have 60 kilo in two pieces,
> if one is a boxed bike no sweat as long as it is neatly boxed. We flew from
> San Diego to Stockholm once with boxed bikes, and from San Francisco another
> time, changing in Chicago, no problems.
>
> We have also flewn with everything stuffed into four boxes, two each, as we
> had BOBs, worked fine, though the security people in the US found it a bit
> unusal, we heard some comments, but then there is no law against travelling
> with boxes instead of suitcases.
>
> In Europe and Asia it can vary a lot. Sometimes there is a fixed surcharge,
> e.g., at flights to Mallorca or the Canary Islands, at other times it
> appears to depend on the mood of the people that check you in.
>
> Per
> http://lowdin.nu

WHEN did you do this international traveling? That is what is relevant
for the question being asked here. Many, many people have flown with a
bike between the US and Europe and the bike was just part of the
luggage and no extra charge was assessed. I did it on British Airways
in 1992 and TWA in 2000. Just put the bike in a big bike box from the
bike shop. Or bought a bike box at the airport on the return leg. But
that was before the September 11 event and all of the supposedly
increased airline security. And before almost every airline filed
bankruptcy in the US. What are the standards now? Is a bike free and
just part of the luggage on international flights?

 

[Scott Gordo]

Scott Gordo wrote:
> Scott Gordo wrote:
> > I'm planning on taking an overseas trip in May with my bicycle in a
> > full-sized box. I've done it once before and it was free. I'm not sure
> > if this is standard practice.
> > I'm in the middle of choosing my flights. Can anyone point out a
> > listing of airlines that provide this service for free?
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Scott
>
> Found this: http://www.ibike.org/encouragement/travel/bagregs.htm
> It's hardly in stone, but I appreciated the resource/attempt.
>
> I've had two people at Air France (800-237-2747, spoke to Pablo)
> confirm that I can bring a bicycle on board free of charge, but no one
> will give me WRITTEN confirmation for the showdown I'm expecting to
> encounter at check in. Supposedly it's somewhere on the site, but
> they're not making it obvious.
> Also emailed Air France ([email protected]) who, of course, told me
> to call the 800 number above.
> Whee!
>
> Scott

FYI: I bit the bullet and I'll be flying Continental. 160 smackeroos
extra for a bicycle round trip. It's annoying and ludicrous and I hate
rewarding them, but Continental had direct flights at the times I
wanted, and the flight + bike price was on the high side but
acceptable. Basically, I'll be paying a premium for peace of mind and
convenience. Plus, I won't have to wonder whether or not I'll get
screwed at check-in. I'm pre-screwed.

Scott

 

[Per Löwdin]

> WHEN did you do this international traveling? That is what is relevant
for the question being asked here.

Yes, I get your point, from San Diego in 2002, via Chicago, Stockholm -
Denver - Stockholm via London 2003, Stockholm - SF - Stockholm via Frankfurt
2004, Mallorca back and forth from Sweden 2004.

9/11 changed security procedures, especially in the US, but a bike in a box
is simply luggage. Our main problem last time we crossed the pond was that
it felt kind of ridiculous to travel with four boxes instead of some more
normal bags. http://www.lowdin.nu/MTB/California/Riding/boxedbikes.jpg The
airlines main concern was that we were only allowed to pieces so we had two
boxes each. Of course you have to put up with questions, have them x-rayed
etc., but in a general sense the officials we had to deal with friendly.

We went with better airlines, Lufthansa, AA, SAS, and British Air, if i
remember correctly. Think it might be different on the very cheapest.

Per
http://lowdin.nu

 

[(PeteCresswell)]

Per Scott Gordo:
>Basically, I'll be paying a premium for peace of mind and
>convenience. Plus, I won't have to wonder whether or not I'll get
>screwed at check-in. I'm pre-screwed.

The real "premium for peace of mind" would be to FedEx or UPS it with insurance.
Last time I took toys with me on an airline flite (windsurfing stuff to
Honoruru) the airline's liability limit was something ludicrous - like
$300-$400.
--
PeteCresswell

 

[Mike Jacoubowsky]

>>Basically, I'll be paying a premium for peace of mind and
>>convenience. Plus, I won't have to wonder whether or not I'll get
>>screwed at check-in. I'm pre-screwed.
>
> The real "premium for peace of mind" would be to FedEx or UPS it with
> insurance.
> Last time I took toys with me on an airline flite (windsurfing stuff to
> Honoruru) the airline's liability limit was something ludicrous - like
> $300-$400.
> --
> PeteCresswell

Fortunately, my bicycle has always arrived in one piece, and at the same
time I got there. Even on my trip to Maui, with three connecting flights,
including one where the connection was only 20 minutes (due to a late
flight) and we were told there was no way the baggage would make it on that
flight. Everything did. United, for what it's worth (although it was Aloha
on the final inter-island flight with the tight connection).

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com


"(PeteCresswell)" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Per Scott Gordo:
>>Basically, I'll be paying a premium for peace of mind and
>>convenience. Plus, I won't have to wonder whether or not I'll get
>>screwed at check-in. I'm pre-screwed.
>
> The real "premium for peace of mind" would be to FedEx or UPS it with
> insurance.
> Last time I took toys with me on an airline flite (windsurfing stuff to
> Honoruru) the airline's liability limit was something ludicrous - like
> $300-$400.
> --
> PeteCresswell

 

[Matt O'Toole]

On Fri, 31 Mar 2006 19:08:23 -0800, Drew wrote:

> Maybe UPS is less expensive? That's if you have somewhere to send it...

Fedex ground is cheaper still for bikes. I've spent less than $30 to go
coast to coast. The main problem is being without your
bike for a few days! Overseas though -- forget it. Even the most
egregious baggage charge would be cheaper.

Coupled frames (S&S, Ritchey, etc.) are well worth the investment, if you
travel with your bike more than a few times in a few years. Riders I know
who have these frames say it's the best equipment investment they ever
made. I don't understand why they're not marketed more aggressively.

Matt O.

 

[Matt O'Toole]

On Fri, 07 Apr 2006 07:25:19 -0700, RobertPerkins wrote:

> The legal limit is generally 62" length plus width plus height. The
> _only_ way I know of to get your bike to travel free is to get a bike
> with S&S couplers. Then, you can pack the bike to fit into a
> 26"x26"x10" case. Check out http://www.sandsmachine.com/regs.htm. I
> have such a bike. It takes 30-45min to assemble and tune it (after
> practice). It weighs in at 48lbs bike and case, which is just under the
> newer, lower domestic bag weight limits of 50lb.

Ritchey's Breakaway is similar, if a little less solid. There are videos
on Ritchey's website showing Tom Ritchey either assembling or breaking
down the bike, in about 10 minutes. Dahon sells a slightly cheaper
version of the Breakaway, with 105 instead of Ultegra, etc.

Some folks are putting big miles on Breakaways:

http://breakawaytoday.blogspot.com/

Matt O.

 

[Shaun aRe]

Bad idea - Better with big airplane - HTH.






Shaun aRe

 

[Simon Cooper]

"(PeteCresswell)" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Per Scott Gordo:
> >Basically, I'll be paying a premium for peace of mind and
> >convenience. Plus, I won't have to wonder whether or not I'll get
> >screwed at check-in. I'm pre-screwed.
>
> The real "premium for peace of mind" would be to FedEx or UPS it with
insurance.
> Last time I took toys with me on an airline flite (windsurfing stuff to
> Honoruru) the airline's liability limit was something ludicrous - like
> $300-$400.

While that's probably true, I've discovered that buying my tickets with my
American Express automatically qualifies me to travel insurance with no
deductable and has a much more generous limit, that I can't remember, since
I haven't lost anything terribly valuable. Broken Kayak paddle the airline
disowned wasn't a problem with them.

UPS or FedEx will charge a premium for insurance over $100 worth of stuff.
I ship $10-100k instruments from time to time, the clerks usually mention to
the drivers that "that one's insured for $X000" if you pay extra for the
insurance. Hence have decided that paying for a little insurance in such
cases is well worth it...

 

[Scott Gordo]

Simon Cooper wrote:
> "(PeteCresswell)" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > Per Scott Gordo:
> > >Basically, I'll be paying a premium for peace of mind and
> > >convenience. Plus, I won't have to wonder whether or not I'll get
> > >screwed at check-in. I'm pre-screwed.
> >
> > The real "premium for peace of mind" would be to FedEx or UPS it with
> insurance.
> > Last time I took toys with me on an airline flite (windsurfing stuff to
> > Honoruru) the airline's liability limit was something ludicrous - like
> > $300-$400.
>
> While that's probably true, I've discovered that buying my tickets with my
> American Express automatically qualifies me to travel insurance with no
> deductable and has a much more generous limit, that I can't remember, since
> I haven't lost anything terribly valuable. Broken Kayak paddle the airline
> disowned wasn't a problem with them.
>
> UPS or FedEx will charge a premium for insurance over $100 worth of stuff.
> I ship $10-100k instruments from time to time, the clerks usually mention to
> the drivers that "that one's insured for $X000" if you pay extra for the
> insurance. Hence have decided that paying for a little insurance in such
> cases is well worth it...

Is that AMEX qualification automatic for all their cards, or is it a
special program? (It's what I used.)

Thanks.

Scott

 

[pacqueman]

Mike Jacoubowsky wrote:


> By the way, whatever you hear on the phone when you call doesn't hold much
> weight when you're at the counter. If there's something on the website,
> print it out. Even then someone might argue it with you, and like it or not,
> the Gate Agent is King or Queen. Always best to be pleasant with them.

As Mike says, the check-in agent is the judge, jury and jailer when it
comes to baggage fees. As long as the item does not exceed the
dimensional or weigth limits, the agent can send it through without a
charge.

Several weeks ago I flew on AA from Dubai to Boston (AA/BA codeshare).
When booking the flight, the AA rep. assured me there would be no
excess baggage fee for my bike if I packed it in a hard/shell case and
it did not exceed the weight or dimensional limits. (It was packed in a
B&W bike case (the trapezoidal one, not the full-size square box) and
was under both limits.) However, reality at the check-in counter was
that I had to pay AED500 (USD137) to send the bike, even though it was
one of my two checked bags.

Aside from smiling and being very nice to the check-in agent, another
way to minimize this cost is to use the curbside check-in service still
offered by some of the major airlines at several of the large US
airports. These guys live off tips and a USD20 tip can often avoid the
much higher charge at the inside check-in counter.

PP

 

[dardruba]

Just got home from a weeks family outing to Barcelona, Spain. We flew Ryanair to Gerona landed at midnight and ducked into the airport hotel.

Next morning walking round to the cafeteria for breakfast there was a guy on the forecourt unloading his bike from a bikebag. He was there on the way back and I remembered this post. I called out a greeting and asked how much he'd paid to transport the bikebag, 30euros he said from Stanstead. He was going off road in the Pyrenees.

Thats when I noticed his hands, black **** up to his elbows, he'd got a fold back in his chain that he couldnt undo, either insitu or when lifted off the rings. I suggested keep it on the cassette, take it off the chainring, make a triangle hand at the top and bottom and jiggle it. He tried that but no luck, I couldnt see how the jiggle had got flattened in transit.

We were in a hurry to catch the airport bus so I wasn't about to help.
Break the chain, flatten it and belt it, no chainbreaker. Fit the spare, didnt have one. So I left, by then he was really p'd off. At the start of a trip my rings are spotless, I've got 3 chains in use at any one time - one on, one in the cleaner and one cleaned as the spare, he didnt like that so I didnt ask why he'd not cleaned the bike before leaving on an adventure.

If you know the guy would you ask him to post and tell us how he got on.

 

[Simon Cooper]

"Scott Gordo" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Simon Cooper wrote:
> > "(PeteCresswell)" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > news:[email protected]...
> >
> > While that's probably true, I've discovered that buying my tickets with
my
> > American Express automatically qualifies me to travel insurance with no
> > deductable and has a much more generous limit, that I can't remember,
since
> > I haven't lost anything terribly valuable. Broken Kayak paddle the
airline
> > disowned wasn't a problem with them.
> >

> Is that AMEX qualification automatic for all their cards, or is it a
> special program? (It's what I used.)

I'm not sure I can say. Read the little booklet they send you each year
with lots of very small print, and likely one of the sections is
"Complementary Travel Insurance". Just like if you read the VISA one,
you'll find you get free CDW on a rental car if you pay with it...

I expect, from what I've seen that it's a standard AMEX feature.

 

[RobertPerkins]

But, Ritchey's default bike box is over the 62" limit. I wonder if
this is a problem in reality. Rob