Originally Posted by
flatlander_48
Bad move. Reply "sports equipment" or "exercise equipment". Both of which are actually true and avoid bike changes.
Sorry, but that's wrong.
You may have been able to get away with that in the past, but not anymore, and not for a few years now.
It comes down to the size of the bicycle box. The bicycle box for the average adult diamond frame bicycle will not fit in their 62" overall measurement. It just won't happen. So therefore the bicycle box is oversized.
You can claim it is a bicycle ... and most often they won't even ask what it is, they'll just say, "That's a bicycle" ... and pay $50.
Or you can claim it is something else entirely ... and pay the oversized, and maybe even the overweight fee.
In most cases, the oversized fee is more than what you'd pay for a bicycle.
Take Southwest, for example ... according to their baggage policy below, if the box is more than 62", which it will be, and you claim it is not a bicycle, you'll be charged $75. However, if you confirm for them that there is a bicycle in the box, you'll be charged $50. Hmmm ... if it were me, I think I'd be claiming that there's a bicycle in the box!
http://www.southwest.com/html/custom...GGAGE-POLICIES