jaredlinz

i'm leaving jan. 15 (flying northwest airlines) and will be in berlin for two weeks. does anyone have advice for best ways to have a bike with me? i'm considering packing it up in a bike box and taking it on the train, but i've heard some horror stories about bikes getting super destroyed doing this.. i'm also not sure if there's an additional fee from the airline. advice?? rent a bike there? buy a proper bicycle luggage carrier? i'm thinking if i take a bike i'll take my track bike so as to make reassembly easier and to bump up my prospects of finding my bike in fair condition upon arrival. what do you think? any help is appreciated.

DieselDan

If you can disassemble, pack, unpack, and reassemble, then look into the airlines' fees for flying your bike. If you can't do these things, best bet is to rent.

ad6mj

Maybe buy a used bike there?

Boudicca

For two weeks I'd rent.

https://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.d...dverleih.shtml

ad6mj

Interesting article. The rental rates mentioned were about $20 a day. How many days do you plan on riding?

jaredlinz

looks like it would cost about $130 each way, each bike according to n.w.a. info. i'm a little worried about their, "Northwest does not accept liability for loss, damage, or delay of bicycles. Excess valuation insurance may not be purchased for transport of bicycles."

i checked craigslist berlin and didn't see anything used worth buying.

i'm hoping to ride most of the days i'm there.

thanks for the help.. wish someone had some personal experience.

spinnaker

It is $150 US each way (assuming you are traveling straight through) and this is the correct link. There are specific charges for bicycles.

There was one or two people offering a bike for free in Germany (can't remember what city). You may want to search.


I have the same problem with these fees. I have no problem paying for the extra cost but I find it hard to believe that the cost is $150 each way. That is outrageous The least this could do is buy you a few hundred dollars in insurance. If they get you bike through safe then they pocket the balance. You might want to consider other airlines. Most charge $80-$90 U.S.

And please use caps at beginning of sentences. No caps makes posts difficult to read.

Machka 

Airline Baggage Regulation for Bikes:
https://www.ibike.org/encouragement/travel/bagregs.htm
Yes, there will be an additional fee ... and what they say on the website may or may not be the amount they actually charge you. It depends on the airline, the airport, who your airline actually uses to make the flight to Berlin (they could be in partnership with a different airline for flights across the Atlantic), and most importantly, the person behind the counter when you are checking in.

On my flight to Europe this past summer, I was charged $50 on the way out by a very apologetic and sympathetic lady, and quite a bit more on the way back by one who didn't care ... she was following the rules to the letter.

Where are you planning to use the train? Amtrak in California? Your bicycle should be fine in a cardboard box ... in fact they were very courteous and helpful with me and my bicycle.

jaredlinz

Seems to me like it might be easiest to just buy a hard-case bicycle luggage carrier and just check it as one of my bags.. Think I could do so without being charged the airline "bicycle-handling" costs mentioned above?

Boudicca

Probably not. It's a big case which will beat the normal size restrictions, so they will charge you for excess baggage anyway, which probably works out at more than the bike.

spinnaker

Agreed, sometimes it is better to just admit it is a bicycle because the bicycle usually follows into a speciial rate. But you are going to get charged either way unless you run across a gate agent that just does not feel like charging you that day.

Machka 

Nope! Did you even glance at the link I posted??? Read it. You'll see that airlines are no longer accepting a bicycle as one of your bags.

jaredlinz

Yes I did glance at your link. It is much appreciated. My question, which I believe others understood, was if I use a hard-case luggage carrier for my bike will they charge differently? ..Because maybe they won't charge me at all if it falls within the size and weight restrictions and just count it as one of my bags as they won't necessarily know it's a bike. I understand that bikes and packaged bikes with explicit packaging indicating their contents are not allowed as one of two pieces of checked luggage. Thank you.

spinnaker

If it falls within 62" then you will not be charged. But unless your frame has connectors, is a folding bike or your ride a child's bike then you most likely will not get it under 62".

They don't charge you because it is a bike, they charge you because it is over sized.


BTW, this has been discussed several times before. You really should search.

Machka 

No, that won't work. That's what I'm trying to tell you. A hardshell bicycle case is the same size as a cardboard bicycle box. You've got to get the bicycle case, whether it is a hardshell case, softshell case, or cardboard box down to 62", length + width + height. There is NO way you're going to do it unless you've got a folding bicycle, one with S&S coupling, or a unicycle.

If you can get it down to 62" (length + width + height), then you can get it through with no charge.

If, however, you cannot get it down to that size, you will be charged. And they will know it is a bicycle ... they aren't stupid. Count on being charged.