has anyone ever checked a bike onto a plane? i figured i'd ask here before going through the hassle of calling the airline and trying to get hold of a human voice.

i'm thinking about going home to visit my friends and family and go catch a show. i'd like to take my bike but i'm not sure how possible this is. has anyone done this? or does anyone have horror stories as a result of checking their bike?

probably should have searched, i found a little bit of info on other forums...looks like it's going to be quite the hassle.

bikes on a plane?

Check the touring forum, there's one thread about delta running right now.

a friend of mine (also on the forums, andrew) suggested that if you plan on traveling a lot, invest in a bike carrying case/box, and that some bike shops even rent them to you. if you can take a bus instead of a plane, do so. but you said you're just going to visit friends and family, if you're not going to be there for too long, forego the bike, or try to borrow one.

haha, after i posted all i could think was, "wait, did i just name that thread 'bikes on a plane?'" unfortunately i didn't.

i saw that thread in the touring forum. i was trying to get to florida on the cheap but i'm flying with delta and it seems like they're trying to charge almost $100 for a bike on top of the flight, and it would appear most of the problems are coming from delta...time to call the airport and see if they're not jerks about it. ugh .

also, packaging the beast so it's not destroyed in transit looks to be quite a chore too. i might just suck it up and drive. sadly, i'd only get there a few hours later...

have you thought about shipping your bike? it would probably arrive safer.

it appears it would be considerably cheaper, i need to call the airline first though and ask about their bike policy. 2 day shipping would cost about $30 one-way, so that's not too awful. thanks for the advice!

Freight makes a bag that doesn't look like a bike bag and will fit a track frame and all components. You have to take everything off except for the cranks and headset. when asked what was in the bag at the Burbank airport, I said it was a wheelchair and he nodded. as long as it's underweight the ******bags at the airline shouldn't hassle you but they still do.

also, it costs barely anything to insure a shipped bike. i'm fairly certain the 80 dollars one way or whatever the airlines charge now is uninsured.

good luck!

(in the voice of samuel jackson) im tired of all these motherf*&^%$!@ bikes on this motherf*&^%$!@ plane!

Chimbleysweep started a long thread about this that has a lot of good info.

JetBlue, which is how I'm going to get from Chicago to DC for my Philadelphia trip this summer, has an awesome checked baggage policy.

Free Baggage Allowance

• You may bring two bags per person free of charge.
  
• Each bag must not exceed 62 inches in overall dimensions (length plus width
  plus height) and can not exceed 50 pounds.
  

Sporting equipment which does not carry a service charge may be substituted
for the free baggage allowance. Sporting equipment such as surfboards, windsurfing
equipment, and bicycles are exempt from oversize fees.

So, if I'm reading this correctly, I can just pack my bike and use that as my checked baggage allowance! And I think it counts as only one thing so I can still take on a suitcase as well. When I finally order my ticket I'm going to give them a call and ask exactly what's up with that but basically no matter what I don't have to pay to take my bike on the plane

careful, most airlines claim no liability on damages to 'sporting equipment'. Found out first hand when my boards arrived in two pieces (errr., four?). I was eventually reimbursed, about it took a lawyer and a year. I no longer travel with expensive toys.

ps -

I'm not familiar with JetBlues policy, but you could be misreading it....

They state that Sporting equipment which does not carry a service charge can be substituted.
They also state that bikes, etc, are exempt from oversize fees.
They never state that bikes, etc, do not carry a service charge.

This could easily be read as 'you can substitute your tennis racquet for free baggage, but bikes and surfboards have a service charge (not an oversize charge).

In the old days (few years back), golfclubs were really the only large toys they considered checked-baggage. YMMV

of course currently with JetBlue you could probably ride your bike there quicker

topical humor aside, all i'll say is that i used to work as a baggage handler at bush intercontinental in houston, and unless your bike is in one of those hard carrying cases... i wouldn't risk it. we toss a lot of stuff around without much consideration for any number of "fragile" stickers etc. i could EASILY see something getting bent or broken in a soft case.

i read the thread title and my first impulse was to say "no, they're nothing alike".

Hmmm. You could be right, though when I read it I just equated service fee to oversize fee. Who knows. Like I said, I'll have to give them a call before I buy my ticket
Maybe I'll ship it. I'm gonna be out there roughly a month so it could be worth it.

I fly with bikes a LOT. Beaters taken one-way to Mexico and points south, custom S&S coupled bikes, a Swift folder. It doesn't matter who you talk to on the phone. The only person that matters is the smiling, or scowling, underpaid person at the check-in counter. Well in advance, get a box or two from the LBS. Get some extra cardboard. Take your bike apart as far as you are confident doing. If you can take it down to a frame, with wheels off, left side crank off, rear deraileur disconnected and taped to a chainstay, bars and stem off, etc.; fit it in a box the size of a BMX bike box. Reinforce the box with an extra layer on the sides and some rolled cardboard cross pieces. Try for a packing system that will allow the TSA inspectors to easily pull the whole thing out as a unit, look at it and slide it back into the box. So, don't tape the top of the box shut, make sure it is obvious how to open the box for inspection. Smile, be nice, and the airline may take it without charge. My point is... make the box as small as you can, Do everything you can to make inspection easy, corral all the cables and parts in the box, tape it all together. At check-in be positive; be pleasant about the process. It is their call, but I have had good luck for going on six years. I have yet to pay an up-charge for any bike. Good luck. It's easy to talk yourself out of it, but it’s always worth taking your bike.

Disregard the comment about the deraileur. I stupidly forgot which forum I was on. I fly with the Swift and one of my S&S bikes as singlespeeds, which simplifies the packing.