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Shipping a tandem on Westjet

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Shipping a tandem on Westjet

Old 07-10-12, 10:10 PM
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Shipping a tandem on Westjet

Anyone ever done it? Their website states 80" to dimensions, and Westjet Cargo says 90". 100 pounds max either one-which isn't the problem of course. I have a Cannondale med/sm and have to bring it back from Victoria, BC to Winnipeg, MB, in September. Co-worker suggested I just ride it back! Nice suggestion, but I am not planning on doing the cross country for 3 more years, and even then, NOT with a stoker!
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Old 07-15-12, 02:33 PM
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Can you ship it by ground on a Greyhound for less?
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Old 07-17-12, 08:58 AM
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looking into that.....
thank you
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Old 07-17-12, 12:32 PM
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Try a different airline? Most have either a 112" or 115" max. You should be able to fit your bike into 112".
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Old 07-20-12, 02:02 PM
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I think those numbers apply to box-shaped things. Sporting equipment (checked and accompanying the passenger) will be accepted up to 9.8 feet long (!) according to their website. Excess/over-size baggage fees will naturally apply nowadays. To "ship" it as cargo, i.e., not accompanying you on the flight, would be a whole different matter.

The last pair of flights our old uncoupled tandem made was on Westjet from Hamilton-Kelowna and then home from Calgary in 2007. We shifted the rear derailler onto the large cog, removed pedals, turned both handlebars, slipped the bike into a pair of huge heavy-weight plastic bike bags left over from a previous trip, then trussed the whole thing up with a few miles of baggage-wrapping tape, which Westjet provided with good humour. (Air Canada used to sell those bags at its check-in counters for $3 apiece, don't know if they or any airline still do.) The check-in staff never blinked or made discouraging noises and the bike fared just fine, not a scratch, well, no new ones anyway -- it was an old bike by then. If I did it again, I'd loosen the brake levers and twist them inboard on the handlebars so they don't bang against the sides of the cargo hold or the baggage-smashing machinery on the ground. I'd be nervous about brifters! Disassemble it as little as possible. The more parts left on it, especially the wheels, the more they protect other parts.

What I like about Westjet (and why we used them for that trip) is that they fly the same type of plane -- Boeing 737 -- for all their routes so no matter where you're going, you know the tandem will fit.

I go with Bill McCready's advice which is not to call the airline ahead of time to ask them if they'll take a tandem. Just show up early, radiating cheerful and polite confidence that flying with a long bike is the most normal thing in the world. Have the bike in whatever condition they say they want it to be in (which I think now means bringing your own bag), and have your credit card out and ready for the charge. The airlines are seriously coining it with baggage charges now and they aren't going to forgo that revenue just because a cyclist gets stroppy with their front-line staff. After all, you want them to take your bike to the same place you're going, not refuse it, or "accidentally" check it to Fort McMurray.

(We flew the old tandem several times on Air Canada also and they always treated it well, too, ... just not for free either.)
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