charbucks

I'm looking for help in interpreting the following, or experiences flying (with a bike) with Air NZ.

From https://www.airnewzealand.ca/oversized-items:

This seems to be a contradiction, as weight restriction for a standard piece of baggage is 23 kg (50 lbs). Indeed, this is mentioned in the next paragraph:

For what it's worth, I'm hoping to get around the bicycle fee (3 legs x $35 x 2 ways) by packing all my gear into the box with the bicycle. Does this mean I'm limited to 50 or 70 lbs?

Chris Pringle

The way I read it is that if you're traveling from an international destination into NZ, they will allow you to take up to 70 lbs of sporting equipment. If once you get to NZ you need to connect on a domestic flight then you will be restricted to the max. allowance of 50 lbs max. The caveat is that they indicate that oversized items are "subject to availability on the aircraft."

NZ is not a big country, I would NOT take any chances so I would rather take the bus or ferry once there. You can easily reach 50 lbs packing a bicycle. I would for sure call at the time of the reservation to make arrangements. They seem to have a flexible bicycle policy by considering bicycles as part of "standard piece of baggage." The only problem is that bicycles (unless you have a folder or S&S frame) are packed in an oversized box or bag. Seems to me that since they don't make you pay any extra fees, they can simply get away with the technicality of "oversized item" and decline it at the airport. Tricky!

charbucks

Ah, thanks! I missed the "For travel in New Zealand" part. I think your interpretation makes sense, and yes, it is tricky.

Let's hope my Aukland-Christchurch leg doesn't count as flying "in" New Zealand...

Chris Pringle

Check with the airline but I have the feeling that it will.

Steve0000

From past experience (although policy may have changed since), if the internal flight is part of the whole international booking, then it is regarded as being covered by the international baggage limits of Air NZ. We struck a check-in person who did not know this and she was going to charge us with excess baggage until we insisted she check it with her superior. End result was that it wasn't charged extra. This was back when you could take 2 x 23kg pieces though. It shouldn't be different now though.

As regards taking a bus with the bike, take care if you do consider this option. Many bus companies cannot guarrantee your bike will travel on the same bus as you. One company that can is Atomic Shuttles who operate mini-vans with trailers and bike carriers on them.

SanDiegoCyclist

I flew the other direction in 2007: Christchurch-Auckland-LAX. I am almost postive that for the domestic part of the flight we did not pay for the bikes as luggage. The international policy applied. But that was then. BTW, what is your itinerary in NZ? I am already envious. It's a great place for cycling. Google "PathLessTraveled" for an ongoing video and blog of Russ and Laura who are currently bicycling in New Zealand

charbucks

I think checking with the airline is probably the safest route, though as Steve0000 says, airline policy isn't necessarily staff policy.

SanDiegoCyclist: I don't really have an itinerary as of yet, but I'll be starting and finishing with some friends near Christchurch. We still have a couple of months to hammer out details. Thanks for the tip on PathLessTraveled.

znomit

Depending on ticket class you might be limited to one bag/23kg and pay excess for anything from 23 to 32kg.

It might pay to bump yourself up to premium economy to get the extra bag allowance.

I would keep the bike box as light as possible because annoyed baggage handlers = busted luggage.

Chris Pringle

+1 - If you travel often with a bike, you may want to invest in a bike travel bag such as this one. This one is made by a German company called EVOC. I'm thinking of ordering one myself.

009jim

The latest trick of the discount airlines in Australia (and I would assume NZ) is to entice you to book online and then have some special conditions you find out when you get to the airport that means you cannot fly and they sell your seat to another person. So in fact they sell some seats on the plane twice. A lot of people get stranded this way. I would not fly with some of the airlines.

What I suggest is you go to the airlines a couple of day before your flight and have all your baggage with you and say "am I going to be able to travel with this if I buy a XYZ class ticket"?

Lou Skannon

I toured NZ Jan-feb 2011 and bought a bike when i arrived there. I flew it home in a box I got for free at the Auckland Bike shop. As I was going home they couldn't refuse to take the bike as they thought they had flown it in. It was 22 kg in the box with other stuff in there. When it was weighed at the check-in; half the box was stilll resting on the trolley so only registered 11kg on the scale. it saved the cost of paying for excess baggage.
Next time i fly with a bike in a box; I'll practice my check-in at an un-manned desk to see if i can do this little money-saver again.

charbucks

T-12 days to departure!

In case anybody else finds this thread useful, I've phoned Air NZ to get clarification.

The 32 kg limit is an ABSOLUTE limit - they will not even allow baggage larger than that. Anything between 23 and 32 kg incurs an overweight charge of $70. However, a second piece of luggage also costs $70, so (as the nice woman on the phone informed me) it's better to bring two pieces, as the $70 gets you an extra 23 kg instead of just an extra 9 kg.

Furthermore, if your second piece of luggage is a bike, they give a 50% discount. Apparently you need to be clear which is your first and which is your second.

Finally, one of my three legs each way is operated by Air Canada. Their policy is to charge a $50 "handling fee" for bicycles, plus a $20 charge for an extra piece of baggage. Thus, my total cost will be:
2 X $70 + 2 X (2 X 35) = $280 for two legs with ANZ and one with AC. Sigh.

One more thing: Air Canada wants you to "pre-register" your bike. This just means phoning them up and telling them that you're flying with a bike... hopefully it means they'll reserve the space and reduce chances of it getting left behind.

Expenses aside, I'm getting really excited for this trip! My itinerary is still flexible, but so far it's looking like:
- Spend a day or two near Christchurch with friends, de-jetlagging
- Bike down the east coast towards Dunedin (penguins and albatross!)
- Bike through the mountains and explore, perhaps check out the Taieri Gorge rail trail ("ale trail" )
- Make our way up the west coast in time for the Saint Clair Vineyard Half Marathon!
- Relax for a couple days post-run
- Bike some more?

Total distance before the half marathon is about 1500 km in 20 days. What with rest/exploration days, bad weather, and newb tourers, buses may well be required to make the deadline.

P.S. @Chris Pringle: I'm borrowing this bike bag from a friend. It's not as slick as that EVOC bag, but it looks like it'll do the trick. I do have one of the smallest bikes possible (42 cm LHT), so I'm a bit worried about it slopping around, but hopefully I'll have enough weight allowance to pad it with some clothes or something.

The one downside to the bike bag is that it's a solid 6 kg or so. Add that to my bike, racks, fenders, etc, and I'm rapidly approaching my 23 kg limit.

Machka 

This is a decent reference site for flying with a bicycle as well: https://www.ibike.org/encouragement/travel/bagregs.htm

Although, after reading that site, it is a very good idea to check the website of the airline and also to contact them directly as charbucks has done.


It is a good idea to travel with no more than 3 bags (1 carry on, 2 checked) and keep the weight of both checked bags down below 23 kg (50 lbs?). That simplifies things when you fly, but also makes it easier to move and carry things around the airport, and elsewhere.

And yes, Air Canada does like this pre-registering thing. That started in 2008 or 2009 or so. When I flew from Canada to Australia in June 2009, I was told I had to pre-register and that even if I did pre-register, my bicycle could be left behind if they felt they didn't have room for it. Now to be fair to Air Canada, at that time it wasn't really their policy, that was the policy of United Airlines (United Express) who were partnered with Air Canada for flights to Los Angeles.

So in my case, I could fly to Vancouver all right, but I was told that my bicycle could be left behind when I flew from Vancouver to Los Angeles. But if it was left behind, I was told it would likely come on the next flight.

Because of that, it is good to include long waiting periods between flights ... even if it means sitting in an airport for 12 hours.

Rowan

I don't think this is necessarily an issue. I think a lot of the handling has been reduced on international flights with the use of pods that are loaded with luggage and stuff within the terminal, then are loaded on to the plane. Domestic might be different.

I've travelled internationally between Australia and North America a fair bit, and except for a ripped bottom on one bike box (and NO losses from the contents) everything has arrived on time and in tiptop shape. Each time the box has been loaded with bike and camping stuff to just under the limit.

Getting a set of bathroom scales, weighing your gear and recording that weight, is a prerequisite to packing bikes and gear, in my opinion. It helps avoid any shocks at the airport when stuff is weighed and if over the limit, repacking to redistribute the contents... or deciding what to leave behind.

Rowan

Oh, and if you are well prepared with knowledge about weight limits, and surcharges, and have you card or cash out ready to pay with a smile, you might get lucky and get a generous discount from the booking/baggage clerk. A smile in those circumstance is a refreshing change for them compared with the shouting, abuse, threats and nastiness of passengers who have failed to do their homework.

charbucks

Thanks Rowan and Matchka! I think I saw that site at some point before even starting this thread, but I concluded it was out of date as it lists both Air Canada and Air New Zealand as having a 2 baggage allowance. I like their comments about "lean cyclists" taking up less weight - I've often wondered about that, as the weight of me plus my bike and baggage is still less than that of the average American! Though to be fair, handling a bike in a box is kind of a pain, while the average American can (generally) handle their own weight.

Having your bike left behind while transferring planes is a scary thought. I'll just have to hope that all goes well, especially since I'm in the shoulder season of both countries. And Rowan, you're right - smiles can make all the difference. I can only imagine how difficult it must be having to deal with jetlagged businessmen all day at an airport...