Originally Posted by
gauvins
1. Bike fees often apply to each segment. I'd suggest that you call your carrier to validate the actual fee that will be charged.
Just curious if anyone has actually had this happen, or if it is just internet lore? I've traveled a lot, and have never encountered baggage policy that requires you to pay a fee for each individual take off/landing, just per direction (essentially, from check in to leaving the airport the final time), unless you do something like fly into say Newark and out of JFK, which some airlines will ticket.
3. You may want to consider buying/renting in Zurich. Would make your trip much easier. I, like you, much prefer to ride out of the airport, but in your case, it involves significant cost and complexity.
Of course renting runs into its own set of issues: bikes that don't fit, bikes that are less than stellar mechanically, not having the freedom to effect repairs on your own if something pops up, returning if it is a one way tour, making sure your luggage fits on the bikes you actually receive, etc.
Would be nice if airlines could simply come up with a uniform set of rules for bikes, or at the very minimum know their own! The airline I'm heading out on next, I have two separate emails from customer service, the first saying the bike MUST be in a bag, and the second saying they recommend it be securely packed in a box
I'm solving that by packing it in a bag in a box, if they say the box isn't cool, I'll just pull it out
