He have an S&S coupled tandem that fits into two standard 26x26x10" (62" total) hardshell luggage pieces. Two weeks ago, The UAL attendants on the outbound flight to Italy never questioned the size or contents of our luggage. Yesterday, we flew with Lufthansa out of Rome to Washington Dulles, then transferred to UAL for the final leg to Sacramento CA. All of our luggage within their "free baggage" allowance in both size and weight. The attendant asked what was in the 62" pieces of luggage and we told them "bicycle parts". We immediately got a surcharge of $150 Euro's. No Negotiation.
Lufthansa's website doesn't indicate that there should be any additional charge. See the page
http://www.lufthansa.com/online/port...03&cid=1000390

Has anyone else run into this problem? How did you get around it? I have never been charged for shipping my tandem on any other airline. If I am reading their website correctly, I shouldn't have been charged. If you download their "excess baggage PDF", it states, "We would like you to be able to practice your sport while you’re away too. That’s why Lufthansa has special excess baggage rates for sports bags". Special is correct. More like "We are going to stick it to you. Hope you like it".