Those Greedy Airlines
 

Check out this Delta Airlines baggage policy - -

http://www.delta.com/traveling_check...gage/index.jsp

I knew that oversize had gone up, but they are really sticking it to cyclists.
Also - 80 inches - length + height + depth - is the max allowed.
(The AVERAGE Trek bike box is 88 inches - so you have to get a small one.)
What this means is that a touring cyclist with panniers will pay -
$100 for oversize plus $75 for additional baggage - - or $175 for the bike on Delta.
Each way!!
(And that's if they don't hassle him/her about paired panniers as single or double items.)

Not sure what the other U.S. airlines' policies are - probably similar.
I hope they all go bankrupt.

I found out the hard way and got charged $150 while flying Delta in May

Fly foreign airlines. they are usually less greedy. For US destinations. HOw about shipping it UPS.? A good alternative. And do they insure their delivery. The airlines usually do not. Try flying inter island between Hononulu and the outlying islands. They charge you for each leg of the flight.

Don't worry, they are quickly catching up with their U.S. counterparts.

What is needed is for more CEOs to travel with their bicycle instead of their clubs.

s s couplers here I come!!!!!!!

one thing, I will do from now on. Asking about their bike policy will help me to determine which airline I choose. With or without my bike.

You missed a spot.

http://www.delta.com/traveling_check...x.jsp#bicycles

Looks to me like Delta doesn't charge at all as long as you're under 62 linear inches. I assume if you're over the weight limit you'll be nailed, but typically that's about 50 lbs. Shouldn't be that hard to get a bike in a box under that weight.

I've gotten away with carrying small panniers and a handlebar bag as carry-ons several times, as well as taking suitcases that were more like 64-66 linear inches onto planes, by the way.

And furthermore....

1) These types of fees have been around for like 3 years. What are you, new? :D
2) Airlines do not always charge, regardless of the official policy. As far as I can tell, it depends on the person who's checking your luggage, if they know the policy, if they feel like enforcing it etc.
3) If you travel frequently, get a folding or separatable bike.

I find it funny that they don't charge extra for golf clubs or skis, but do for bicycles.

I LOLed at the categories for fragile/bulky items. Computers, Musical Instruments, Sporting Goods, Christmas Trees and......Antlers. Are there enough people trying to fly with Christmas trees and antlers to merit separate categories? I guess there are.

Like I said above. If CEOs and upper management types traveled with bicycles, you would bet the policy would be different.

Can you install them on a touring bike and still get it into a case under 62 inches?

62 inches?

I did say that the AVERAGE bike box was already over 80 inches - the max allowed.
62 inches is a tiny bike box - have you measured your frame from the headset to the end of the drops?
Most bike standard frames are 36" long and, on average, 24" high.
That leaves you a box 2" wide.
You would need a very small bike to get it into a 62" total box.

Also, many airlines charged a single fee - usually the higher.
But Delta and others now say that all fees must be cumulative.
Big difference.

Read the post. It was in reference to SS couplers which will get your bike into a standard piece of luggage. Just not sure about touring bikes.

FedEx ground shipping for my bike sent from Albany NY to a Fedex/Kinkos in Kansas City was $38.60 and Kinkos let me assemble the bike inside along with free coffee.

Yep. Several companies make S&S coupled or separatable touring bikes: Co-Motion, Bilenky, Waterford, Rivendell etc. There's also the Ritchey Break-Away frame; Dahon makes a touring-specific bike with the Ritchey frame. Surly is going to do an S&S coupled Cross-Check next year, I'm sure an LHT won't be far behind. (Plus there are several folding bikes that are good for touring.)

You can retrofit just about any steel or ti bike with S&S. Carbon maybe (if the tubes are round), aluminum no.

Retrofitting starts at $500 though. You also have to figure out what to do with the case! ;) So IMO it's really only worth it if you fly with your bike 2 or more times a year.


Or a separatable, or a folding bike.

This is, of course, assuming the airport staff will in fact charge you. I won't say "they never charge you" but plenty of people have flown without getting hit with the fees.


Anyway, I'm guessing you haven't checked the official policies lately, because Delta's are typical of what I've seen for the last 3 years. You get one bike, 62" or less, ~50 lbs or less, and it counts as a piece of checked luggage. Fees are $80 and up each way.

Continental: http://www.continental.com/web/en-US...ge/sports.aspx
American: http://www.aa.com/content/travelInfo...llowance.jhtml
Northwest charges no matter what size or weight: http://www.nwa.com/travel/luggage/sp...s.html#bicycle
Same with United: http://www.united.com/page/article/0,6722,50773,00.html

Now I'm not going to hug the airlines for this kind of stuff, but it's pretty typical behavior by now. People want to fly cheaply, and in order for us to get the cheap flights in a time of rising gas prices and a falling dollar, the airlines now nickel and dime you.

You're welcome to be bitter about it if you like, but there is no "new news" here. And with a little bit of savvy and/or luck, you won't get charged anyway....

I flew LAX - Paris in July 06 on Northwest, free bike check-in both ways. (at least in terms of accomodating bikes, you couldn't say they're Northworst).
I checked out fee for Air France for my next trip, the charge is 150 EUROS, each way, with the poor exchange rate that's almost 230 dollars. That's outrageous, esp. considering that my touring bike is 1993 Diamnondback MTB, probably worth about 100 bucks(?).

Maybe you could fool them by taking your wheels off and putting it in a smaller box. Or my hard case. It's smaller than 62 inches with my bikes wheels off. This is putrid. It should just be based on weight. *******. / no exceptions. Particularily when they don't give it special treatment or insure it even for full value.

My Bike Friday folding bike packs into an off-the-shelf Pullman-sized suitcase whose dimensions add up to 61". I've never had to pay for it, and I've flown with it about 15 roundtrips. I've recouped the cost of the bike. I worry each time I fly that TSA (Transportation Safety Agency in the USA) will lose parts by rummaging through it, but so far, I haven't had any problems.

Southwest is $50 each way.

That's 62 total inches. Length + Width + Height. You would have to have a very small frame to get the bike in a box under those dimensions.

If they do go bankrupt who do you think is going to pay for it? The taxpayer that's who. It has happened in the past and recently too.

******s. and i weigh 50 kg less than most of the seat warmers around me. pay by the total passeneger plus baggage load, per kg. sliding scale for all flights, less slide for longer flights (as take off burns the most fuel).

Would UPS be a better way to go?

[QUOTE=Bacciagalupe;5432004]



Anyway, I'm guessing you haven't checked the official policies lately, because Delta's are typical of what I've seen for the last 3 years. You get one bike, 62" or less, ~50 lbs or less, and it counts as a piece of checked luggage. Fees are $80 and up each way.

Continental: http://www.continental.com/web/en-US...ge/sports.aspx
American: http://www.aa.com/content/travelInfo...llowance.jhtml
Northwest charges no matter what size or weight: http://www.nwa.com/travel/luggage/sp...s.html#bicycle
Same with United: http://www.united.com/page/article/0,6722,50773,00.html



I flew Northwest in the summer of '06 for a week long bike trip. The big diffence between their policy and some of the new ones is that once you pay for the bike they do NOT count it as a piece of checked luggage. I was going on a week long biking/camping trip and needed all the luggage capacity I could get. They charged me $80 for the bike, which is a little rugged, but at least didn't use up my free baggage allowance. That in itself will make me stay away from Delta and its cumulative fees. I see from the link above that NWA's policy is still the same.

The Chinese are leading the way to the future for cycle tourists.

We flew to Bangkok on China Air with boxed bikes and were charged zero.

http://www.vwvagabonds.com/Bike/site...01-150x112.jpg

Just a few days ago we flew on Air China (note the alliteration) with UNBOXED bikes and again were not charged any extra.