I'm going to fly Southwest in a couple months for the first time with my bike. I purchased a BBA Triathlon case for the journey, so hopefully I won't have any size issues. One thing I am curious about is if the bike bag gets gate checked or if I will drop it off at the ticket counter?

At every airport I've been in my bike gets checked at the ticket counter.

I don't think you'll get your bike through the security checkpoint.

Plz make sure that you report back on what your experience was with the BBA & SW. Thx.

Bgjwoody—
Not an exact answer to your question as I didn’t see a BBA, but I just flew SW into San Juan with a layover in Baltimore. The plane had a ton of larger hard and soft cases, to include that giant soft Scicon that doesn’t require disassembly of the front end or fork removal. In my case (no pun intended), I paid my $75 at the kiosk, got asked to show the receipt at the counter, and off it went.

I roll with a SciCon Tri 2.0. Have flown SWA multiple times with it and not a single issue. SWA in PHX seems to see a lot of bikes, or that's the feeling I get every time I fly out of Sky Harbor.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

I paid $150 oversized bag fee both ways. The agents were not in the mood to negotiate on either flight

What's there to negotiate? They have a standard fee for specialty equipment which a bike is. I've paid that fee on at least four trips and all was good. You already get two bags on SWA, so you're saving bag fees. I suppose there is a way to do it and check a dual hard case like the B&W INTL and pack your clothes in the cases with your bike. But that's a chore and a half.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

Below is what the SW website says. Bikes fly free if they are under the size and weight limits.

The first time I flew SW with a bike I was inexperienced and they told me to wheel the bike around the back instead of putting it on the scale to be weighed. I thought they had a larger scale in the back they wanted to use but when I got it to the back they said that it was a bike and there was a $100 charge. I knew that wasn't right because I had read that any oversized bags was $75 (and though that if I was under the limits there might not be a charge, but didn't really know). I called them out on the $100 and they backed down quickly to the $75 charge for oversized baggage that I quoted from their website. They never weighed the bag though and I know for a fact that it was well under the limit.

When I got to where I was going I found that I was the only person on the team that got charged for a bike. Going back I put that bike right up on the scale and they saw it was under the limit for size and weight and checked it no problem. SW has the no hidden fees motto. Hold them to it because I guaranty that most of their employees don't know the ins and outs of all special items they have listed on the page I copied the below information from and I can guarantee that most of them don't know that a soft bag with a race bike it is is going to be way under the weight limited where hard case, mountain bike, etc. won't be. So make them weight in and verify the size or they will just assume what ever the last guy checked is the same thing you are checking.

Know what the size weight limits are and what the charges are and you will get through no trouble. If you don't know the limits and charges they are going to make you pay extra for anything that doesn't look standard to them.


Sports Equipment - Baggage Allowance
Any of the items listed below may be checked in substitution of one piece of the free Checked Baggage allowance for each Passenger at no charge on a one-item-for-one-bag basis. If the item of sporting equipment exceeds 50 pounds in weight or 62 inches in size (outside length plus height plus width), excess weight and size charges may apply.

• Bicycles (defined as nonmotorized and having a single seat), including Bike Friday and Co-Pilot, properly packed in a hard-sided bicycle box that fall within the dimensions and weight limits established for normal Checked Baggage, (i.e., 62 inches or less in overall dimensions and less than 50 pounds in weight). Pedals and handlebars must be removed and packaged in protective materials so as not to be damaged by or cause damage to other Baggage. Bicycles packaged in cardboard or soft sided cases will be transported as limited release items.
  
  Note: See below for information regarding bicycles that exceed our checked baggage size limits. Additional charges may apply.

A Sci-Con Tri 2.0 isn't a normal bag dimensions, thus you need to pay the fee. I'm like 5-9, your bike must be tiny!

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

Yup. My bag was over the size limit, hence I had to pay

I did stay under the 50lb limit, but didn’t matter

The size limit is 62". My Sci con bag with the aero bars sticking out was 60". The weight limit is 50 lbs. My bag was under 40 lbs.

Like I said, know the limits and fees and you will get right through. If you don't know them they will make you pay for anything that doesn't look standard because it is easier for them to charge you than for them to look up their regulations and to verify if you meet them. I flew to a Tri Team Camp and I was charge on the way out because I didn't know what I was doing. When I got to camp I talked to others and the only person that had any problems with his or her bike at check-in was a guy who was one pound over the limit. He removed his seat post from the bike bad and put in in his carry-on and they let his bike go through free. Everyone else I talked to had their bike go through free with no problems.

Gate checking is for items you might need in the airport but don't belong in the cabin, like a stroller.

I just flew with my BBA Triathlon Easyfit to Texas and was charged the $75 oversized baggage fee. He also weighed the box at my request and I was at 53.5lbs with only a Cervelo P2, Flo 60 and Flo 90. He did inform me that since I was paying the oversize fee I would be allowed to pack up to 99lbs in the oversize box.

I just flew to Vegas and back with my Cervelo P2 in a Pika Packworks soft bag. Made connections both ways. I paid the $75 fee each way. No damage at all, I have flown lots with my bikes and I worry less each time. I carefully pad the frame with extra new bike wrap I got from my LBS.

I flew with my bike 3x RT flights since I posted this

The last flight, the towels that I wrapped around the frame (and taped) were no longer attached to the bike. My best guess when tsa inspected, they pulled towels off frame?!

As a result, paint on a ~3inch section of downtube has some very deep scratches / rub marks as a result

I thought I wrapped / taped everything extra good… but somehow the towels were all off the bone when it arrived. Either expensive mistake for me (doubtful?) or careless handling by TSA

Any report on how this went? Were you able to check your BBA Tri Case on Southwest?

I'm flying next week and just read the restrictive Southwest dimensions. I am not sure if that's super rigid or I'll be ok. I'd hate to get to the airpor and have nothing to do with my bike if they won't take it.

I've flown with BBA Tri case on SW at LEAST 20 times. Never had an issue. They do charge $75 but never a problem.

I was able to check the bag without issue.

I flew round trip on SWA with a BBA in April. They seemed eager to collect my $75...

Others have responded with the exact language on SW website about liability and amounts. One thing to note is that domestic travel liability is required to be at least $3k. However, international travel is required to be at least only $1k according to U.S. law. The airlines can of course go above that amount, but that's all that they are required to offer. And, it's not necessarily the airlines who you would be dealing with if there was an issue -- it's their insurance company, and they're job is to *not* pay out so they will drag their feet every time. You have to keep escalating.

Also, check your credit card to see if it has travel insurance. (BoA Visa did the last time I had an issue.)

Finally, your renter's or homeowner's insurance may not cover this. When I had an issue, State Farm specifically has a rider that when your luggage gets to the baggage handlers, they are considered 3rd party to the airline and therefore are not covered. (This was on my renter's insurance.) If my bike had been lost completely, State Farm would cover it on my renter's insurance. But damage due to baggage handling is not covered. That might be only State Farm, but it's worth checking.

Coming back from Cabo 70.3, Alaska destroyed my P5 -- I mean, something had been dropped on top of it to crush the fork and seat stays beyond repair. It was in a soft case that I'd flown about 15 times both domestic and internationally and never ever having had any issues with damage. (Scicon triathlon soft bag with frame covered in padding.) My bike shop wrote an assessment of the damage for Alaska's insurance company. The dude from the insurance company that I dealt with was doing stupid crap like looking up a triathlon bike and sending me links where I could get one for $2k though I kept responding about the exact type of bike with all of the after market upgrades I had added. They were doing things like denying forms because the title of the form was wrong (though the insurance company had sent me the forms to fill out). Finally, I emailed every Alaska Board member (found their emails through some sleuthing) about the constant run-around I was getting. The response from one Board member got the claim going - it took another month, but they ended up paying me $3k instead of the minimum $1k. Not enough to buy another P5, but it got me closer to getting a new bike. It's the only time I ever had a connecting flight with a race trip...and that was a big mistake.

After that, I find it's worth it to use TriBikeTransport and/or book a direct flight with no chance that the bike would be mishandled at a non-US connection.

Another data point, I flew roundtrip from Phoenix to Oklahoma City with SWA, used Scicon soft bag. Got charged in Phoenix the $75 fee, but wasn't charged in OKC.

@triproftri might have been specifically worried about a connecting flight outside the US - not 100% sure. But I do point out that USAT Multisport Nationals in 2022 and 2023 were in Dallas - lots of direct flights. In 2024? Omaha. For me that will be a domestic connection and I'm not thrilled about that. 11.5 hr drive otherwise. No great options. Will probably fly and cross my fingers!