I am seeing a lot of threads about traveling with a bike and like most of you, have plans to do some destination races next year. Let’s help each other out and share our experiences.
Please list:
Airline
Cost (normal bike fee & what you paid if different)
Date flown
Type of bag/case used
Comments/tips specific to that airline
Qatar airways and BA - international - fee’s none, bag Biknd Helium
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KLM, Amsterdam - Zurich v.v. June/July 2014, no cost (rest of my luggage was carry-on) but under new rules would be 7,50 or 15 euro per bag, really big soft bike bag generic brand from CRC. Additional info: In Amsterdam (Schiphol) there were no questions upon checking my luggage (for normal sized luggage there is no interaction with personnel anymore, it goes through a console thing), in Zurich (Kloten) an employee asked me what was in the bag, so as the sneaking suspicion arose that he wanted to charge me I replied “sports equipment” which technically was not incorrect. He let me check it at no extra cost. Overall good experience.
Delta
$150
October 31
Performance Bike Team Case / under 50 lbs
Decided to ship bike on bikeflights.com instead for less than half the cost
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All United Airlines
USA to Europe Oct '14
Europe to USA Oct '14
USA to Middle East Dec '14
All no charge
Rooster Hen House
Edit: First trip I was even asked if it was a bike upon tagging and I replied yes. I said this bag is under weight and 62 linear inches. No charge.
Flown on SW, Delta, and American with the Hen House. It counts as two normal checked bags, so slightly dependent on destination, elite status and so on. I’ve personally never paid for it because most airlines waive the first two checked bags for active duty military.
SW and American are a bit clearer that if your bike fits in under 62" bags, it’s fine. Others are a bit more ambiguous. Regardless, I avoid volunteering any information, and when asked, it’s “sports equipment,” “tools,” or “an ergometer.” I don’t like lying. If I bring it over to TSA and they ask, I always respond that it’s a bike, because they don’t charge your fees and they’re not worth telling a partial truth to.
Frankly, I don’t understand why more people don’t have this case. For a few years I was skeptical of soft cases, but then I realized that a hard case requires it to be re-packed somewhat particularly, which never happens when they open it up for inspection.
Some of the info might be slightly dated: http://www.airlinebagfees.com/bicycles/charts/
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Why not just update:
**The Official Airline Bike Fee Thread **
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No charge with my Ritchey Breakaway!!
http://www.united.com/web/en-US/content/travel/baggage/sports.aspx
United. $150 or $200, each way, depending on where you are going and size.
-Robert
AMERICAN changed me $40 to fly from US to Cozumel in SciCon aero triathlon bag. On the way back, they charged me $150. I think $150 is the cost listed on their site for international travel.
Southwest was $70.
American
$0
last 4-5 trips
Biospeed Aerus Bike Bag
Here is the key:
Get an AAAdvantage miles card and AA miles account
– The card gets us one free checked bag
– Check the bike bag at the electronic kiosk
NEVER been charged its just my 1 free checked bag when i bring it up to the counter.
The bag is within the dimensions and the fact its already been logged as our free checked bag might help also any extra scrutiny.
I see ruster says the bag is 62", but if one actually took a tape measure to it, I highly doubt it is going to be the claimed 30x24x8. just looking at a pic of it, one can see the length is closer to 2x the height. have to take some serious liberties to claim those dimensions are correct. unless the airlines have strange uci type rules regarding how things can be measured 
Delta Airlines
150
August 26th, 2014
Scion Aerocomfort 2.0
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I see ruster says the bag is 62", but if one actually took a tape measure to it, I highly doubt it is going to be the claimed 30x24x8. just looking at a pic of it, one can see the length is closer to 2x the height. have to take some serious liberties to claim those dimensions are correct. unless the airlines have strange uci type rules regarding how things can be measured
I own one, and I would say those dimensions are probably closeish. It’s certainly no larger than your average large suitcase, which never has any scrutiny on it. I have NEVER seen an airline employee take a tape measure out for checked bags. If it’s a big case/bag, they know it immediately.
Anyone fly with a Scicon Aerocomfort case? Experiences?
I haven’t flown with a bike, but I think it sucks that United is the USACycling airline sponsor and they have among the highest bike charges and no discount for members.
Who is USAT airline sponsor? Any discounts?
USAT’s sponsor is also United.
I think it has a lot to do with DEN being a hub for United, so easy access to OTC/NGB HQs in Colorado Springs. At one time, United also offered a voucher/discount for anybody who could provide proof of some sort that a customer was going to the OTC that either waived or reduced the bike fee. That’s looooong gone though.
So here is a twist to this question. I am in the market for a new credit card and I thought it might be a good idea to get one with travel perks! Does anyone have a card that has some good perks for luggage or reducing travel fees? I would prefer one without an annual fee but if the fee ends up saving me a couple hundred dollars a year then I am open to it.
Any of the ones for the major airlines (US, American, Delta, United) will get your first checked bag free, sometimes for up to 4-8 travel companions as well. Often times, the terms and conditions (at least for US and American cards, both of which I have) will say that any oversize/overweight bags (like most bike cases) will have $25 of the fee waived. In practice, you may get luckier with inconsistent ticket agents, though, who just waive the fee altogether. With any/all of them, you’ll at least get 2 miles per dollar you spend with the airline, so that $150 bike fee gets you 300 miles instead of 150, at least…
I don’t think there’s a credit card that will absolutely get you out of bike fees, but Southwest is also a good option. Their oversize fee is among the most reasonable at $75, and if you have the Hen House like I do, it counts instead as your two normal size free checked bags.