Bike was damaged on the way to Oceanside. Domestic flight. At LAX, I watched from the plane as the baggage handler threw the bike bag from the conveyor onto the trolley. I started taking pics and filming as he loaded/unloaded big boxes on top of my horizontal bike box (EVOC).
Had a bike shop verify that the chain stay was cracked.
Filled out the required forms with Alaska, got a response back that they aren’t responsible and to check their Contact of Carriage… “Alaska is not liable for damage to the items specified below when carried as Checked Baggage.” .
Wild that the airline can just say “we aren’t responsible for this type of item”. I booked the flight on a (very basic) credit card and have renters insurance.
This is a scenario when it ends up being a he said she said. In theory no one knows if it was cracked before the travel or after they handled it. On the other side, no one can say what happened during the handling process. Likely the standard policy is tell the passenger that they are not liable. Maybe you can figure out who this would report to and reach out to them via LinkedIN:
You can say you have it on video, and the lower level staff don’t want to deal with you and you don’t want to put it on social media, so you’re trying to engage to get help. As they call their passengers, guests, you can use that wording back and say that this is not the way to treat guests in the house.
I went back and forth w SWA on similar last year. Their policy said something like “we don’t have liability if you use a soft sided caseâ€. My case was soft w hard plastic inserts … which in their mind was still soft sided
I went back and forth w them for 3 months and they kept referring back to the policy. They ended up giving me flight credits for $300 (which expired before I could use it).
I’d guess Alaska would do the same
I won’t fly w my bike anymore on airlines that don’t have adequate bike coverage.
Bike was damaged on the way to Oceanside. Domestic flight. At LAX, I watched from the plane as the baggage handler threw the bike bag from the conveyor onto the trolley. I started taking pics and filming as he loaded/unloaded big boxes on top of my horizontal bike box (EVOC).
Had a bike shop verify that the chain stay was cracked.
Filled out the required forms with Alaska, got a response back that they aren’t responsible and to check their Contact of Carriage… “Alaska is not liable for damage to the items specified below when carried as Checked Baggage.” .
Wild that the airline can just say “we aren’t responsible for this type of item”. I booked the flight on a (very basic) credit card and have renters insurance.
Any ideas on how to move forward?
how did you pay for your ticket? credit card? they prob have insurance. I’ve done that. works great.
good luck
Only fly with a bike if you are ok with not getting it back in ridable shape. Flying is a privilege. Flying with a bike is a first world problem. If your expectation is that it must return to you in the same shape you handed it off, don’t do it.
Most airlines have a policy that they’re not responsible for bikes in soft cases. Sucks, but I don’t think you really have any viable recourse here. It’s the tradeoff you make for the convenience of a soft case. Chainstays are really easy to repair, fortunately.
Is the damage visible? If not, I will say I don’t actually trust a bike shop to be able to tell if a frame is cracked or not. Reach out to a carbon repair place, they’ll be able to untrasonically inspect the frame and probably repair it for a lot less than a new frame would cost. I really wouldn’t deal with a carbon repair place that doesn’t have any ultrasound capability though.
Bike was damaged on the way to Oceanside. Domestic flight. At LAX, I watched from the plane as the baggage handler threw the bike bag from the conveyor onto the trolley. I started taking pics and filming as he loaded/unloaded big boxes on top of my horizontal bike box (EVOC).
Had a bike shop verify that the chain stay was cracked.
Filled out the required forms with Alaska, got a response back that they aren’t responsible and to check their Contact of Carriage… “Alaska is not liable for damage to the items specified below when carried as Checked Baggage.” .
Wild that the airline can just say “we aren’t responsible for this type of item”. I booked the flight on a (very basic) credit card and have renters insurance.
Any ideas on how to move forward?
What is the cost of the repair? I would write a polite but firm e-mail asking for a flight credit for some fraction of that. You’re more likely to get something from the airline if it’s easy for them to give (eg flight credit) and you’re specific (name a reasonable amount of $$).
Most airlines have a policy that they’re not responsible for bikes in soft cases. Sucks, but I don’t think you really have any viable recourse here. It’s the tradeoff you make for the convenience of a soft case. Chainstays are really easy to repair, fortunately.
Alaska Airlines doesn’t have a hard case policy:
Traveling with sports equipment
We’re happy to assist you when traveling with your sports equipment. We accept sports equipment items as checked baggage, provided each piece is properly packed in a soft- or hard-sided case designed specifically for the equipment. If your travel includes multiple airlines, different restrictions may apply.
Only fly with a bike if you are ok with not getting it back in ridable shape. Flying is a privilege. Flying with a bike is a first world problem. If your expectation is that it must return to you in the same shape you handed it off, don’t do it.
I’ve seen my cases dropped many times (Trico Iron Case).
I completely expect it to be dropped and that’s why I used a hard case.
Many times the soft cases get put on the bottom of the luggage cart with the hard cases on top. I’ve been in multiple airports coming from big races in more than 1 country where there are 10-12 bike cases on the luggage cart about to get loaded on my flight.
Hard cases always on top, soft cases on the bottom. My guess is the pile is more stable when being towed out to the plane
I always prepare that this is a possibility, but would like to get some quick data points if you don’t mind.
Which case/bag specifically did you use?
Did you have spacers inserted in the drop outs?
Any additional protection (foam padding on main tubes)?
I had a hard case that required lots of deconstruction, but I NEVER worried about bike breaking.
Then I have now flown twice with a Scicon tri 3.0 and was terrified both times and decided I needed a hard case.
I just found a once used Bike Box Alan for $550 and bought it ($1030 with freight from UK new). I will now feel confident that my bike is arriving safely and also spend waaaaaaaay less time deconstructing and stressing. I was going to buy new until I saw this. $1000 once to keep a $10,000 bike and carbon wheels in tact is worth it to me. One repair and a possible missed race because of that broken bike is at least $1000 wasted when you include the trip costs to wherever you’re racing.
Bike was damaged on the way to Oceanside. Domestic flight. At LAX, I watched from the plane as the baggage handler threw the bike bag from the conveyor onto the trolley. I started taking pics and filming as he loaded/unloaded big boxes on top of my horizontal bike box (EVOC).
Had a bike shop verify that the chain stay was cracked.
Filled out the required forms with Alaska, got a response back that they aren’t responsible and to check their Contact of Carriage… “Alaska is not liable for damage to the items specified below when carried as Checked Baggage.” .
Wild that the airline can just say “we aren’t responsible for this type of item”. I booked the flight on a (very basic) credit card and have renters insurance.
Any ideas on how to move forward?
If you have have homeowners insurance, it may cover the damage. A friend had his frame crushed returning from Lahti and went this route.
Some bicycle manufacturers will extend you a crash replacement frame for travel damage situations. It never hurts to ask.
If you have the time, and energy, you could also file in small claims against Alaska. Most states cap these amounts. But I’m sure you could get the frame repaired within these limits. I’ve always found hiding behind these damage rules as pretty weak because the effort it takes to damage luggage involves some level of negligence.