ok… so i’m gonna be flying out of the country with my bike box. I call United for help to ask abt their policy on travelling with a bike and to know what costs are involved. So heres what they have to say…
If the box is under 62" (linear - Length + Width + Height), and if its under 50 lbs then its ok. But we all know that a bike box is much bigger than that. I have a Trico and so my box measurements are 47 + 30 + 10 = 87. So, i’m stuck with paying the Oversize fees. Then they say that the oversize fees is $117. I was also told that if my bike box weighed over 50 lbs, then the charge would be around $350.
BTW, my bike & box came in at 47 lbs. The stuff inside is just the basic bike & box… 52 cm Cervelo P2K Hed Alps fr Renn Disk Hed integrated bars FSA compacts w/ Q-Rings Arione tri saddle Minoura double cage holder 3 cages
WHAT…?!? Since when did they up the cost to $117. I told her that i thought that the cost was $80. She said that for International flights, its more. I told her that i was flying from Chicago to LAX and then flying on another carrier out of the country (my luggage goes all the way to my end destination though). Shouldn’t that be considered a local flight…?
Are there any United ticketing people on this forum who would care to chime in on how to handle this situation when i get to the ticketing counter…?
Unless they’ve changed it in the last year, it was $80 (bike charge) to fly to NZ. If it’s over the weight limit it will be more, but I never pack mine that heavy.
I asked that question too. They said that they changed the 60 lbs to 50 lbs policy in Sept '05. How did u check your bike in…? Did u use the ticketing counter or curbside…? Did u tell them its a bike or just play dumb…?
Most people who have checked bikes will tell you that it really just depends on the agent or curbside guy that you deal with–and it can go either way. It may not matter what the lady on the phone told you, if you get to the counter and the agent claims you were misinformed somehow. Your best bet is to find their policy on the website, print it out, and bring it with you if you were to have any trouble. I would go expecting to pay the full fee, and be pleasantly surprised if somehow you got out of it. Whether that be because you …played dumb, tipped the curbside guy, claimed it was “sensitive scientific equipment”–whatever…that’s your prerogative. Good luck!
Just trying to cover my ass… Never know… There are some people who still do not have bank accounts. They just stash the money in the walls and under the mattress.
Search for “bicycles” in that document. $80 charge. A lot of airlines check in bikes for free on international flights, but I didn’t see that mentioned in the document. I didn’t look closely, either, though…
I asked that question too. They said that they changed the 60 lbs to 50 lbs policy in Sept '05. How did u check your bike in…? Did u use the ticketing counter or curbside…? Did u tell them its a bike or just play dumb…?
At SFO you go to the oversized counter. Since the name of the tri club is written all over the case, it’s pretty obvious it’s a bike. Plus, I don’t want to be the test case if something were to happen and it’s fudged on what is inside. I flew to Kona on United and no problem with the weight limit, but, like I said, I don’t jam the case full of stuff. Water bottles full of drink mix and a case of Gu, helmet and pump is about it.
Every time I’ve traveled overseas it has been considered another bag, thus no charge. Maybe it’s changed, but I never payed for foreign travel, and i have a very large tri-all-3 case.
Yes, i have taken my bike overseas on United Airline several times. Here is how it works!!
If you have a status on United Airline, like Global Service or 1K Flyer, they usually waive your bike fee. If u fly business class/first class, they will treat it as ur second luggage so they will waive ur bike fee as well.
If u r flying economy class and u dont have a status with United, then they will charge you for sure.
I’m flying 2 bikes in a double bike case this week on United to do a bike race. When I looked on the web site to see how much I might get screwed, it said there was a $25 extra fee for weights exceeding 50 lbs and under 99 lbs. Since I have a bike voucher, I’m hoping the double case only costs me $25 extra. I figure the bike counts as 1 piece of luggage, so I plan to check 1 more piece (wheel case) and carry on my clothing. Hope it works!
Thanks everyone…! i am prepared to pay the $80 charge and i have also printed out the fee structure notice to show them (just in case they try to screw me over).
Diana, i think u may wanna also check the physical dimensions of the bike box cause i also think that they have a max. linear dimension that u can’t exceed.
I assume she’s using a Tri-All 3? It wouldn’t exceed the max dimensions, but would kick in the extra weight surcharge. It does depend though on if they weigh it or not. And I wouldn just tell them there’s one bike, not two in there…
Maybe someday will get an international version of tri-bike transport or of the inside out sports shipping department. You just box your bike and fedex it to them before the race, and they take care of all the cargo hassles. That would be sweet.
I usually use Sports Express to transport my bike, but recently they had to increase prices for air delivery. In the past, they were often cheaper than the price of transporting on the plane. Now they offer ground service which is really cheap, but you have to send your bike a full week ahead of time. If you use them, enter the code, AWA Delivers for a $10 discount.
Good luck!