Fly Southwest, still $50 each way for bike cases up to 80inches and 90lbs.
Except with their recent maintenance issues, you might not even get there.
I flew on American a couple of weeks ago with a bike box. During luggage check-in, I didn’t say anything about the bike on the outbound flight from Toronto and they didn’t charge me. Coming back from Tucson, where they obviously see more bike boxes, they charged $80. I was okay with that, it averaged out to $40 each way.
Martin
You are flying non-stop so the bike is highly likely to make it to your destination with you. As already suggested, you don’t get the answer over the phone–they don’t know.
I have flown with bikes at Hartsfield before (although it has been a few years) Try checking it with the skycaps outside. They may waive the charge if you have a crisp $20 conspicuously held out. Inside, the ticket agents will take your bike case–just be prepared to pay what they ask.
New Plan,
I’m flying to Austin via Continental tomorrow. Then drive down to Houston next Friday. I’m going to attempt to fly with it, crossing my fingers. I found out that the cargo hold on my plane has a door that is 39"X39". The case will just barely fit coming in at about 36.5".
I’ll find out tomorrow!
It’s a total crapshoot, but I bat around .500
I just got back from Las Cruces. I flew US Airways down, and paid $80. I flew United back and the bike flew free. Don’t read anything into the airlines - it was just random happenstance.
Be prepared to pay, and pleasantly surprised if you don’t.
be prepared to pay 80, trust me they will charge
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Next time ship it UPS. Less hussle and about the same cost. Also you avoid the rough handling of your bike by TSA.
That’s an interesting way of circumventing a fee that is part of a business’ revenue structure. I guess its a “big,” faceless business so that’s ok. I wonder if you’d feel the same if some of your customers developed a similar tactic to avoid paying a fee they knew they should be charged by you. Like for example purposefully distracting a mechanic so he forgets to charge you for the extra tube you’re getting as they’re picking up their bike for a tuneup. Pretty lame tactics from a business owner.
Well said.
As any other profit oriented business airlines are here to show a profit to their share holders while servicing the needs of the general public.
If we expect them to be on time,safe and hassle free we should also ready to pay for the services they provide.
Some low cost airlines in Europe are even charging for the the first baggage you check in and if jet fuel prices stays the same get ready for more charges here in the US.
Next time ship it UPS. Less hussle and about the same cost. Also you avoid the rough handling of your bike by TSA.
You think UPS will handle it any better? Wishful thinking!
Pack well and hope for the best.
UPS will not open your case(I am talking about bike case not bike box) and you can buy extra insurance for couple bucks more.
On the other hand TSA will certainly open your case(you won’t be able to lock it anyway unless it is a TSA approved lock) and will not put your bike together properly.
My wife works for an airline and I fly 100k miles a year trust me I know and hear more than anybody you know.
Good point. I forgot about that. UPS, fedex, and of course DHL will throw shit around like its nobodies business.
I also have had varying experience flying with bikes. We flew to France a couple of years ago and did not pay an extra charge. We flew United to Palm Springs in February and we used the “don’t ask, don’t tell” theory and didn’t pay on the way down. Unfortunately, they “misplaced” our two suitcases but our bikes made it! They delivered the two suitcases the next morning to our accomodation. On the way back we fell victim to the supervisor standing about 2 feet away from our check-in counter who immediately jumped in and advised our check-in staff that we needed to be charged $80.00 for each bike. C’est la vie. We will be flying US Airways to Phoenix in November for IM Arizona and as long as you book via the IM website you get a certificate for free bike shipping. The flights were even fairly reasonable. What I find really annoying is the fact I have to pay for my bike box but those people flying with giant hardcase golf club containers don’t! Discrimination I say, LOL.
In this month’s issue of Outside magazine they give tips on traveling with your bike. One tip that I found quite interesting was the idea of giving the SkyCap your bike box, tip them generously ($20-$30 was recommended) AS YOU HAND OVER YOUR BOX and they’ll ask no questions and check it for free.
That was easy!
I was pretty worried about the case being refused due to its enormous size. Well everything worked out. As I was going through the self-service check-in, I checked the option that said I had an oversized bag to check. The charge was $100. Just as I was thinking, “damn, that was dumb, you should have just skipped that step”, one of the attendants walked up to my box with a tape measure and started measuring it. I showed her my receipt for the extra charge and she said something like, “Oh, you must travel with your bike all the time”. Uh, yeah.
Then all of a sudden the machine printed out another receipt for a free first class upgrade on my next flight. Seems like a good trade.
Now I have a relaxing week in Austin to get some nice training done without the distraction of work! I’ll probably head down to Houston on Friday for Lonestar. My legs are feeling pretty thrashed from last week but I think they’ll come around in time.