Recently a friend of mine checked her bike on a United flight back home from IMSG703 and when she unpacked it found it was destroyed. It was a bike box. The derailleur was completely destroyed. The frame was bent and also has numerous cracks that are plainly visible.
Has anyone ever had any success recouping money for a destroyed bike? Any tips to expedite the process would be greatly appreciated! Thanks
your friend should identify what credit card she used to pay for the flight, and then see what baggage/travel insurance the card carries.
your friend may also want to check in with the Flyer Talk forum, and see if they have further suggestions about how to maximize refund amount/speed.
i’ve had friends take/threaten to take airlines to small claims courts, if steps 1 & 2 did not seem to be sufficient in getting $ back
This promotional video shows you what you need to know about United
On the way to World Masters, I had United knock the bottom bracket part way out of my bike. Despite having super top secret elite status with United, all they sent me was a $200 e-certificate (only useable on United with restrictions).
Theoretically, United will pay the fair market value up to $3500 for a domestic flight (it’s actually lower for international). But good luck on collecting. If you travel much for events, it makes sense to get travel insurance with a sports equipment rider.
Submit a claim, most likely they will either deny or try to settle in their favor the first or second time that you submit it. It took 3 claims and 6 months of fighting for a check at FMV to arrive when my bike was damaged on a flight a few years back. Good luck, the process sucks!
What kind of bike box?
Write a song about it.
I know it doesn’t help now but I was worried about this very thing flying to my recent race & the airlines not taking responsibility for their ineptitude.
I used bike flights. It worked seamlessly to have my bike shipped from my home to my hotel & back. And best of all, $10k worth of insurance wasn’t that expensive & well worth the stress relief.
This promotional video shows you what you need to know about United
On the way to World Masters, I had United knock the bottom bracket part way out of my bike. Despite having super top secret elite status with United, all they sent me was a $200 e-certificate (only useable on United with restrictions).
Theoretically, United will pay the fair market value up to $3500 for a domestic flight (it’s actually lower for international). But good luck on collecting. If you travel much for events, it makes sense to get travel insurance with a sports equipment rider.
HAHAHA
What kind of bike box?Exact question that came to my mind. If it wasn’t a hard-shell bike box, OP is screwed.
Did TSA open the box to peek inside? If they did you should find a flyer inside stating as much.
I wonder if with a hard case if it would help to have some kind of 3" diameter pvc pipe you place in the dead middle and on the two ends that would take any “crush” of the hard case on before reaching the frame.
I’m hearing these days even with a hard case to remove the RD hanger in addition to the RD. And use a rear dropout “spacer” rod in place to take on loads instead of the frame.
I don’t fly much with my bike anymore, but that’s how I used to travel with it. spacers (actually a threaded rod with wingnuts and large washers) in front and rear dropouts, and remove the rear derailleur. All of that went into the Trico clamshell case, which wasn’t the easiest case to pack or travel with, but it’s damn near indestructible.
I completely expect my bike case to be dropped every time i fly with my bike. I remove the rear derailleur, the chain, put a spacer between the rear dropouts and fork, and put a spacer in the middle of the box.
All of what you suggested.
I can’t seem to find it now but someone once posted a step by step guide to what to do, i think the first thing was to ensure you get a damage report from the agent you saw at the airport, this may be too late, I think I remember them saying they’re required by FAA regulations make a report, even if they don’t feel it was their fault or if it was against their ‘soft case policy’ but they do resist doing it because that report can then be used to submit feedback to the FAA which factors in some ranking and that apparently pushed the airline to do something about it. Sorry I can’t find it as the details are fuzzy but it’s in a thread of similar nature and I think was posted last year. I’ll keep looking and if I find it I’ll link it.
Found it, post 13 by TheSloth
Sorry, but what? Expedite? with United? LOL
Did you buy the extra insurance?
Are you a Status member?
I was Mileage Plus Platinum for all of 2017. They still treated me like sh*t.
What kind of bike box?Exact question that came to my mind. If it wasn’t a hard-shell bike box, OP is screwed.
Did TSA open the box to peek inside? If they did you should find a flyer inside stating as much.
Exact reason I asked. Soft sided case and United can pretty much tell you to fuck off from the start.
United’s policy:
United is not liable for damage to bicycles that do not have the handlebars fixed sideways and pedals removed, handlebars and pedals encased in plastic foam or similar material, or bicycles not contained in a cardboard containers or hard-sided cases.
Recently a friend of mine checked her bike on a United flight back home from IMSG703 and when she unpacked it found it was destroyed. It was a bike box. The derailleur was completely destroyed. The frame was bent and also has numerous cracks that are plainly visible.
Has anyone ever had any success recouping money for a destroyed bike? Any tips to expedite the process would be greatly appreciated! Thanks
I hate to say it but I wouldn’t hope for much. They’ll likely try to wear you down or say the damage didn’t occur in transit. Did you unpack the box upon receiving it at the airport and take photo?
Sorry, but what? Expedite? with United? LOL
Did you buy the extra insurance?
Are you a Status member?
I was Mileage Plus Platinum for all of 2017. They still treated me like sh*t.
Ditto for me as Global Services. GS was surprisingly unsympathetic about my damaged bike. I do get the occasional ride across the tarmac in a Mercedes, though.
better hurry - from United’s Website:
"You must report damaged baggage within seven days "
Note: American is 24 hours and Southwest is 4 hours.
Don’t waste your time with United. File a report with them, but don’t wait for a response. Immediately file a complaint with US DOT. Since their technically public transit the US DOT handbook and laws applies to them as well. The max you’ll get is $3500. They hate this because it goes into the consumer report. Get a lawyer and threaten litigation with a letter. That is the ONLY way they’ll take you a tiny bit serious. Even after that you’re gonna have to jump through hoops.
I had the same problem with another airline and got 3000 + 500 voucher.