“US Airways did that twice, and never called…end up waiting 4hrs at the airport.”
After getting bumped, we got some food vouchers and walked into an a restaurant, the waiter took a look at the vouchers and said, “US Air, right?”.
As soon as the bus was loaded the hotel shuttle driver announced, “All US air customers, raise your hand”. It was 100% of the people on his bus, all from different flights.
If you are getting screwed, it’s nice to know your not alone.
Dave
I am flying us airways to kona ,but I am taking two bikes because I am doing maui two weeks later, what should I do? Using two bike bags. Wife is going but not competing.
Dude.
Have her use a coupon too and carry your bike as hers.
OK … I made a mistake and booked my US Airways flight without entering the IRONMAN01 code. I simply never saw the box. I have contacted US Airways twice and both times they said that they cannot generate the voucher when the flight was booked without the code. While I call bullshit on this … does anybody have any experience with getting the voucher after booking (w/o code)? I read elsewhere that the voucher is not necessarily required at check-in … but it still would be nice to have it. Any advice? Maybe an e-mail address of a competent US Airways person? Thanks.
A selfish little bump. The flight is to Kona by the way. Thus, it should be fully eligible for the free bike thing.
The flight is to Kona by the way. Thus, it should be fully eligible for the free bike thing.
Unfortunatly, no.
That deal was for the old NAS IM races, of which IMH was not part of. I checked on this specifically with the WTC office and they told me there are no free bike travel vouchers with US Airways for travel to Kona for IMH.
As a side note, triathletes and cyclists need to start booking their travel plans with the airlines that do have reasonable bike transport fees. We started doing this recently. You may pay more up front, for the ticket, but their is peice of mind that the fee is the fee. There will be no surprises at check-in. No tears. No big and embarrassing blow-ups and arguments at check in either.
We are travelling to Kona on Air Canada. There bike transport fee is $50. I have confirmed with AC Customer Service that this is it, and that’s what we will pay. That is reasonable. We paid a bit more for these tickets. However, our other options that would have cost less money up front were with Delta, United or American - who, if you check the thread on Bike Transport the scrolls along the top of the page are the three worst when it comes to extra bike fees - all $150 or more each way!! We will, NOT be flying with these airlines with our bikes ever again unless it’s desperate.
As an aside, I have recently noticed the following trend: The airlines that most often have the least expensive fares, that pop up at the top of the lists on Hotwire and Expedia, are also the airlines with the worst bike transfer fees and customer service. Sometimes “deals” are too good to be true!
Thanks for the info, Steve. I wonder what had happened if I had put the IRONMAN01 code into the e-coupon box for my flight to Kona (I went back and it actually lets you book the flight with the code). I guess they simply wouldn’t have sent the voucher.
I agree with your airline selection.
Ok, I said I would report on my experiences when I returned home, so here you go:
It went GREAT! I had zero problems, zero delays, and it cost zero to fly my bike to Seattle and back. I realize that not everyone has had luck with this, but everything went fine for me and I would use this voucher again.
Some things I learned:
Before you leave:
*Read an article on bike packing. There are good ones available online.
*Don’t put extra stuff in the box. It’s a bike box, not a suitcase.
*Ship other things in advance. I’d rather pay USPS or UPS to ship it than the airline to carry a checked bag.
*Take your time to pack the bike right. It’s valuable, so treat it as such. I took over two hours for each disassembly.
*The more things you can remove/disassemble, the better off you’ll be.
*Allow nothing loose in the box. Everything can and should be padded, protected, and taped to something else.
*Keep it under 50lbs. Even if they decide to ignore your voucher and hit you with an oversize fee, they can’t stick you with overweight too.
*Take a photo of your well-packed bike before you close up the case. If something happens en route, you might be able to use this to show that it was well packed. I’ll post my picture later.
At the airport:
*Arrive early. If you have plenty of time before your flight leaves, you’ll have time to try to address problems that may arise.
*Arrive prepared. I had the voucher (2 copies, in case they took one), my itinerary, their luggage policy, their contract of carriage, and customer service telephone numbers all printed out and ready to go if needed.
*Make things as easy as possible for your gate agent. I showed up with a backpack, a small carry-on, and the box.
*TSA may want to open your box. You are allowed to stand by while they do so. You can’t touch anything, but you can talk them through the repacking process. The TSA officer that handled my case was very considerate and friendly.
*Be friendly, remain calm, and know before you go.
When you arrive:
*Open your box in the airport. Take minute to make sure nothing has been broken. If you find damage and can report it at the airport, you might fare better.
N=1; maybe it won’t go well for me next time, but things worked out great this trip. My bike made it back safely and I am very happy.
Thanks to the people who gave me advice and alerted me to this program. It’s an incredible deal.
mm
Thanks for the follow up. I have used them only for the last 2 years, and my experience has been the same as your. I hope we all generate enough business for them to continue this, as it’s an incredible deal for all of us. I have been EXTREMELY happy with USAirways!
Gary
In searching for a deal to get my bike to Clearwater in Nov, I discovered this thread. Just called US Airways to confirm before booking and was told, “No, this code is not valid this year…it was in 2008 but not this year”. I tried to explain to her that people have used it this past summer but she would hear nothing of it and basically hung up.
I am calling back to speak to someone else…
Don’t call anyone - just do it online.
http://www.ironmanarizona.com/aircar.php
Book through this site and use the code it says. You’ll get the certificate in an email in a week or so.