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Main
Date: 01 Aug 2007 19:31:18
From: Mike Jacoubowsky
Subject: Bikes still free on International flight (United)
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Just got back from France with my son & two bikes. On United, at least for
now, bikes are still shipped at no charge as part of you baggage shipment.
International only. $85 each way, last I heard, for US flights.
Please note this is likely to change; many other airlines are already
charging for bikes on International flights. I was pleasantly surprised that
UA is not (yet) one of them.
--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA
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Date: 01 Sep 2007 13:20:42
From: sergio
Subject: Re: Bikes still free on International flight (United)
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On 1 Set, 17:38, jobst.bra...@stanfordalumni.org wrote:
, we both got food poisoning on the Galibier,
> probably from pasta alla carbonara in Valloire,
Well done, if so.
Never ask for Italian food outside our sacred borders.
Instead, last year when I stopped at Bonneval sur Arc I had to be
satisfied with an improvised TV dinner.
No problem over Iseran and Le Petit S.t Bernard on the following day,
though.
Sergio
Pisa
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Date: 07 Aug 2007 23:21:36
From:
Subject: Re: Bikes still free on International flight (United)
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On Aug 7, 7:23 pm, "Mike Jacoubowsky" <Mi...@ChainReaction.com > wrote:
> Tarbes does seem to be in another world, but the taxi driver at the train
> station was quite friendly and willing to get creative to get our two bikes
> plus us into the not-so-large cab, the staff at the ETAP hotel were quite
> nice, and it certainly is central to the Pyrenees. Navigating the city, now,
> that's another matter entirely! Pretty goofy road structure; by car, not so
> bad, as you just drive the periphery and move in when you're in the general
> area. Not generally the way you do things by bike.
It took me a while to realize that you can never drop off a passenger
in front of a bakery and say, "I'll drive around the block and pick
you up in a minute." In addition, deciphering the subtleties of French
road signage is quite involved. An example: you see a road sign of a
guy on a bike crossing the road? It must mean there's a bike crossing
ahead, right? Yes, but it means something different if the guy is
facing left or if he's facing right.
> Sorry to hear about the issues with your friend's sick kid out our way. Not
> sure how that's best dealt with; in the other direction, no biggie, our
> health insurer (Kaiser) will pay for it, and, as you're probably aware,
> out-of-pocket health care in France isn't terribly expensive anyway.
Oh, I meant that in the sense that there are surprises in how things
work in every country. Almost no one in the US has a credit card with
the chip in it, so they never think it could be different. Almost no
one in France has ever had to negotiate a bizarre fractured
labyrinthine health care system so they never think it could be
different.
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Date: 07 Aug 2007 17:25:45
From:
Subject: Re: Bikes still free on International flight (United)
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On Aug 7, 1:23 pm, "Mike Jacoubowsky" <Mi...@ChainReaction.com > wrote:
>
>
> Sorry to hear about the issues with your friend's sick kid out our way. Not
> sure how that's best dealt with; in the other direction, no biggie, our
> health insurer (Kaiser) will pay for it, and, as you're probably aware,
> out-of-pocket health care in France isn't terribly expensive anyway.
Ditto Austria. Unfortunately, out crew had two separate trips to ERs
(for relatively minor ailments). The first trip cost about 1/10 of a
similar visit in America. The second hospital still hasn't charged
us. I wonder if they will bother. And both donated the needed
medications.
- Frank Krygowski
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Date: 07 Aug 2007 01:03:11
From:
Subject: Re: Bikes still free on International flight (United)
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On Aug 7, 7:52 am, "Mike Jacoubowsky" <mik...@ix.netcom.com > wrote:
> I've got to get the photos up on the website; for the time being, I have a
> fair amount of info on our almost-daily diary page
> (www.ChainReaction.com/diary.htm) between the dates of 7/19 & 7/30. Great
> trip; my son had a very good time. Many stories still to tell.
Nice diary. The problem you had with the credit card in Tarbes is
nothing compared to the problem my French friends had with getting
health care for a sick kid in the Bay Area. And the accent in Tarbes
is such that visitors from other parts of France occasionally have
difficulty understanding or being understood.
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Date: 07 Aug 2007 10:23:26
From: Mike Jacoubowsky
Subject: Re: Bikes still free on International flight (United)
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>> I've got to get the photos up on the website; for the time being, I have
>> a
>> fair amount of info on our almost-daily diary page
>> (www.ChainReaction.com/diary.htm) between the dates of 7/19 & 7/30. Great
>> trip; my son had a very good time. Many stories still to tell.
>
> Nice diary. The problem you had with the credit card in Tarbes is
> nothing compared to the problem my French friends had with getting
> health care for a sick kid in the Bay Area. And the accent in Tarbes
> is such that visitors from other parts of France occasionally have
> difficulty understanding or being understood.
Tarbes does seem to be in another world, but the taxi driver at the train
station was quite friendly and willing to get creative to get our two bikes
plus us into the not-so-large cab, the staff at the ETAP hotel were quite
nice, and it certainly is central to the Pyrenees. Navigating the city, now,
that's another matter entirely! Pretty goofy road structure; by car, not so
bad, as you just drive the periphery and move in when you're in the general
area. Not generally the way you do things by bike.
Sorry to hear about the issues with your friend's sick kid out our way. Not
sure how that's best dealt with; in the other direction, no biggie, our
health insurer (Kaiser) will pay for it, and, as you're probably aware,
out-of-pocket health care in France isn't terribly expensive anyway.
--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA
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Date: 04 Aug 2007 16:59:06
From: Paul Myron Hobson
Subject: Re: Bikes still free on International flight (United)
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Mike Jacoubowsky wrote:
> Just got back from France with my son & two bikes. On United, at least for
> now, bikes are still shipped at no charge as part of you baggage shipment.
> International only. $85 each way, last I heard, for US flights.
So how was France?!?
\\paul
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Date: 01 Sep 2007 15:38:11
From:
Subject: Re: Bikes still free on International flight (United)
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Mike Jacoubowsky writes
> Just got back from France with my son & two bikes. On United, at
> least for now, bikes are still shipped at no charge as part of your
> baggage shipment. International only. $85 each way, last I heard,
> for US flights.
Airlines seem to have taken an anti bicycle stance with a limit of
L+W+H=3D62" that barely allows a Dahon folding bicycle. Most airlines
are charging between $85 and $100 for anything over 62" but Air Canada
charged $43 (equivalent) so that was my choice this year. Last year
Continental was already charging $80 each way.
To make up for that, the airport baggage mashers broke off the rear
derailleur cable anchor (braze-on) and broke off one of my valve stems
at the base... inside a closed bag. These guys are resourceful.
Fortunately my frame builder friend Fredy R=C3=BCegg could help me out an=
d
I had a spare tube.=20=20
Other than that, no mechanicals during a 2500km ride through the Alps.
To make up for that, we both got food poisoning on the Galibier,
probably from pasta alla carbonara in Valloire, after which we had the
runs for two days before heading up the Col d'Iseran and on to storm
the Col de la Seigne (2616m) and the Col Ferret (2537m) from Bourg
St. Maurice to Martigny (CH).
http://www.roberts-1.com/t/b06/ch/k/d/index.htm
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fpoulin/940467598/
Trip report later.
Jobst Brandt
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Date: 02 Sep 2007 14:14:22
From: Sir Thomas of Cannondale
Subject: Re: Bikes still free on International flight (United)
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I wonder how many bicycles were on the Titanic. And did they get shipped
for free.
================================================================
<jobst.brandt@stanfordalumni.org > wrote in message
news:46d98763$0$14144$742ec2ed@news.sonic.net...
Mike Jacoubowsky writes
> Just got back from France with my son & two bikes. On United, at
> least for now, bikes are still shipped at no charge as part of your
> baggage shipment. International only. $85 each way, last I heard,
> for US flights.
Airlines seem to have taken an anti bicycle stance with a limit of
L+W+H=62" that barely allows a Dahon folding bicycle. Most airlines
are charging between $85 and $100 for anything over 62" but Air Canada
charged $43 (equivalent) so that was my choice this year. Last year
Continental was already charging $80 each way.
To make up for that, the airport baggage mashers broke off the rear
derailleur cable anchor (braze-on) and broke off one of my valve stems
at the base... inside a closed bag. These guys are resourceful.
Fortunately my frame builder friend Fredy Rüegg could help me out and
I had a spare tube.
Other than that, no mechanicals during a 2500km ride through the Alps.
To make up for that, we both got food poisoning on the Galibier,
probably from pasta alla carbonara in Valloire, after which we had the
runs for two days before heading up the Col d'Iseran and on to storm
the Col de la Seigne (2616m) and the Col Ferret (2537m) from Bourg
St. Maurice to Martigny (CH).
http://www.roberts-1.com/t/b06/ch/k/d/index.htm
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fpoulin/940467598/
Trip report later.
Jobst Brandt
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Date: 07 Aug 2007 05:52:48
From: Mike Jacoubowsky
Subject: Re: Bikes still free on International flight (United)
|
>> Just got back from France with my son & two bikes. On United, at least
>> for now, bikes are still shipped at no charge as part of you baggage
>> shipment. International only. $85 each way, last I heard, for US flights.
>
> So how was France?!?
I've got to get the photos up on the website; for the time being, I have a
fair amount of info on our almost-daily diary page
(www.ChainReaction.com/diary.htm) between the dates of 7/19 & 7/30. Great
trip; my son had a very good time. Many stories still to tell.
--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com
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Date: 02 Aug 2007 05:33:07
From:
Subject: Re: Bikes still free on International flight (United)
|
On Aug 2, 2:09 pm, Artoi <ar...@hotmail.com > wrote:
> I am surprised that TGV has such restrictions. How do the locals do it?
> All with soft bags?
If you're surprised, it means you haven't ridden on the TGV. The TGV
don't have baggage cars: there are small areas at the ends of each car
where people can stash their luggage, so there's no room to wheel in a
fully assembled bike. The dimensions (120 x 90 cm) reflect the size of
the storage areas: think the size of the luggage racks on the buses
used to move people between terminals at the airport.
For about a year right after the Madrid train bombings, you couldn't
even use these luggage areas. Everyone had to keep their bags with
them.
Most regular trains have baggage cars, but not always.
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Date: 03 Aug 2007 06:30:28
From: Artoi
Subject: Re: Bikes still free on International flight (United)
|
In article <1186057987.293422.145830@57g2000hsv.googlegroups.com >,
rechungREMOVETHIS@gmail.com wrote:
> On Aug 2, 2:09 pm, Artoi <ar...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> > I am surprised that TGV has such restrictions. How do the locals do it?
> > All with soft bags?
>
> If you're surprised, it means you haven't ridden on the TGV. The TGV
> don't have baggage cars: there are small areas at the ends of each car
> where people can stash their luggage, so there's no room to wheel in a
> fully assembled bike. The dimensions (120 x 90 cm) reflect the size of
> the storage areas: think the size of the luggage racks on the buses
> used to move people between terminals at the airport.
>
> For about a year right after the Madrid train bombings, you couldn't
> even use these luggage areas. Everyone had to keep their bags with
> them.
>
> Most regular trains have baggage cars, but not always.
Actually I have taken the TGV. Took it for a Paris-Marseille return trip
a few years ago as well as a number going up to Brussels. But as they
were business trips, I only had a go anywhere rollaboard suitcase. We
also had a few large and long cardboard boxes with the group, it was a
bit of a pain to carry them on but didn't remember any size restrictions
being placed on them. Oh yes, on the return trip from Marseille, we
decided to check those boxes and we were surprised they had to go on
another train. It took another two days before they were delivered.
Well, shame about the restriction on bikes. I'll remember that for
future reference. Thanks for the info.
--
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Date: 02 Aug 2007 12:47:14
From: RBrickston
Subject: Re: Bikes still free on International flight (United)
|
In article <1186057987.293422.145830@57g2000hsv.googlegroups.com >,
rechungREMOVETHIS@gmail.com says...
> On Aug 2, 2:09 pm, Artoi <ar...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> > I am surprised that TGV has such restrictions. How do the locals do it?
> > All with soft bags?
Yes, the housse is required to keep the luggage area clean from bike dirt
and lubricants as well as prevention of tearing up the storage surfaces or
other bags.
>
> If you're surprised, it means you haven't ridden on the TGV. The TGV
> don't have baggage cars: there are small areas at the ends of each car
> where people can stash their luggage, so there's no room to wheel in a
> fully assembled bike. The dimensions (120 x 90 cm) reflect the size of
> the storage areas: think the size of the luggage racks on the buses
> used to move people between terminals at the airport.
>
> For about a year right after the Madrid train bombings, you couldn't
> even use these luggage areas. Everyone had to keep their bags with
> them.
>
> Most regular trains have baggage cars, but not always.
>
>
And you don't want to put your bike in the baggage car unless you have a
day or two to retrieve it from the station. Some non-TGV trains have cars
with a seatless compartment for self-transport of bikes. You can find
these by looking for a bicycle symbol on the train schedule.
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Date: 03 Aug 2007 06:31:25
From: Artoi
Subject: Re: Bikes still free on International flight (United)
|
In article <MPG.211b9c42c0191c479897af@news.verizon.net >,
RBrickston <rb20170REMOVE@yahoo.com > wrote:
> And you don't want to put your bike in the baggage car unless you have a
> day or two to retrieve it from the station. Some non-TGV trains have cars
> with a seatless compartment for self-transport of bikes. You can find
> these by looking for a bicycle symbol on the train schedule.
Thanks for the tip.
--
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Date: 02 Aug 2007 04:01:33
From:
Subject: Re: Bikes still free on International flight (United)
|
On Aug 2, 7:07 am, "Mike Jacoubowsky" <Mi...@ChainReaction.com > wrote:
>
> This time, because we were taking the train (TGV) for parts of the trip, we
> had to use bike "bags" which offer not a whole lot of protection.
Yeah. When I flew from SFO to CDG in February (on United; no extra
charge, including stopover/plane change in IAD), my bike went in a TGV-
approvable housse. Not much protection and I was slightly worried. I
lined the housse with corrugated cardboard, made some extra
compression tubes from rolled up corrugated cardboard and scrounged
plastic hub end protectors, wrapped the frame tubes, dropped a stick
into the front fork, and "boxed" the rear dropouts and derailleur
hanger. Even with "Fragile" stickers on it I could tell that it wasn't
handled with kid gloves: the housse had a hole poked through it, and
an aluminum water bottle cage was slightly bent. The bike came through
with no damage.
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Date: 02 Aug 2007 04:00:22
From: Artoi
Subject: Re: Bikes still free on International flight (United)
|
In article <1mbsi.32765$C96.13700@newssvr23.news.prodigy.net >,
"Mike Jacoubowsky" <MikeJ@ChainReaction.com > wrote:
> Just got back from France with my son & two bikes. On United, at least for
> now, bikes are still shipped at no charge as part of you baggage shipment.
> International only. $85 each way, last I heard, for US flights.
>
> Please note this is likely to change; many other airlines are already
> charging for bikes on International flights. I was pleasantly surprised that
> UA is not (yet) one of them.
Good information. I guess as long as you are checking it all the way,
then the international rule applies. This is common with other airline
matter.
What bike case did you use? I'd like to take my bike for a trip next
year and would hate to see any damage to it. I am somewhat sceptical of
those cardboard boxes.
Recently I carried a bike frame on SQ (Singapore Airlines, partner with
UA) on a trip. They waived fees as the combined weight didn't go over my
luggage allowance. They would only charge a fixed fee for bikes if the
combined weight exceeds the allowance of 20 or 30kg depending on the
class of travel.
--
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Date: 01 Aug 2007 22:07:36
From: Mike Jacoubowsky
Subject: Re: Bikes still free on International flight (United)
|
> What bike case did you use? I'd like to take my bike for a trip next
> year and would hate to see any damage to it. I am somewhat sceptical of
> those cardboard boxes.
Some of the newer cardboard boxes offer exceptional protection. The boxes
that Trek uses to ship their Madones, for example, would probably be as
protective, perhaps more so, than one of the plastic hard cases. QBP sells
what seems to be the same box for about $90 retail, but you can probably get
a very good deal on one at your LBS (at the moment we have some free for the
taking, but will probably charge about $15 for them at some point, because
they are a bit of a hassle to keep around and take up quite a bit of
space... but it seems like a shame to break them up & recycle them!).
This time, because we were taking the train (TGV) for parts of the trip, we
had to use bike "bags" which offer not a whole lot of protection. For that
reason I used my Trek 5900 rather than my Madone, because it's a bit heavier
frame (thicker tubing to better resist impact) and doesn't have a paint job
that I'd want preserved. Unfortunately, it's present like is as my rain
bike, and as such it wasn't exactly in perfect running order. On the outside
it looked fine; on the inside, it had terribly-noisy bottom bracket
bearings, a cassette mech that's on its last legs, lots of lateral play from
worn-out rear hub bearings and rims that are so worn down it's likely tire
pressure is going to blow out their walls sometime soon. But despite all
that it worked, it got me up the hills and across the flats, and I know what
I've got to do before it rains again!
--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA
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Date: 03 Aug 2007 00:27:31
From: Cathy Kearns
Subject: Re: Bikes still free on International flight (United)
|
"Mike Jacoubowsky" <MikeJ@ChainReaction.com > wrote in message
news:vEdsi.558$rG7.156@nlpi061.nbdc.sbc.com...
> For that reason I used my Trek 5900 rather than my Madone, because it's a
> bit heavier frame (thicker tubing to better resist impact) and doesn't
> have a paint job that I'd want preserved. Unfortunately, it's present like
> is as my rain bike, and as such it wasn't exactly in perfect running
> order. On the outside it looked fine; on the inside, it had terribly-noisy
> bottom bracket bearings, a cassette mech that's on its last legs, lots of
> lateral play from worn-out rear hub bearings and rims that are so worn
> down it's likely tire pressure is going to blow out their walls sometime
> soon. But despite all that it worked, it got me up the hills and across
> the flats, and I know what I've got to do before it rains again!
>
> --Mike Jacoubowsky
> Chain Reaction Bicycles
> www.ChainReaction.com
> Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA
Here I was, feeling guilty about how lazy I am with my bicycle maintenance.
So you can believe how much it made my day to hear a guy with a whole
bicycle maintenance shop gets a bit behind on his bicycle maintenance.
Thank you. :-)
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Date: 02 Aug 2007 21:16:26
From: Mike Jacoubowsky
Subject: Re: Bikes still free on International flight (United)
|
>> For that reason I used my Trek 5900 rather than my Madone, because it's a
>> bit heavier frame (thicker tubing to better resist impact) and doesn't
>> have a paint job that I'd want preserved. Unfortunately, it's present
>> like is as my rain bike, and as such it wasn't exactly in perfect running
>> order. On the outside it looked fine; on the inside, it had
>> terribly-noisy bottom bracket bearings, a cassette mech that's on its
>> last legs, lots of lateral play from worn-out rear hub bearings and rims
>> that are so worn down it's likely tire pressure is going to blow out
>> their walls sometime soon. But despite all that it worked, it got me up
>> the hills and across the flats, and I know what I've got to do before it
>> rains again!
>>
>> --Mike Jacoubowsky
>> Chain Reaction Bicycles
>> www.ChainReaction.com
>> Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA
>
> Here I was, feeling guilty about how lazy I am with my bicycle
> maintenance. So you can believe how much it made my day to hear a guy with
> a whole bicycle maintenance shop gets a bit behind on his bicycle
> maintenance. Thank you. :-)
You have no idea. There is simply no way I'm going to put my bike in front
of a customer's, and pretty much the entire time daylight saving time is in
effect, we're seriously backlogged in our service department. Plus, I
started life as a wrench, and will always consider myself a wrench. If work
needs to be done on my bike, I ought to be the person doing it. My attitude
about my bike is one that I try to steer my customers away from. If I've got
a finite amount of time, and the choice is to either ride my bike or work on
it, I'm going to ride it.
--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com
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Date: 04 Aug 2007 13:29:47
From: Cathy Kearns
Subject: Re: Bikes still free on International flight (United)
|
"Mike Jacoubowsky" <mikej1@ix.netcom.com > wrote in message
news:v_xsi.3361$Yz6.1224@newssvr22.news.prodigy.net...
> My attitude about my bike is one that I try to steer my customers away
> from. If I've got a finite amount of time, and the choice is to either
> ride my bike or work on it, I'm going to ride it.
Exactly! Which is why last week, when seeing my back tire was flat and I
had 5 minutes until the ladies meet I just pumped up the tire and decided
I'd see how long it would last. Wow, it lasted the whole ride. So come
Sunday I decide I could try that again with my husband's guy ride but he
wasn't having any of it, and changed the back tire. Then wouldn't you know
it, we get dressed, water bottle filled, I had pumped up both my tires, he
pulls his bike down from the ceiling, back tire is flat... Lucky for us his
friends are always late, so we ended up being right on time.
Now it's just a matter of seeing how long I'll ride with only the two
smaller of the three front rings before I take my bike in to get the
derailler adjusted. On the downhill, if I crouch real low I can keep up...
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| | | |
Date: 02 Aug 2007 12:09:00
From: Artoi
Subject: Re: Bikes still free on International flight (United)
|
In article <vEdsi.558$rG7.156@nlpi061.nbdc.sbc.com >,
"Mike Jacoubowsky" <MikeJ@ChainReaction.com > wrote:
> > What bike case did you use? I'd like to take my bike for a trip next
> > year and would hate to see any damage to it. I am somewhat sceptical of
> > those cardboard boxes.
>
> Some of the newer cardboard boxes offer exceptional protection. The boxes
> that Trek uses to ship their Madones, for example, would probably be as
> protective, perhaps more so, than one of the plastic hard cases. QBP sells
> what seems to be the same box for about $90 retail, but you can probably get
> a very good deal on one at your LBS (at the moment we have some free for the
> taking, but will probably charge about $15 for them at some point, because
> they are a bit of a hassle to keep around and take up quite a bit of
> space... but it seems like a shame to break them up & recycle them!).
>
> This time, because we were taking the train (TGV) for parts of the trip, we
> had to use bike "bags" which offer not a whole lot of protection. For that
> reason I used my Trek 5900 rather than my Madone, because it's a bit heavier
> frame (thicker tubing to better resist impact) and doesn't have a paint job
> that I'd want preserved. Unfortunately, it's present like is as my rain
> bike, and as such it wasn't exactly in perfect running order. On the outside
> it looked fine; on the inside, it had terribly-noisy bottom bracket
> bearings, a cassette mech that's on its last legs, lots of lateral play from
> worn-out rear hub bearings and rims that are so worn down it's likely tire
> pressure is going to blow out their walls sometime soon. But despite all
> that it worked, it got me up the hills and across the flats, and I know what
> I've got to do before it rains again!
Thanks for the info.
I am surprised that TGV has such restrictions. How do the locals do it?
All with soft bags? How did the soft bad survive UA ground handling?
--
|
| |
Date: 01 Aug 2007 19:56:10
From:
Subject: Re: Bikes still free on International flight (United)
|
On Aug 1, 10:31 pm, "Mike Jacoubowsky" <Mi...@ChainReaction.com >
wrote:
> Just got back from France with my son & two bikes. On United, at least for
> now, bikes are still shipped at no charge as part of you baggage shipment.
> International only. $85 each way, last I heard, for US flights.
>
> Please note this is likely to change; many other airlines are already
> charging for bikes on International flights. I was pleasantly surprised that
> UA is not (yet) one of them.
That is good news, at least for now.
My question: If you were to fly to Europe from, say, Pittsburgh by
way of Chicago, would United charge their usual fee for hauling the
bike from Pittsburgh to Chicago? Or would they say "Your trip is
international, so the bike goes free all the way"?
Years ago, we flew to Ireland, starting in Pittsburgh. The bikes flew
free from NYC to Dublin, but we were hit with an expensive surcharge
to get them from Pittsburgh to NYC. However, in that case, the
overseas flight was a charter, so not the same airline as the Pitt-NYC
leg.
(Yeah, I know I can get on the web sites and check the rules, but
asking here is more fun.)
- Frank Krygowski
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Date: 01 Aug 2007 20:19:55
From: Mike Jacoubowsky
Subject: Re: Bikes still free on International flight (United)
|
> My question: If you were to fly to Europe from, say, Pittsburgh by
> way of Chicago, would United charge their usual fee for hauling the
> bike from Pittsburgh to Chicago? Or would they say "Your trip is
> international, so the bike goes free all the way"?
First leg was domestic, SFO-ORD (Chicago), and they didn't try to charge for
it. I've even had fairly convoluted routings in the past, with multiple
carriers (all booked through one carrier though) and not had an issue.
> Years ago, we flew to Ireland, starting in Pittsburgh. The bikes flew
> free from NYC to Dublin, but we were hit with an expensive surcharge
> to get them from Pittsburgh to NYC. However, in that case, the
> overseas flight was a charter, so not the same airline as the Pitt-NYC
> leg.
>
> (Yeah, I know I can get on the web sites and check the rules, but
> asking here is more fun.)
Don't assume that what's on the website is what you'll find at check-in.
Even with a printout, you just never know for sure what they're going to
say, and whatever they (the ticket agent or gate agent) says is the rule of
the day.
--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA
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Date: 01 Aug 2007 22:53:46
From: Don Wiss
Subject: Re: Bikes still free on International flight (United)
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On Wed, 1 Aug 2007, Mike Jacoubowsky <MikeJ@ChainReaction.com > wrote:
>Just got back from France with my son & two bikes. On United, at least for
>now, bikes are still shipped at no charge as part of you baggage shipment.
>International only. $85 each way, last I heard, for US flights.
I took a folding bike in a soft case on an international American Airlines
flight and the woman wanted to charge me $80. She claimed is was sports
equipment. I protested, as it was the only thing I was checking and at 39
pounds was within weight. She let it through.
Was your bike boxed?
Don <www.donwiss.com > (e-mail link at home page bottom).
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Date: 01 Aug 2007 20:43:15
From: Mike Jacoubowsky
Subject: Re: Bikes still free on International flight (United)
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> Was your bike boxed?
Worse. Bagged. Because our trip involved two segments on the TGV (high speed
French train), we had to have approved-size bags. Can't be more than 120cm
by 90cm.
--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA
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