Fred: Sky Service allowed sporting equipment (including a bicycle) free when
we went to Italy. West-Jet treated a bicycle as one piece of luggage when we
went to Cuba. Many years ago, we took Air Canada to France, with our
bicycles in reinforced hard plastic ( so it was clear what was inside the
enclosure) and one bicycle was badly mistreated by the personnel,,requiring
repairs before it could be ridden out of the airport. $50 each way appears
to be the going rate for other airlines that we investigated I do not
think you are likely to get a loaded bicycle treated as one piece of
luggage. If the bike is not in a bike-specific container ( which I strongly
recommend) then the airlines seem to insist on it being enclosed, with the
pedals turned in and the handle-bars turned in line with the top tube. (In
any case, don't forget to deflate the tyres. or they may explode under
reduced air pressure). I hope all goes well. and that you have an enjoyable
visit (Stay away from those ER's! Goldwin.


>From: "Fred Lee" <fredlee@...>
>Reply-To: GreatCanadian@yahoogroups.com
>To: GreatCanadian@yahoogroups.com
>Subject: [Great Canadian Bicycle Tours] Travel Advice Requested
>Date: Thu, 18 Dec 2008 19:48:05 -0000
>
> Hi Everyone,
> I'm going to get my riding season started early next February
>in California. I'm in the process of picking an airline that takes
>bicycles and I've only checked out Air Canada online and got a price
>of $561.00 plus $50.00 each way for the bicycle. Any advice from
>members who have travelled with their bicycles on airlines would be
>much appreciated. I will be staying with my niece who lives in
>Oakland. Her husband is an emergency room doctor in Oakland and
>hopefully I won't be needing his services while I'm there. I'm on my
>own except for weekends. I have relatives in San Francisco, Walnut
>Creek and Sacramento and will likely take my Trek520 instead of my
>full suspension. Though I do like single track, this is my first ever
>trip to California and seeing new sights such as along the Pacific
>coast and all the touristy stuff, my touring bike would be better
>though I will rent a car for a few days. I'll be gone 11 days, leaving
>Wednesday returning the 2nd Sunday. I have looked at BikeRadar.com but
>won't be doing any bicycle route planning till I get my travel
>arrangements done first.
> What I had in mind was to load up my front and rear panniers and
>push my bike into the terminal and check it as single item while
>taking one carry on bag. Is this a workable idea or does it need work?
>Could I get a direct flight to San Francisco from Hamilton? I would
>think the check in people at Hamilton would be more friendly to a
>cyclist than the people at yyz. Any advice would be much appreciated.
>Fred Lee
>