Originally Posted by
joewein
...
With regards to size limits, airlines are somewhat less likely to enforce those in all cases than weight limits. Every box gets weighed on check-in as that's required to compute fuel requirements, load balancing, etc. but relatively few boxes get measured with a tape measure, unless they look oversize. You're more likely to get away with a slightly oversize box than an overweight one.
....
Completely agree. I was on a trip with two people that owned Ritchey Break Away bikes and they both used a Ritchey case. Those cases exceed the 62 inch criteria by a small amount (I do not recall exactly by how much they are oversize), but one of them said that he had never been charged the oversize fee, the other said he had been charged it once. Both of them had taken a lot of trips.
If I fly on Southwest where two 62 inch bags will fly for free, I will take a bike in an S&S backpack case on the plane with me. And if I am traveling international on any airline, the bike will be in an S&S backpack case on the plane. But domestic travels with other airlines, I am inclined to ship the bike by bike flights to my destination. Bike flights with an oversize package is cheaper than most other USA domestic airlines for a second 62 inch case.
Another advantage of an S&S case is that you can take a normal taxi to the airport. In my community two of the cab companies now use Prius cars. And my S&S case plus another piece of luggage will fit in the Prius trunk.