Originally Posted by
redbagsrambler
I've done both. I have a hard shell bike case but now I almost exclusively fly with the bike in a cardboard box because:
- I also prefer the cardboard box because it is lighter than the bike case. One airline tried to charge me double bike fee because the hard shell case with bike exceeded standard luggage weight requirements, even though it fell within the specific fee for special luggage category.
Same here. The trick might be to use curbside check in. I did this in Pittsburgh and there was no problem. On the return I went straight to the gate. The woman at the gate wanted to charge me something like $400 when it should have been $25 or maybe it was $50. I think she was simply pissed that she needed to move the heavy case. She pretty much started off with a bad attitude as soon as she saw the case.