Originally Posted by
Ald1
Yes sorry, I'm refering to that companies cases really the sub 62 case. My primary reason is for size and handling as Europe's idae of a mid size rentals are not mine and maybe save the airline fee. I can see both sides of this argument with the airlines. They view a bike at a higher risk of a damage claim and charge what they do. Conversely, if it is insured by me anyway and I sign a waiver and it's under their oversize guidelines why should they charge extra? It still does not give them a licence to be careless as "trade show equipment" also needs to be handled with care?
PS I think the nylon shell is porous enough for him to breath, no drill holes necessary!
I was wondering about those cases myself, as I am planning to fly with my bike to Europe this year.
For reference: Delta Airlines charges $150 each way for transporting a bike.. so $300 RT. pretty expensive! Seems about average.
So those bags, at around $550, are pretty expensive. But if you can avoid the fees, they pretty much pay for themselves. Supposedly they let you fly the bike as regular checked luggage, but I too would like to see some firsthand accounts of this.
Another good thing to note is that if you don't pay the airlines' fees, you will probably be out of luck if your bike gets damaged. You will not be able to ask for compensation. If you check it as a bicycle, and it is packed properly, the airline assumes some of the risk for transporting it. Theoretically, if the bike arrives damaged, they would recompense you for the loss (not sure how easy it is to get this done though). So you are taking a bit of a gamble trying to avoid the fees. Depending on the value of your bicycle, this risk might not be worth it. You could look at the airline fees as buying some kind of "insurance" on the transportation of your bike.
For me personally, the risk of seriously damaging and replacing my frame would set me back a couple $1000, so I would pay the fees for peace of mind.