kayakindude

There is a lot of good info in the folder forum but I don't recall seeing a list of which airlines have charged for an oversized suitcase. How many use a suitcase over the 62" limit and have been charged the fee? Was it over the 50 pound limit? Which airline and how much? How often have you not been charged (# of flights on average) .

This info could help those of you planning a trip with your folders, which airline is folder friendly, which not so much.

I'll go 1st:

I have 2 oversized cases. I fly Southwest, 50+ flights, always under 50 pounds, never charged an oversized fee.

tomtomtom123

It's not really a question of whether or not you yourself were charged an oversize fee for an oversized suitcase. It depends on the rules of the airlines, and whether the staff that checked your baggage decides to measure the size. If it's clearly oversized, then it will have a higher chance of being charged. If you were not charged, then it could simply be that the staff that you had don't care much about it. But someone else who checks in at a different airport with the same airline might have staff that are stricter. If you fly on a budget airline, most likely the staff were trained to find ways to earn as much money as possible and look for oversized baggage.

The best way to know if you might be charged or not is to simply look at the airline's policy. Almost all airlines use the 158cm or 62" standard. Some have larger standards, like British Airways. You also have to find out if the airline has a sports equipment fee for bicycles. Some airlines will always charge you for a bicycle even if it fits in a standard non-oversized suitcase, while others will allow you to take the bicycle for no additional cost if it fits in a standard suitcase and count it towards your normal baggage allowance. Some airlines may even allow you to take the bicycle as standard baggage even if it is oversized.

There are a couple of threads on bikeforums talking about airline policies. There are also a few different sites that try to compile the different rules for different airlines, but the best way is to visit the airline websites directly since the rules will constantly change. First you figure out which airlines fly the routes you want to go, then which ones have fees in your price range, and then see which ones have better baggage policies for bicycles.

Don't forget that multi-stop routes where your baggage will be transferred between multiple airlines may have different rules, so you either have to follow the rules of the "most significant carrier" on the route (usually the one at the start of the route) if they are members of IATA (but most budget airlines aren't members and they don't partner anyway), or use the rules of their inter-airline baggage agreements if those connecting airlines are partners. If you're unsure, you should call them and ask about their inter-airline agreements.

Here is one of the threads on bikeforums that talk about flying with bicycles.
https://www.bikeforums.net/long-dist...l-bicycle.html

bikebikebike

It is SOP and easier for the gate agents to weigh a case and a PITA to measure them, and this may account for anything that doesn't look seriously oversized and isn't overweight , not to be challenged.
Their usual issue is overweight, so staying far from the limit may be of help if you are within a few inches.

kayakindude

I've read a few postings about oversized but underweight not being an issue, which has always been my experience. Obviously all the US domestic airlines consider anything over 62" as too big. The question remains which airlines and even airports have actually measured? Paul mentioned it happened to him, but where did it happen? Is this a widespread issue? I'm fine doing it my way because I have yet to have an issue but newbies might benefit from knowing where and when someone actually had an issue.

BromptonINrio

here in south anything bulk like and cardbox bike wrapped will be measured to ensure it will be charged for dual oversized and ouvewheight fee.
so, be aware!
less the 150cm and 23 kg!

fietsbob

In a popular cycle touring start end or pass thru town..

one fellow spent for S&S coupler framed bike and a within size restricted spec case,

only to have person in control of issuing boarding pass, require to see 'whats in the case?'

seeing it was a bicycle charged the fee anyhow..






...

2_i 

Delta insists on charging a bike fee even if you have a folding bike that does not exceed any limits. They tried to charge us for a folded Brompton that we took as a carry-on and my wife played the I always honestly admit to everything script. I insisted on moving to the gate at the very last moment and they ran out of time to charge us. On the other hand, Delta waives oversize and oveweight fees, up to some limits, after you pay the bike fee.

tcs

I've seen numerous posts around the 'net of folks carrying-on their folded bikes. The Brompton Mafia is famous for this.

https://bromptonmafia.com/

Brompton dealer Clever Cycles even claimed "You are allowed to fly with a Brompton as a carry-on" in a recent blog post.

https://www.clevercycles.com/blogs/n...-folding-bike/

That's really cool, and I'm very much in favor, but (and it's a big but) even small folds like the Curl, EEZZ and Brompton are larger than the generous carry-on dimensions of Southwest Airlines, and positively gargantuan compared to the limits at some other airlines.

https://travel-made-simple.com/carry-on-size-chart/

Bottom line: Like checking an oversize bag w/o extra fee, you'll probably get away with carrying-on the smallest folders, but it's not according to Hoyle and not guaranteed.

2_i 

As one rule one might mention a significant dependence on the dynamics at the gate/counter. I just flew a full-size bike on Delta without paying any fee. The staff was so preoccupied with figuring out whether the bike would fit into the small plane, that once they determined that it would fit, they printed the tag and off I went. On the other side I was upset because I called few days ahead, quoted the flight number, and they told me that there would be no problem.

tomtomtom123

Full sized bike in a small plane might have problems at check-in, as the cargo conditions may change later.

2_i 

It was a situation where the bottleneck was the first regional flight on a small plane followed by a couple of long distance flights on larger planes. I am not sure what the policy is when the last flight is a regional one. My bet is that they would not know any better than I - when I called ahead of time they did not anticipate problems but when I showed up likely different people thought at first differently, so there is no way to get absolute information. Also when I showed up the agent was at first claiming that I should check in the full size bike at a regional hub. What the heck should I do then when my ticket is from a smaller local airport?? My wife flew before with a full size bike along the same route before, so I principally knew that it could be done. Also I know that if you negotiate politely with the agents, do not antagonize them, have them on board with you, you will eventually solve the problem one way or another, switch flights, get approval from supervisors for this or that etc.

kayakindude

On a lighter note- I was re-building the bike in DC last night and couldn't get my mini pump to pump air into my front tire. After examining the mini pump and finding nothing wrong I felt along the tire for issues and had a "Doooh!" moment- they tire still had 110psi in it! So the good news is, no exploded tire, I read that somewhere in the past threads and no impact on packing. Note the TSA did not inspect the bike this time so I have no idea if having an inflated tire would be an issue with them..

2_i 

I always have inflated tires and the bike is always inspected by TSA - for them this is apparently not an issue. On your side, flying high up adds 10psi or so, so it is not a problem if you pump up normally, but could lead to a problem if you pump up to the limit that the tires can take.

kayakindude

That is awesome news- thanks for that. I can get it to about 90psi with a mini pump but it is a pain. If I can leave the air in the tires I can cut my assembly process by a third.

2_i 

Well, Delta just dropped their surcharges for sports equipment:

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/delta-...ing-bikes.html

I wonder whether them not charging me for the bike during the flight 3 weeks ago might not be in anticipation of this official change. Anyway for our location this is great news as Delta is the dominant carrier out of the region. A quick check indicates, though, that this rule change does not extend to other members of the SkyTeam Alliance.

kayakindude

Great news and it looks like American too.