Originally Posted by
timdow
I am taking a trip in early September, and am flying Delta. As staephj said below, for a standard ticket, the bike flys in a bag, box or case at the standard bag fee with a 50 lb. limit.
What worked for me on this trip was to go first class (first time ever, BTW). The reason I did this is first two checked bags are free, and limit is increased to 70 lbs. It was an extra 6500 sky miles to do so - not sure what the $ cost would have been. And.. I am able to cancel the flight due to COVID or fires if need be.
I wasn't aware of the bump in the weight limit for first class.
When I have priced tickets from one coast to the other an upgrade to first class has typically been 300-400 more than the very cheapest ticket with no cancellation, no boarding priority, lousy seats, and so on.
BTW... Usually the no cancellation isn't as bad as it sounds for two reasons IME. First the ticket is cheap enough that you aren't out so much if you do get burned and second, depending on the airline they may let you take a credit for another flight. You probably will have to use it within a year, at least that is what I found when I cancelled a no cancel ticket (I forget which airline). Some airlines may not do that so check before assuming that is the case. Also if you do cancel ask for a credit even if it is not the policy, it never hurts to ask. Ask nicely. Tell them a sad story. Heck call more than once and ask again. Ask in person at the counter too if the opportunity presents sometimes they don't know or are willing to break the rules.