indyfabz

'Xactly. What happened to A at X airport last year might not happen to B at Y airport this year. Maybe the OP will get an agent who doesn't care* Maybe he will get an overzealous agent trying to look good on the job my enforcing policies strictly. Maybe JetBlue enforces the policy strictly now but didn't once upon a time.

If it were my trip on the line, I would explore the possibility of shipping the bike (e.g., through Bikeflights.com) regardless of anecdotes from others. Too much at stake if the bike is not accepted.

*I once thought of what I thought was a clever way that might allow me to avoid the bike charge for a flight. I was flying at a busy time. I'd do curbside check-in, thinking that the employee might be too busy and not knowledgeable enough to ask what was in my box. A couple of $$ for a tip would less than the $75 bike charge. My plan worked just like I imagined it would, or so I thought! I grinned about getting over all the way up the escalator and through security. Just as I cleared security, I heard my name over the PA system. I was being summoned to my departure gate. Remains the only time I have ever been paged in an airport. When I got to the gate, I was greeted by an airline employee who told me that I hadn't disclosed what was in my box. "I wasn't asked." was my response. (Someone had noticed it was a bike when the box was opened by TSA.) She then happily collected the $75 bike charge.