FBinNY 

That's funny. I've always had the best success with an almost opposite approach. I try to guess who'll be a real PIA, or hang back until I see one. Then I try to embody refreshing change, with an opening line suited to the set up.

But Machka's right. Don't go in claiming entitlement, that just gets people's back up. Instead, be a nice guy that needs a break. In your case, I'd be all innocent, bring the bike, and as the agent works your check-in, have the $75 in exact change ready. Then when he says that'll be $150, be all surprised and disappointed, and say the site said $65 in advance, $75 at the gate, an that's what you have (show it). Then, ask if they can help.

Oh, if they ask, why you didn't book it in advance, say you weren't 100% sure you were going to bring the bike, and is as worth the $10.00 difference to keep your options open. Plead hardship, saying there's no way you can leave the bike now, since you're here, and there's no time to bring it back home.

Much of what happens depends on good theater and the atmosphere you create. Decades ago when I led tours, I'd prepare for situations like asking who among the trippers could cry on cue. Hopefully an cute female. I'd script it, and instruct her that when I tried to calm her down, she was to break down to near hysterics. Then I could go through my helpless and hopeless act, hopefully get some sympathy, and get the group and out stuff on the train or plane.

jefnvk

+1, and remember most gate agents are decent folks. They're not there to ruin your vacation, but easily can if you choose to play hardball off the bat. Could also get lucky and just get a lazy one like I did at Amsterdam, who just punched my bike weight in as regular luggage, slapped a sticker on it, and didn't bother charging me $50

I'd play it just as FBinNY has detailed, assuming you can't get a favorable resolution from customer service beforehand.

Squeezebox

Obviously bring your paper work that shows the price when you bought the tickets. I agree being nice will help. At least not hurt the situation.

fantom1 

1) An extra $85 is not "screwing you big time."

2) You may or may not be in the right. International law is very complex and I doubt anyone will ever be able to give you a good answer.

3) If you want help with the Spanish, post it here and people like myself or others can help you translate it and a response.

Given all of the above, your best bet is to be nice and hope for the best. As it is, you sound like the sort of entitled young person that many people are growing to dislike more and more.

Lastly, if you can't deal with this without getting emotional, and you don't speak Spanish, and 85$ is enough to make or break you.......maybe a tour (or trip) through S. America is not the best idea?

FBinNY 

What a dollar or 85 of them is worth to someone depends on the circumstances.

For some it wouldn't be noticed in the big picture, for others a trade off of one dinner out with the spouse, but for others it can be a serious amount, representing a days work (if they can get it). Or the lack of it going on a vacation, may put a crimp into the discretionary spending available on the trip.

Most folks here can easily afford the extra $85, but for a student on a budget, who needed a year to save up for a $1,000 bike vacation, that $85 is almost 10%, and probably more than a day's spending budget, and therefore serious dough.

FBinNY 

To the OP,

One thing you might try depends on how you booked the ticket.

If you went through a third party, ie. a travel agent, of booking site like Travelocity, you might reach out through them with your problem. These folks are invested in having happy clients, and have good enough relationships hat they can tip the scales in your favor.

indyfabz

What at least one of you is missing is that the OP, by his own admission, was given the chance to purchase the bike transportation at the time he purchased his ticket. He declined to do so. In other words, it was an add on that he declined. Nothing has been offered to demonstrate why he is entitled to the price that was offered, and which was declined, at the time of purchase. Indeed, there is a disclaimer about baggage charges stating that fees are subject to change.

Once again: You snooze, you lose.

fantom1 

My point should be taken with the context of the whole sentence, which had three points regarding that she *may* not be a well prepared person for a tour in S. America, financially is just one part of that, with attitude and life-smarts being the other 2/3.

Regardless, your points are valid, but keep in mind we are talking about a person who lives in a pretty expensive first world city (assuming her city thing is correct), not some rural Burmese farmer. I'd wager she also has a decent computer, cell phone, and internet service, probably cable TV too. Like I said- 1) Its not screwing her big time. If she can afford a ticket to Nicaragua, she hopefully can afford a rather small $85.

Touring on the cheap is amazing, a lot of us have done it, but not with her apparent attitude and lack of various skills from emotional to linguistic- Of course, IMHO YMMV

jefnvk

I don't miss that. I read that the baggage policy in place when he purchased his ticket was that he had the option of paying for his bike at CHECK-IN for $75, as well as purchasing at ticket purchase for a $10 discount. There was no obligation to lock in that price implied. If you bought tickets when the baggage policy allowed you two free checked bags, and in the meantime they changed it so the first checked bag was $25 and the second $100, would you not expect to still get two free bags?

I still say, though, that he needs to check with the airline. It often take asking the same question to multiple representatives (especially when dealing with the language barrier) to get a favorable response. When I flew on WOW Air last trip, they did exactly this to us. In fact, all three of us had different baggage and prices, because they adjusted both baggage and sporting goods at differing times. My online reservation did not show the old limits, although it did show the old bike prices (which I paid after the change), but an email to customer service got me this result:

"We changed our carry on policy on 26th of January and since you booked your tickets before then, you are permitted ONE piece of carry-on luggage on board that is 10 kg with the dimensions 56x45x25 cm + one personal item which can be maximum 42x20x20 cm.

I can confirm that you have that allowance in your reservation."

StephD99

Hi,

Thanks to those who gave some good examples of their experience. It was very helpful and gave me some options to think about. End result: After 1 week of trying with customer service via email, phone, FB messenger and getting no where, I think I will go the route of printing baggage tags, showing up very innocently with my $75 cash per bike and play dumb. Worst case I have to pay the $150 per bike, best case, I luck out.

Also, just a quick thought for those who I gather get their validation from metaphorically kicking someone when they are stressed? Here's the deal, since I guess without providing a link to my life story, it's easier to make negative assumptions. So just to clarify, I am a female, and not "young", 35 yrs old (I'd like to think that is still young though). I speak French (first language. Second language is English (and I'm fairly bilingual as you can tell), tied for second language is Arabic. So while I can't debate someone over baggage policy in Spanish, I'm not exactly unilingual, just not fluent in Spanish.

Luckily French and Spanish are similar enough that I can get by whenever I am in a Spanish speaking country. I've also lived in S. Korea, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, France and Spain, so just because I didn't buy a baggage tag in advance, I'm not an idiot who hasn't left her couch in 35 yrs. We all make judgement call errors, and this was one. I FOR SURE which I had just ponied up the cash when I bought the ticket, but I didn't, so here we are...

Speaking of money, I am a chef by day at a lovely restaurant here in Montreal, that while is my absolute passion, isn't exactly a money maker. A surprise $85 USD is about a full day pay for me. No, it won't destroy me, but it ****ing sucks.

Anyhow, leaving Tuesday morning, boxed my bike up tonight. I'll be practicing my innocent face in front of the mirror, and hoping I get a nice desk agent I can charm my way into saving some cash.

Thanks again for the tips and tricks. Appreciate it.

FBinNY 

Thanks for coming back and posting.

Among other "issues" I never understood the comments about speaking Spanish. Aeromexico isn't a small bike shop in Guadalajara, they're a sizeable airline that flies all over the globe. As such, I'm sure that they are ready to deal in the local language in every country they serve, ie. English in the USA and French in Quebec Province.

Anyway, best wishes for success at the airport, and regardless of that, have a great trip that makes this seem like a pebble on a well paved road.
'

jefnvk

Hey, I've been there and done that, it sure does! Often times folks saying you're silly for doing something when what seems like a small expense for them sucks for you are the folks who miss out because they're sitting at home counting beans. I've been in hostels where people wouldn't splurge for a $€Ł5 pub crawl or community event because it wasn't in their budget, while I may have thought they were stretching it thin, they were generally having just as good a time as me on their own adventure. Everyone's money situation is their own.

Have a good time, hope to see pretty pics of the trip! Let us know how the charges go, I'm genuinely interested at the resolution.

jefnvk

Man, I wish airlines worked like that. Workable English most areas? Sure, I'm mostly lucky in that regard. Local language everywhere they fly? De nada.

Heck, even on an Icelandic carrier, a country where English is the de facto second language, it took a few attempts to get an understandable response. Czech Air was always a good bit of fun to communicate with, and Brussels Air, KLM, and Air France left much to be desired.

FBinNY 

You misunderstood my statement. I guess even with a common language there can be miscommunication.

I said that large airlines like Aeromexico are equipped to deal in the local language in the countries they serve. (maybe I should have said "within") That means that the staff in Quebec are able to deal in French, not that every employee worldwide could.

Airlines hire local residents to staff their operations in the various countries. So the staff in Quebec are going to be Canadians, and probably live within an hour's drive of the airport.

The reverse is also true. US airlines also hire locally, so the ground staff of United Airlines in Cozumel, are going to be more fluent in Spanish than English. Actually, I can state as a fact that just about ALL of the Cozumel ground staff of the various American carriers that fly there are locals for whom English is the second language.

jefnvk

Yep, my bad. I thought you were referring to customer service. Local crews are far better than customer service, although it is also worth noting that often local crews are airport contractors that bounce between airlines, not airline employees themselves. Hence, another reason to be nice, they may have no care in the world to enforce individual airline policies. They were the folks who gave me free bikes on Air Canada from AMS, and a free mandolin carryon from PRG!

Trevtassie

Go to an antique store and see if you can find an old fashioned enameled steel chamber pot, use that instead of tin foil, much more durable... oh and always clear the cookies from airline sites before you go back to the site. They have been known to use cookies to jack up prices, they assume if you've come back you are serious about buying and jack the price up accordingly. THEY ARE WATCHING YOU!

gauvins

Just to clarify - if you can get your boarding pass and luggage tag from the automated terminal (at Pierre Elliot Trudeau airport), no one will ask you for money. In all likelihood, you will not talk to anyone from the airline. Once you have your boarding pass and your luggage tag, proceed directly to the oversize luggage drop. All they'll care about is security. (No CO2, no flammable items, etc.). Make sure that your box weighs less than 23kg (or whatever the limit is in your ticket class) and there should be no problem.

SHBR

Having used the automated check in kiosks recently, I'd say this might work.

I travel with a folding bike that packs in a standard suitcase.

After 4 flights without excess charges, the bike has paid for itself.

This thread is a perfect example of why flying continues to be increasingly problematic.

Best avoided if possible.

spinnaker

Not sure where I stand here. This would be akin to the airlines charging you more for a regular bag when you go to check in because the price has changed. Then again if you did not pre-pay for the regular bag you would likely be stuck with the new fee too.


I think you were just lucky. You probably enhanced your luck by packing the bike in a "body bag" and fooled the gate attendant. I have flown free with my bike when I should have been charged because the gate attendant did not know their own policies. I have found this true many times. Sometimes in your favor sometimes against. I bet if you had someone following "the letter of the law" you would need to pay for the oversize fees. Sometimes this actually is more than the charge for a bicycle.

spinnaker

Never tied this. Interesting. A loophole maybe? But can you get a bike in a box with gear under 23kg? Or just put the gear in another bag and pay for that?

gauvins

Could be. You'd think that tags for oversize luggage would be different than those for regular, and available only at manned counters. Yet, worked three times for us from YUL, on two different airlines. Didn't try once because the whole family was traveling and we've been ushered to the counter, and another time because the airline strongly suggested confirming by phone prior to boarding (ostensibly to secure a space in the hold). Return flights have never worked out for us, however.

We use padded travel bags (they allow us to ride out/in airports). Bikes and one pannier meet easily the 23kg limit. I've flown twice with an extrawheel trailer + wheel when traveling with kids. We travel light. Alone or with my wife, the other pannier is a carry-on.

FBinNY 

Yes, I've been lucky, but not just lucky.

Dividing my bike into two bags very close to the size limits is a big part of that lucky. Also, while the check in station has a scale so that's measured accurately, there's no quick check for size. Stuff that's obviously oversize, or obviously a commodity with a specific rule (ie. a big bike box stenciled "BIKE" on the side) they don't bother pulling out a tape measure on borderline stuff, and soft bags are harder to eyeball.

Also the rules can be vague, or hard to interpret, so for instance, we don't know if a bike fee is in addition to an extra bag or oversize fee (or both) or covers all sins.

But IME the basic rules of conduct in "institutional" settings apply. Be friendly, act like you know the rules, and be confident, but nor arrogant. I got this advice when I was young from an older friend who'd goldbricked his way through WWII. In his words "carry a clipboard, and scan the area and pretend to write stuff own --- nobody questions anyone with a clipboard, and you can go anywhere and do anything as long as you look official."

My favorite dodge was from an old friend, Marshall Dodge, who flew to all his speaking engagements with his bike. He had a special bag sewn for him that fit his bike, with padded pockets for the wheels on either side. There was a big red cross on both sides and it was stenciled "Fragile --- Wheelchair --- handle with extreme care". With the padding and wheels on either side, it could pass if someone did a quick feel.

If asked he'd make up a sympathetic story about a relative who'd died, and he was bringing the chair back home. He didn't like to say too much because he'd fly to the same small airports a number of times, and was worried about how many people he could to kill off before they got suspicious.