Hi all
I want to check if anyone has had any recent experience in travelling to/from Taiwan by airplane with a bicycle.
I am about to travel from Hong Kong and need to check suitability on China Airlines.
I know that Cathay Pacific has a policy which allows it to be carried as normal luggage as long as it does not exceed http://www.cathaypacific.com/cpa/en_GB/helpingyoutravel/sportingequipment#B
any experience anyone?
m
i flew with my bike the year before last. The main problem is that your baggage allowance to HK with China Airlines is very small so it will mean that your bike is excess for that flight. So you’ll have to pay for that. I had to pay at the airport, which was a little extra hassle, but I arrived for check-in early…
Normal luggage is defined as something not longer than ~1.5 meters or less (I can’t remember exactly). The way to do it is to get a bike box (the ones that new bikes come in) and fit your bike inside. My local Giant shop did this all for me, for free (but I was a regular customer).
Pretty sure the total checked baggage allowance for flights between Taiwan and Hong Kong is 20 kg, or 25 if you’re lucky. Check the info on your ticket to be sure. If you exceed the weight limit, they charge you around NT$900 per kilogram, which is insane. Technically they could also charge you for having oversized luggage, unless you’re able to fit the bike in a small box. You’d be better off paying more for a ticket to fly with a more bike-friendly airline with a higher baggage allowance.
Full disclosure: I tried to take my bike to Japan last summer but had to turn back at the airport because of China Airlines’ excess baggage charges. Now I loathe China Airlines so much that I’ll never fly with them again.
I’m flying out this thursday. I’m using Malaysia Airlines, they have a 30kg limit and will accept bikes (in lieu of one bag in your baggage allowance). Should all be good, still have to be careful not to go over the limit though!
Well I checked with China Airlines sales staff. After multiple attempts I managed to speak with one who seems to know.
Basically they have the same conditions as Cathay. Your bike can be placed as checked in baggage which has to be under 20kg. Your bike has to be boxed.
If you’re travelling from North America then you can bring in two pieces of luggage of any weight, but each piece has to be within certain dimensions that are so small that only some folded bikes could possibly comply
Hong Kong Airlines did have allowances of 25kg for bikes for their hk-tp route. But that expired in 2012 and now has checked in luggage limits of 10kg.
Of course this all depends on the mood of the check in staff on the day of travel.
You see so many folks with oversize items these days, I find it hard to believe they enforce such a rule.
Never had a problem with a boxed bike, although I’ve only ever checked that one item in, and never any more. Box usually has a couple of panniers thrown in, and must come in around 20kg. I have had arguments about an unboxed bike, but have got that on board at least 4 times (only once damaged, thank-you Moroccan Airlines).
^some airlines give special dispensations which allow oversize sports items
For China Airlines - that includes golf clubs and surf boards. It does not include bicycles.
Some airlines don’t even have a reg for how heavy a bag of golf clubs should be. My friends stuff as much heavy stuff they can into their golf club bags.
British airways, though, does have a good policy for bicycles, or they used to, and they have an H.K. to Taipei leg going on to other Asian destinations. Check them out, greenmark.
[quote=“Wookiee”]
British airways, though, does have a good policy for bicycles, or they used to, and they have an H.K. to Taipei leg going on to other Asian destinations. Check them out, greenmark.[/quote]
BA code shares with Cathay don’t they? So I think that means I’d have to use the Cathay rules: 20kg limit.
If I were flying from London to taipei via hk then I’d get the BA allowances all the way through.
Anyway 20kg is plenty for just a weekend riding set up. It would require a bit of careful packing if I was planning a loaded tour.
Flew TPE to Beijing on a loaded tour, and that was careful packing. But it happened:
bike plus 2 front panniers plus heavy stuff in the box
2 rear panniers with tent & sleeping bag inside, as carry on
I wore several layers of clothes when boarding - remember feeling pretty warm …
Of Course.
A friend flew Asiana Airlines a couple of times with a bike and his regular check in luggage last year. Both times, there was no additional cost. They should have routes from H.K to Taipei, I would think.
Bump!
I hope to take my older bicycle on a direct Eva flight from Taoyuan to Vancouver (and then leave it at my parents’ place, so I’ve got an easy way to get around when I visit them). I’ve had it dismantled and boxed at a nearby Giant store - box length is 150cm, and whew, carrying that box back home tonight was sweaty fun. Two main questions:
Um, has anyone put a box of those dimensions in a typical taxi? Does it fit?
Does Eva normally accept a bike-in-a-box as one of two pieces of checked language?
I remember doing this without hassles about a decade back, but that was with Cathay and a van-taxi service - plus the box this time seems bigger. Or maybe I’m just imagining that.
Thanks in advance!
EDIT: OK, so I found this on Eva’s website:
[quote]Bicycle
Included in free allowance
Pre-advise EVA Air at the time of booking.
Irrespective of the actual dimensions may be considered as a piece of baggage at 158 cm/62 in.
For non-motorized touring and racing single-seat bicycle with flat tires and proper package to reduce the risk of damage. Bicycle should be transported in a sealed box.
Rotate handle to 90 degrees and tighten, remove or turn the pedals inside. [/quote]
So that’s probably fine, except that I didn’t tell them at the time of booking (eleven months ago!) - the size of the box doesn’t particularly matter, even though its total dimensions are definitely going to be beyond the “sum of the three dimensions of each piece may not exceed 158 cm(62 in)” requirement.
Which I guess leave fitting the box in a taxi as my main concern.
Order a Wish taxi to the airport, I think most of the apps allow you to do this. If not have a friend call a few hours before.
Most airlines have separate rules for items like bikes, so I wouldn’t be too concerned about luggage requirements. They’ll probably charge you a fee. On various airlines I’ve been charged 50-150 USD each way. Friends sometimes get away with zero, but I believe this is usually down to the agent not wanting to deal with processing the fee.
Keep in mind that you will likely have to go to the customer service desk to pay the fee and return to the ticketing line to show the receipt and check the bike box. Leave a little more time for that and don’t wait in line again, just leave your stuff to the side and jump back in where you left off.
Update.
A friend just flew EVA from Taiwan and a connecting flight via Air Canada to his destination.
Since his bike box was an extra piece of luggage (on top of his two free check-ins), he paid $150 for the bike in a box.
Air Canada charged him $100 for the oversize/extra luggage.
He did get a pretty big paint scratch when he unloaded the bike in Canada, but he said that he may not have packed it perfectly, so he can’t blame the airline.
Oh yeah, I should have updated on this.
Yes, Eva Air accepted the bike in a box as one of my two free pieces of luggage. No extra charge. The only hassle at the airport was navigating the box around on a cart; luckily it was a quiet time, and they just opened the lane ropes and let me go in from the side.
I didn’t have any further connecting flights so I didn’t need to worry about the stricter luggage requirements of flights within North America.
Taxi to the airport: I was in a “station wagon” / hatchback taxi, and the bike box just fit, with the back seat down and me sitting in the front seat. I don’t think it’d be doable in a normal taxi.
So for the whole thing the biggest hassle by far was dragging the boxed bike back from the bike shop to my apartment.
What kind of bike boxes do you use? Hardshell, softshell or a cardboard box?
Wow, that’s fancy.
In my case I just got a leftover cardboard bike box from a nearby Giant store - that and plenty of packing tape. But it was a one-way trip for an old bicycle that remained in Canada, so I didn’t want to spend money on a decent box. I certainly wouldn’t use that method if I were regularly flying with a bike.
For my tours I’ve shipped outwards with cardboard box, and done the return journey by wheeling it on as is: tyres deflated and handlebars turned, with padding around the derailleurs. That’s a touch risky, of course.
[quote=“lostinasia”]Wow, that’s fancy.
In my case I just got a leftover cardboard bike box from a nearby Giant store - that and plenty of packing tape. But it was a one-way trip for an old bicycle that remained in Canada, so I didn’t want to spend money on a decent box. I certainly wouldn’t use that method if I were regularly flying with a bike.[/quote]
A friend did that from TW to Canada. He took EVA his first leg and a local Canadian airline his second leg. He opened up the box to find a few paint scratches on his frame. He was a little upset, but got over it. It was just a little unlucky.