Mate of mine is about to leave Taiwan. Taking one bike on the plane, but not sure what to do with 2 others.
Any suggestions on how to send a bike/bikes cost-effectively?
Cheers
Col
If he’s moving back and has more than just bikes and some clothes, he should think about buying some space in a container. It’s not cheap, but if he wants all his stuff, it’s his only option.
If he’s only got bikes and doesn’t want to let them go, he can think about paying the extra fee for oversized and extra baggage and comparing it with any of the international courier companies like FedEx or DHL. Usually, they are relatively the same, just a matter of whether you want them in the lower compartment in your plane or…somewhere else.
Personally, I would just sell the bikes, the money he gets back from them should help in purchasing a new one in the states or if he’s in no hurry, have a friend who’s traveling lightly bring it back for him.
One is a rare track bike which he certainly won’t want to sell.
If anyone has first hand experience of literally shipping a boxed bike, it would be helpful to know costs.
I may well end up storing for him so he can take them back on a future trip.
He can check out this…
Some people on other bike forums have used it and said that the rate is cheaper than going directly to FedEx.
ta
Hmm. They only appear to offer flight delivery. Surely shipping - you know, on a ship - would be more sensible.
Airline? My record is 4 bikes checked in on EVA with 5000nt excess baggage fee. Best to disassemble as much as you can and wrap the shit out of it in styro. As long as the pieces are in a bike box then they’ll accept it as your check in luggage. This will work for most Asian carriers.
This will not work with a US based airline.
That sounds promising. Is that $5k for the 4 bikes, or 5k each?
On this note, @ColT , make sure your friend is on a direct flight OR connecting via the same airline.
He’ll cry knowing how much extra he’s going to have to pay if he transfers from an international or Asia airline to a domestic one.
I’ve had friends travel on Japan Air/EVA Air/China Airlines to transfer from US west coast airports with just ONE bike box and were charged somewhere around 100-200USD to bring it on the domestic leg of their trip.
2 boxes free and $5000 for the additional piece.
And as @ranlee pointed out, do make sure it is a direct flight. They will definitely charge per box on any domestic leg.
I fly with my bike often (Evoc bag). It has always been tagged to my final destination when I leave here. I pick it up in Dallas, LA, Chicago, etc. at customs and carry it over to the baggage handlers who sent it on its way to the domestic leg, no need to recheck with the domestic carrier unless you bought that leg as a separate ticket. If the airlines are aligned and you are traveling on a single ticket/itinerary you won’t be charged additional fees upon arrival. If you have a long stopover in the connecting city, like over 24hrs then you might. Just plan the connection reasonably.
Further, if you are breaking down the bike and don’t have a super large frame, don’t bother using a bike box. In fact, don’t bother mentioning its a bike. Pack them well and put them in regular large suitcases and check them as checked luggage. The fees and number of bags you can check will depend on the airline and your status with it. This would avoid the unlikely scenario of being charged by the US carrier when you arrive, long stopover/ separate ticketing or not. You also may be able to avoid oversize fees this way.
If the bike really is precious, don’t use airlines, insure it properly with something like bikeflights mentioned above. Its unlikely you will get near the proper compensation should something go wrong with an airline regardless of how you pack/send it.
I posted this in another similar thread:
Generally, most airlines have an established agreement when it comes to honoring the baggage rules of the international flight leg, as long as the secondary flight departs within 12 or 24 hours (can’t remember which) of the arriving flight. This works both directions, and I’ve yet to find a combo of airlines that don’t participate in this agreement.
The above applies to two separate airlines, with two separate bookings, and involves mixtures of US and Asian carriers.
There are probably cases of people running into issues, whether because they didn’t contact the airlines ahead of time to get their ducks in a row, or got a ticket agent who didn’t know, or because they chose an airline combo that didn’t actually have an arrangement in place.