United Airlines Bike Policy
Posted June 4th, 2009 by Jim KaeseWe think the airlines’ bike carrying fees are egregious. $100 to $200 tariffs to bring your bike along on a trip are insane, not to mention discouraging to a healthy lifestyle. So, although we’re not recommending the following and cannot guarantee that the “mistake” is foolproof, several people we know have shipped their bikes on United Airlines for $20 each way:
These cyclists checked-in at the United self-help kiosk and mistakenly assumed that their bike qualified as their “first bag checked”. United’s fee for checking the first bag is $20. When the computer kiosk asked, “How many bags are you checking?” They answered, “One.” Either the computer didn’t ask whether it was oversized or if it did, they mistakenly answered, “No.” The computer printed the tag/sticker for their bag and they stuck it on their bike box, then gave the bike to the attendant (live person) behind the counter. Most of the time, the attendants put the bike on the conveyor without questions. A few times the attendant looked at the sticker and determined it wasn’t for “oversized” luggage, made a comment to the traveler but then said, “Don’t worry about it.” (The travelers did their best Paris Hilton or Steve O “dumb” impression.)
It seems that trying to credit the traveler for the amount already paid and charge the remainder is a task not worth the hassle for personnel.