Aer Lingus with Bike Bag

gg2009

Hello

Flying to canada with a mountain bike in a bike bag.
Traveling to toronto(aer lingus) and then on to vancouver (air canada), all booked through aer lingus.
Getting a number of different answers from aer lingus -
- book as extra bag (doesnt need to be sports equip for transatlantic flights),can be booked on website.
- book as sports equip (by phone)
- check it in on day of travel as oversized baggage, will there def be space?

There was a moment of panic when an aer lingus staff member told us that there was no guarantee our baggage would be transfered to our second flight..which didnt really make sense if our originl bags would be moved!

Any experience or opinion appreciated!

ED E

Read this:
https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057865351

Notably:

07Lapierre wrote: »

Aer Lingus are a disaster with bikes! you can't book a bike onto a flight via their website. you have to call them and book over the phone. They also have a limit of 10 bikes per flight!

And

brianomc wrote: »

What is the max weight on Aer Lingus out of curiosity?

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

23kgs

PS: Hope you're lucky. Boxes not bags.

Seaswimmer

As above. Think its €40 transatlantic with an additional admin fee. Can only be booked on the phone though.

Interesting to see how the transfer is handled to Vancouver. Is there an extra fee? Do you have to collect and re check in as its oversize?

Let us know how you get on.

jayjbe

Brought bikes transatlantic over the years with Aer Lingus. Rocked up to airport and checked it in as standard luggage no questions. Once it's under 23kg you should be good.

Air Canada might be your unknown if you cannot check luggage thru to final destination.

07Lapierre

ED E wrote: »

Read this:
https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057865351

Notably:


And





PS: Hope you're lucky. Boxes not bags.

Eh Just to clarify...I've never flown with a bike on Aer Lingus on a Long Haul Atlantic flight. My comments referred to european flights only.

07Lapierre

Aer Lingus Bike info here:

"For our flights operating to/from North America, sports equipment is carried as part of the standard baggage allowance. Excess baggage rates of €75/$100 apply if you carry in excess of the standard allowance. This fee is charged per passenger, each way"

https://www.aerlingus.com/travel-information/baggage-information/sports-equipment/

Seaswimmer

07Lapierre wrote: »

Aer Lingus Bike info here:

"For our flights operating to/from North America, sports equipment is carried as part of the standard baggage allowance. Excess baggage rates of €75/$100 apply if you carry in excess of the standard allowance. This fee is charged per passenger, each way"

https://www.aerlingus.com/travel-information/baggage-information/sports-equipment/

slightly more caveats for bicycles though..

Bicycles

• Unfortunately, space for bicycles can’t be booked online. Please contact your local reservations office to pre-book in advance.
• On Aer Lingus flights, a maximum limit of ten bicycles per flight applies, except in the following airports where, due to high cargo volumes, a restriction of six bicycles per-flight applies:

• Prague
• Lisbon
• Warsaw
• Frankfurt
• Zurich
• Vienna
• Amsterdam
• Budapest

• On Aer Lingus Regional flights, only one bicycle per flight can be carried. This is subject to availability on the day of departure.
• Bicycles are carried as checked baggage in the aircraft hold.
• There’s a fee of €50 (or equivalent) for the carriage of a bicycle payable via our reservations centre, or at the airport on the day of departure. This fee is charged on an each-way basis.

Packing Bicycles

• Before we can transport bicycles, the handlebars must be lowered and fixed sideways.
• The pressure of the tyres must be reduced to avoid any problems in the unlikely event of pressurisation changes during flight.
• If possible, the pedals should be inverted.
• When necessary, sharp projective parts should be protected with plastic or cardboard to avoid damage to other load.
• If travelling from Amsterdam, boxes will be provided at a fee of €20.00.

Checking in with Bicycles

• You must allow sufficient time at check-in so that security and handling procedures can be completed. Bicycles already confirmed by reservation will be checked in automatically. When a bicycle hasn’t been confirmed, it’ll be carried on a stand-by basis. In all cases, you must arrive at check-in at least 90 minutes before the scheduled departure time.

07Lapierre

Seaswimmer wrote: »

slightly more caveats for bicycles though..


[/LIST]

Don't I know it! :mad: I've had a few "Conversations" with AL booking office staff over the years and yes, they love quoting from this section of their T&C's.

Wishbone Ash

gg2009 wrote: »

...Traveling to toronto(aer lingus) and then on to vancouver (air canada), all booked through aer lingus....

I've gone to the US with Aer Lingus with an additional internal flight a couple of times. Going out wasn't a problem but on both occasions the internal carrier (AA I think?) tried to charge me additional fees when checking in for the return journeys. A lot of arguing ensued with them saying I must pay a fee for 'sporting goods' on top of the bike fee which was already paid. They must be on some sort of commission I presume because Mrs WA screamed the place down after my unsuccessful protests and the additional fee was quietly dropped by more senior managers. (On one occasion it was an extra $300 and I think $90 the other time). It put me off taking my own bike to the US.

fat bloke

My experience on European flights is you book it online as sports equipment but then you have to ring a telephone number with your booking confirmation to assure one of the limited number of bike slots that they have.
I had rang initially and was told they had one space left but they wouldn't hold it for me without a flight confirmation. So there's always the remote possibility that while you are booking your flight that someone else is ringing and claiming the last space and you're basically out of luck.

As with many systems, it's a stupid one, but there's no circumventing it.

07Lapierre

fat bloke wrote: »

As with many systems, it's a stupid one, but there's no circumventing it.
The nightmare is that you hook

Yep..a real "Chicken & egg" situation. The fact that they will book the bike onto the flight by phone, but wont let you book the flight at the same time is ridiculous!

What i do is i go through the booking process on the website...fill in all the details right up to the end. I then call them and as soon as they confirm that there is space for the bike on both flights, i hit the payment button on the website and then give them the booking ref on the phone.

Lusk_Doyle

I've never had a problem on any of my aer lingus flights with my bike bag.

From my many travels to Canada with an internal flight after arriving internationally, you have to collect your baggage and pass through customs with it. After which, there is usually a place to drop your bags for forwarding without having to check in "again" for the nex flight.

Wishbone Ash

Lusk_Doyle wrote: »

I've never had a problem on any of my aer lingus flights with my bike bag.

From my many travels to Canada with an internal flight after arriving internationally, you have to collect your baggage and pass through customs with it. After which, there is usually a place to drop your bags for forwarding without having to check in "again" for the nex flight.

What about when checking the bike in for the non-Aer Lingus internal flight on the return leg?

Lusk_Doyle

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

What about when checking the bike in for the non-Aer Lingus internal flight on the return leg?

Not an issue iirc as you have cleared customs on your first flight.

iwillhtfu

Heading for whistler BC?


I'm not jealous not one little bit

gg2009

Yep Whistler here we come!

@Lusk_Doyle thats what aer lingus mentioned, but we wondered why our bike bag wouldnt just be transfered with our other luggage?

So off plane in Toronto -> get bag+bike bag-> check bike in for next flight without leaving security?

90 min stopover so will be making it speedy!

Do you just turn up at the airport and check your bikebag in then (as aer lingus said would be ok) or do it in advance?

circular flexing

gg2009 wrote: »

Yep Whistler here we come!

@Lusk_Doyle thats what aer lingus mentioned, but we wondered why our bike bag wouldnt just be transfered with our other luggage?

So off plane in Toronto -> get bag+bike bag-> check bike in for next flight without leaving security?

90 min stopover so will be making it speedy!

Do you just turn up at the airport and check your bikebag in then (as aer lingus said would be ok) or do it in advance?

You don't have to check the bag in again, it's literally just pick it up off one belt and drop it on another.

90 minutes transfer will be tight as you'll go through passport control in Toronto. There's plenty of Toronto to Vancouver flights though.

Lusk_Doyle

circular flexing wrote: »

You don't have to check the bag in again, it's literally just pick it up off one belt and drop it on another.

90 minutes transfer will be tight as you'll go through passport control in Toronto. There's plenty of Toronto to Vancouver flights though.

Exactly this.

wirelessdude01

So is the process ring the reservation centre first to get the bike on the flight or book the flight and then ring reservations to book the bike? All for a European flight.

Wishbone Ash

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

So is the process ring the reservation centre first to get the bike on the flight or book the flight and then ring reservations to book the bike? All for a European flight.

I've always booked the flight first and then phoned the reservation centre to book on the bike but I don't know if it can be done the other way around.

(As has been said before here, it's frustrating as you don't get any confirmation email or receipt of any kind so you've nothing to confirm that you've made the bike reservation when it comes to check in time.)

wirelessdude01

Wishbone Ash wrote:

(As has been said before here, it's frustrating as you don't get any confirmation email or receipt of any kind so you've nothing to confirm that you've made the bike reservation when it comes to check in time.)

No way? Even though you pay €50 to bring it each way.

07Lapierre

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

So is the process ring the reservation centre first to get the bike on the flight or book the flight and then ring reservations to book the bike? All for a European flight.

See post #11....better to do both at the same time.

Lusk_Doyle

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

I've always booked the flight first and then phoned the reservation centre to book on the bike but I don't know if it can be done the other way around.

(As has been said before here, it's frustrating as you don't get any confirmation email or receipt of any kind so you've nothing to confirm that you've made the bike reservation when it comes to check in time.)

I am sure that I got a second confirmation email with the bike bag noted on it after booking the bag. Must check now.

Edit: Yep, just checked and I have confirmations with the bike noted on them. Most recently from a flight to and from Milan last October.

wirelessdude01

Seriously what an antiquated system.