Posted by Rick Denney on July 23, 2001 at 13:57:06:
In Reply to: flying with tuba - surcharges? posted by lahti bound on July 22, 2001 at 07:20:30:
Art is right--the airlines make these rules up as they go. One of the Tubameisters brought his big Rudy Meinl from San Antonio to Washington Dulles in an Anvil case. There was no problem on the way up, and on the way back, after a long, pleading discussion with the ticket agent, they finally agreed to put it on the plane for an extra $200. You never know which it will be.
International flights are more strict about some things than domestic flights. I never had more trouble with a carry-on than I did on SAS from Copenhagen to London. The overhead compartments ended up being 80% empty, and all my breakable souvenirs had to go in the hold (whereupon they were lost in London and I didn't get them for five days after I got home). And this after waiting in line for two hours--the same line occupied by dozens of families going on holiday and taking their unwrapped, unboxed bicycles (for free). Air New Zealand enforced a 5-kilo weight limit on carry-ons on a flight from New Zealand to Australia. My wife's lipsticks weigh more than that.
In the triathlon world, traveling with bicycles is a nightmare. I know folks who had to pay Canadian duty taking their bicycle to Ironman Canada (several hundred bucks), even though they could demonstrably show that they were not importing the bicycle. And the stories of destruction of both tubas and bicycles would fill a book, but you probably knew about that already. Get good insurance (and make sure the coverage applied to airling accidents).
My advice: Resign yourself to getting charged unreasonably, build that into your budget, and bring lots of cash to the airport with you. Then if you don't get charged, it's a positive experience, and if you do get charged, it meets expectations.
Rick "wondering how the airlines get away with what they do" Denney