Delta Airlines Eliminates Fee for Sporting Equipment Including Bikes
Flying with a bike just got a lot less expensive for Delta Airlines customers. The company announced today that they are eliminating additional fees for bikes, as well as all oversized sports gear.
Delta Airlines: "Delta customers traveling with surfboards, bicycles, golf clubs, scuba gear and other large-sized sporting equipment will now be allowed to check them as part of their standard baggage allowance.
The airline is eliminating the $150 specialty sports bag fee previously charged for these items, effective for travel worldwide on tickets purchased beginning July 17, 2019. Customers will instead pay a first, second or third checked bag fee according to the fare rules associated with their booking and/or SkyMiles Medallion status.
Complete checked baggage fee detail, including the new sporting equipment fees, can be found at Delta.com. Due to space limitations, acceptance and charges may vary for itineraries on a Delta Connection carrier."
The airline is eliminating the $150 specialty sports bag fee previously charged for these items, effective for travel worldwide on tickets purchased beginning July 17, 2019. Customers will instead pay a first, second or third checked bag fee according to the fare rules associated with their booking and/or SkyMiles Medallion status.
Complete checked baggage fee detail, including the new sporting equipment fees, can be found at Delta.com. Due to space limitations, acceptance and charges may vary for itineraries on a Delta Connection carrier."
Delta is the third major airline behind American and Alaskan Airlines to remove the high baggage fee for sporting equipment.
For many long-time Delta loyalists, myself included, this will cut substantial costs out of travel. I spoke with a few other frequent bike flyers who shared in my excitement, among them professional mountain biker Eric Porter who flies with a bike dozens of times per year, all over the world.
 | HOLY SH*T! I never thought that day would come, that’s unreal! I’m flying tomorrow morning. This just saved me a ton of money per year. It's now reasonable to do a mountain biking trip with the entire family! |
Keep in mind that bikes must be properly boxed or bagged and are still restricted to the 50 lb weight limit for checked luggage. Flyers with status may have a large allowance but check the details on Delta's website before you fly.
Must Read This Week
206 Comments
So, what is it today with trains in US? People don't prefer it at all or ... ?
Their weight limit is 50lb before they start charging overweight, so $100 for 50-70lb and then oversized limit is 203 cm, an Evoc bag comes in around 250cm which would not even be allowed and if it is will be another $200.
Maybe I am reading this wrong but it sounds like they got rid of the flat fee and may be charging obscene "unseen" fees or not even allowing the bag?
Curious to see how this works out personally as I'm a Star Gold (United/Lufthansa/Air Canada/etc) status flyer who travels several times a year with a bike case that's in the 95 inch range. Domestic travel for me sucks with a bike due to United's fees, while Lufthansa's no-fee arrangement and AC's $50 per trip makes international easy. I've paid United $300 to Vermont round trip and Lufthansa $0 to Germany already this year to bring my bike.
You will get additional benefits as a gold status member. I know they waive the fee from 59-70 lbs, but I’m not sure if they waive the oversize bag fee. If anything, it means you can go with the heavier duty bike cases which are already 35 lbs, but unfortunately United has not yet followed suit on dropping the bag-specific fee. (I was star alliance gold ten years ago, and travelled with a lot of equipment for work. Check in agents in the US were quite variable in how they reacted to me rolling up with two big rolling cases to the oversize baggage, but usually just paying whatever fees they arbitrarily applied got the cases on the plane. In Europe, they were generally unphased, but one time an agent made me throw a bunch of stuff away until my case got under the legal mandated weight-limit. No amount of money was going to get her to touch the case until it was 0.1kg under the limit.)
If the fees go away I'd be even more inclined to travel with my bike than I already do.
When you recognize the benefits of people traveling and experiencing different cultures, values, and the common issues we all face, I think it’s a net positive to have an informed & aware society rather than just 1% less CO2.
I flew to Hawaii with my road bike last year. West jet was an absolute joy on the way there, delta tried to charge me 200$ extra because my 10,000 Di2 carbon 15lb road bike was over weight. Packed in evoc bags.
f*ck Delta. It's just a stupid PR stunt. They'll tell you it's over weight when you get to the airport.
Most WestJet agents don't know this rule though, and will try to charge you overweight. Have their website cued up on your phone to show them: www.westjet.com/en-ca/travel-info/baggage/sports
And some agents still won't charge you any extra, or even weigh your bag. Just smile and move along
Shockingly good move Delta.
However, you can do the check-in yourself and pay for bagage fee, get your tag, and bring the box directly to the oversize/overweight zone. No WestJet employee there, and the customs dude just scans your bagage tag and the bike is checked in.
Good way to skip that extra 50$ handling fee if you ask me!
With status at AC, I can take up to 3 bikes for free. Been taking my bike (and my friends) for free for years. Saved thousands.
Avoided the US airlines as some were pushing $200 one way, just absurd. Maybe I'll try them again now if AC screws up the FF program.
I press 22kg in the gym, and that’s once a week for about an hour, for fun.
My wife is a flight attendant and she says the number of times six foot guys ask her to put their heavy bags up in the overhead bins is unbelievable. She would have delts like a basketball player if she did it for them!
(Word to the wise - I gate-check my guitar all the time in a strong case. They KNOW it’s a guitar. It was even gate-checked for heavens’ sake. Handlers still bash that case relentlessly. I’ve got video out the window of the plane of a handler throwing it onto the conveyor. So...make sure your bike is in a legit case.)
(Genuinely curious why you dislike 'em)
(Genuinely curious why did you'd even ask this question)
• Some airlines charge $100+ each way - airlines which may be needed due to destination, or preferred due to much lower cost or frequent flyer loyalty plans.
• FedEx is WAY less likely to break your bike than airline baggage handlers. (UPS maybe just a little better than airports)
• IF your bike gets damaged (or WHEN if you travel regularly) you are WAY more likely to get some of your $ back with bikeflights as an agent than directly with airlines or shipping companies.
• Sometimes (usually, for me) it's logistically way easier to organize a parcel pickup for a planned trip than schlepping a giant box to (and through) the airport and to my destination. Even the best bike bags are a pain.(Plus, I can often arrange to send it to a shop and use a stand to assemble it for a few $ and a 12 pack)
That convenience alone can be worth paying a few $ more overall (to me)
...so unless I was booking a last minute domestic flight on Alaska or Delta for a short trip, I'd just plan ahead and ship it ground.
There are absolutely certain trips/airlines where taking the bike with you is a better option. But also plenty of situations where parcel ground shipping is cheaper/easier, and parcel aggregators are awesome for that.
That's why I didn't ask the question - because I know sometimes it does make sense to take the bike on the plane - which has absolutely nothing to do with wether or not bike flights is a "rip-off" or not.
Saying that they did cut me a cheque for a surfboard. WestJet saidit did still look rideable.
And while I hate it that TSA wrecks everyone's day when they travel, the idea is keep people safe (or propagate fear to justify continued war that outdated economic theory thinks helps the economy). And yeah, you have just bikes in your bag, but it's a big bag packed with a lot of stuff that blocks what they can see with their scanners and they feel the need to open it up
Bicycles weighing over 50 lbs. will be charged the applicable excess weight fee
If the outside linear dimensions (length + width + height) exceed 115 linear inches (292 cm) or exceeds 100 lbs, the item will not be accepted
and they are already too cheap
what will Mother Earth say to this?
a friend bought a flight from Augsburg to Hamburg because it is way cheaper than a train ticket
unbelievable
About time Delta stops charging.
Asking for a friend.
Just explain yourself. You'll be fine.
California sounds f*cking horrible.
I said the DARE program is aimed at teaching children to avoid drugs and violence. Not violence caused by smoking weed.
You're extremely bad at reading comprehension.
"For the safety and health of everyone, we require documentation customers traveling with an emotional support animals in an aircraft cabin. Each customer will be limited to one emotional support animal and may not bring emotional support animals on flights greater than eight hours in duration. Additionally, we are do not accept pit bull type dogs as service or support animals."