Flying Etihad to Europe and bike bag size

ecosse
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Flying Etihad to Europe and bike bag size

Postby ecosse » Sat Mar 21, 2015 7:05 pm

Quick question on flying with my bike. I have the use of a Scicon AeroComfort 2.0 bike bag to take my bike to Europe. The airline specifies max baggage size 45cm x 72cm x 90cm, total max 207cm. The bag when packed falls outside the 2 of maximum dimension. Its a bit longer and higher....
Has anyone recently flown Etihad and had any issues with bike bags ? About to press the switch on booking this weekend as 10% off many Etihad fares.
I tried calling their help line but they were a bit unsure...
cheers

BenGr
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Re: Flying Etihad to Europe and bike bag size

Postby BenGr » Sat Mar 21, 2015 10:45 pm

Those dimensions sound like standard baggage. Oversize luggage is usually different. Their website is not particularly useful, all they say is it comes under normal baggage allowance.

The Qantas measurements for bikes is 140x30x80, I'd be very surprised if it was any less.

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biker jk
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Re: Flying Etihad to Europe and bike bag size

Postby biker jk » Sun Mar 22, 2015 8:04 am

I have the same bike bag and have flown with several airlines without an issue.

scirocco
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Re: Flying Etihad to Europe and bike bag size

Postby scirocco » Mon Mar 23, 2015 9:45 pm

I think there is a bit of a clampdown going on on oversize baggage size. Emirates recently cut theirs down to 300 cm total max which is still a lot more generous than Etihad and plenty big enough for a bike in a box or bag.

Eithad specifically say anything over 207 cm will go as cargo (i.e. on a different flight). Hard to say how strctly they will enforce it.

alanm
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Re: Flying Etihad to Europe and bike bag size

Postby alanm » Mon Mar 23, 2015 11:26 pm

If they state a 'Total' size of 207, add your 3 measurments together and see if it = 207. Some airlines do that, although it seems a bit odd.

Al

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roller
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Re: Flying Etihad to Europe and bike bag size

Postby roller » Fri Mar 27, 2015 2:48 pm

I flew with an EVOC bike bag with Emirates in 2012 and there was no problem, it just came in under the normal baggage allocation.
inflammatory statement or idea

dalai47
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Re: Flying Etihad to Europe and bike bag size

Postby dalai47 » Fri Mar 27, 2015 3:28 pm

I've taken bike bike box on both Emirates and Qantas internationally, but haven't flown Etihad.

Both times just part of my checked baggage. Just needed to wheel it to the oversized baggage area after checking in...

Pnefc01
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Re: Flying Etihad to Europe and bike bag size

Postby Pnefc01 » Mon Apr 04, 2016 8:54 am

ecosse wrote:Quick question on flying with my bike. I have the use of a Scicon AeroComfort 2.0 bike bag to take my bike to Europe. The airline specifies max baggage size 45cm x 72cm x 90cm, total max 207cm. The bag when packed falls outside the 2 of maximum dimension. Its a bit longer and higher....
Has anyone recently flown Etihad and had any issues with bike bags ? About to press the switch on booking this weekend as 10% off many Etihad fares.
I tried calling their help line but they were a bit unsure...
cheers
Hi

What happened in the end?

Cheers Gary

Pnefc01
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Re: Flying Etihad to Europe and bike bag size

Postby Pnefc01 » Wed Apr 06, 2016 12:54 pm

Here's my experience, and whilst I haven't actually made it onto the aircraft yet I think it's pretty conclusive.

So...on Friday (1st April of all days) I booked a flight with Etihad for just a whisker under $3000 AUD. I know it's a lot but the alternatives were either even more expensive or prohibitive in terms of flight duration, connections or both. Or they were with poor reputation airlines!

This one has great flight times and connections and 2 x 23kg bags allowed including a bicycle. Plus, with my preferred airline, Emirates, prices shooting up when I had been playing a waiting game in the [forlorn] hope their prices would drop I bottled it and decided to book now believing prices were only on their way up with twelve weeks to go.

But as usual I only read the fine print afterwards (when will I learn?). Despite saying they'll [Etihad] carry a bike I have now inferred that ANY luggage must not exceed 207cm (LxWxH) and since my Pika Packworks is 221cm I am oversize by 14cm. I trawl websites and forums and some folk have been bumped and some folk haven't. I post on the Etihad advisory site and they tell me that the bicycle will have to go as cargo! Looks like I will have to cancel and rebook elsewhere.

I decide to wait until the Monday to check with Etihad themselves. Their Facebook page is full of nothing but complaints but I message them anyway. Within fifteen minutes they tell me they will check with someone else and get back to me.

Lesson learned...pick a flight and pay for it it WELL IN ADVANCE! No worrying and for a few hundred dollars I think that is well worth it.
After a few days of nail-biting anguish I finally have an email from Etihad that says it is OK to travel with the bike as described!

This is the sequence of events in case anyone is interested and/or wants to gain the same result...

1. I was a bit loath to contact Etihad direct for fear of receiving a categoric NO. In hindsight I should have done this before I booked or in my case immediately I had realised my "mistake".

2. I tried an advisory site who came back with a "we believe this item needs to travel as cargo".

3. Obviously I now had nothing to lose by contacting Etihad direct so tried their Facebook page. After three reminders where I received the same "our team are looking into" reply I decided to...

4. Phone the Call Centre. I ended up speaking to Danny in Abu Dhabi and he was very polite and keen to help but could not answer the question. He did tell me there was a $200 AUD cancellation fee and $115 AUD service fee if I did decide to cancel. He also suggested I email the Australian Ticketing Office and also the Cargo people. The latter apparently know everything there is to know about what can and can't go on which aircraft.

5. I emailed both simultaneously. Danny told me that phoning them may result in me being put through to the Abu Dhabi call centre again so email was the best approach. I received a reply from the Sydney Office within ten minutes...

Many thanks for your email.
Regarding your query on your bicycle,
1. Bike has to be packed in a protective case or bag.

2. Pedals have to be removed or fixed inwards

3. Handlebars have to be fixed sideways in line with the crossbar

4. Tyres have to be deflated to reduce the risk of damage.

We understand that the bike is longer than 207 cm.

Please present your packed bike upon check in as per requirments above.

However, your bike is accepted as check in baggage and will be charged the applicable excess baggage rate if in excess of the FREE baggage allowance.

6. Still not 100% happy that this was permission to fly I emailed them again...

Thanks xxxxxxxxx. Does this mean I am OK to travel?

Cheers Gary

7. And received by return email...

Yes Gary-

Have a nice flight.

Regards

xxxxxxxxx

And another email arrived from another representative at Sydney Ticketing which was even more reassuring.

Dear Gary,

I have checked your ticket as well and you are entitled to 2pcs of checked-in baggage at 23kilos each.

Assuming one is your luggage and the other is your bike (in a case,bag or box), you will be alright to travel.

Your bike bag/case should it exceed dimensions will just be tagged as oversized baggage.

Kind regards,

I think that that should suffice and I can get on with my planning.

ianganderton
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Re: Flying Etihad to Europe and bike bag size

Postby ianganderton » Wed Apr 06, 2016 11:03 pm

Travelled quite a bit with bikes on Etihad (my wife worked in their head office)

No problems with either bike boxes or bike bags (evoc) as long as they are within weight limits
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uzii
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Re: Flying Etihad to Europe and bike bag size

Postby uzii » Mon Apr 11, 2016 5:12 am

I'm pretty much in the same predicament except that I'm flying with China Southern Airlines to North America. From what I've read and the ticketing office staff that I've spoken to, all they've done is refer me to the website that says my bike bag/box dimensions cannot exceed 200cm. After some researching it would seem like a stretch to get the bike and its contents under than dimension.

I'm currently still scratching my brains on how I can take my bike with me on my trip. The only consolation is that I haven't bought a bike bag so my options are still open.

Any ideas?

dalai47
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Re: Flying Etihad to Europe and bike bag size

Postby dalai47 » Mon Apr 11, 2016 12:34 pm

uzii wrote:I'm pretty much in the same predicament except that I'm flying with China Southern Airlines to North America.
That is why I flew with Qantas MEL-LAX-SFO then LAX-MEL. Knew I'd have no trouble with taking a bike case and as my LAX-SFO leg was booked as part of my ticket didn't have an issue on the domestic leg (except American Airlines cancelled the connecting flight so I had an 11+ hour layover at LAX till the replacement flight later that day! :evil: ).

When you finally do hopefully get confirmation, make sure you print out a copy to show if questioned at the check in desk.

I've found flying various airlines, they will usually allow the bigger item. Just that you will have to wheel it over to the Oversized baggage counter once your other checked in luggage has been dropped off at the main desk.

scirocco
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Re: Flying Etihad to Europe and bike bag size

Postby scirocco » Mon Apr 11, 2016 11:13 pm

The 200-odd cm size restriction thing was introduced to deter people from trying to take things like giant flat screen TVs as baggage. It wasn't intended to apply to sporting equipment like bikes.

If your airline/ticket allows sporting goods and bikes specifically (Etihad do), and you've complied with the instructions to take off the pedals/rotate the bars etc. (which you will have done to fit it into a box or case) then you are good to go.

The fact that your box or case will be >200cm is irrelevant - that applies to baggage, and your bike isn't baggage, it's sporting equipment. You might have be prepared to open the box or case to prove what's inside, but usually they take your word for it.

dech0910
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Re: Flying Etihad to Europe and bike bag size

Postby dech0910 » Thu Jul 07, 2016 1:46 pm

Pnefc01 wrote:Here's my experience, and whilst I haven't actually made it onto the aircraft yet I think it's pretty conclusive.

So...on Friday (1st April of all days) I booked a flight with Etihad for just a whisker under $3000 AUD. I know it's a lot but the alternatives were either even more expensive or prohibitive in terms of flight duration, connections or both. Or they were with poor reputation airlines!

This one has great flight times and connections and 2 x 23kg bags allowed including a bicycle. Plus, with my preferred airline, Emirates, prices shooting up when I had been playing a waiting game in the [forlorn] hope their prices would drop I bottled it and decided to book now believing prices were only on their way up with twelve weeks to go.

But as usual I only read the fine print afterwards (when will I learn?). Despite saying they'll [Etihad] carry a bike I have now inferred that ANY luggage must not exceed 207cm (LxWxH) and since my Pika Packworks is 221cm I am oversize by 14cm. I trawl websites and forums and some folk have been bumped and some folk haven't. I post on the Etihad advisory site and they tell me that the bicycle will have to go as cargo! Looks like I will have to cancel and rebook elsewhere.

I decide to wait until the Monday to check with Etihad themselves. Their Facebook page is full of nothing but complaints but I message them anyway. Within fifteen minutes they tell me they will check with someone else and get back to me.

Lesson learned...pick a flight and pay for it it WELL IN ADVANCE! No worrying and for a few hundred dollars I think that is well worth it.
After a few days of nail-biting anguish I finally have an email from Etihad that says it is OK to travel with the bike as described!

This is the sequence of events in case anyone is interested and/or wants to gain the same result...

1. I was a bit loath to contact Etihad direct for fear of receiving a categoric NO. In hindsight I should have done this before I booked or in my case immediately I had realised my "mistake".

2. I tried an advisory site who came back with a "we believe this item needs to travel as cargo".

3. Obviously I now had nothing to lose by contacting Etihad direct so tried their Facebook page. After three reminders where I received the same "our team are looking into" reply I decided to...

4. Phone the Call Centre. I ended up speaking to Danny in Abu Dhabi and he was very polite and keen to help but could not answer the question. He did tell me there was a $200 AUD cancellation fee and $115 AUD service fee if I did decide to cancel. He also suggested I email the Australian Ticketing Office and also the Cargo people. The latter apparently know everything there is to know about what can and can't go on which aircraft.

5. I emailed both simultaneously. Danny told me that phoning them may result in me being put through to the Abu Dhabi call centre again so email was the best approach. I received a reply from the Sydney Office within ten minutes...

Many thanks for your email.
Regarding your query on your bicycle,
1. Bike has to be packed in a protective case or bag.

2. Pedals have to be removed or fixed inwards

3. Handlebars have to be fixed sideways in line with the crossbar

4. Tyres have to be deflated to reduce the risk of damage.

We understand that the bike is longer than 207 cm.

Please present your packed bike upon check in as per requirments above.

However, your bike is accepted as check in baggage and will be charged the applicable excess baggage rate if in excess of the FREE baggage allowance.

6. Still not 100% happy that this was permission to fly I emailed them again...

Thanks xxxxxxxxx. Does this mean I am OK to travel?

Cheers Gary

7. And received by return email...

Yes Gary-

Have a nice flight.

Regards

xxxxxxxxx

And another email arrived from another representative at Sydney Ticketing which was even more reassuring.

Dear Gary,

I have checked your ticket as well and you are entitled to 2pcs of checked-in baggage at 23kilos each.

Assuming one is your luggage and the other is your bike (in a case,bag or box), you will be alright to travel.

Your bike bag/case should it exceed dimensions will just be tagged as oversized baggage.

Kind regards,

I think that that should suffice and I can get on with my planning.
Hey Gary,

Might be a stupid question but what email did you use to contact them? I booked a flight but want to add baggage for my bike. I tried calling and ended up in what was probably abu dhabi and he had to look up the rules himself and said i just have to pay for excess baggage at the airport check in. I feel like he might not have given me correct info because i'm pretty sure i can just book extra baggage and make sure all my gear with bike doesn't exceed this and that way avoid paying expensive excess baggage fees. For some reason i can only find phone numbers (that all lead to calling abu dhabi again) and i want to mail them because it seemed to work with you.

Thank you in advance,
Charlotte

Pnefc01
Posts: 3
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Re: Flying Etihad to Europe and bike bag size

Postby Pnefc01 » Thu Jul 07, 2016 3:52 pm

Charlotte

Try austkt@etihad.ae

And good luck.

Cheers Gary

polishbiker
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Re: Flying Etihad to Europe and bike bag size

Postby polishbiker » Thu Jan 05, 2017 3:23 pm

Hello,

Any updates from anyone?
I am thinking about booking a flight from Perth to London with Etihad using a Quantas bicycle box which is:
Length: 140cm (55in)
Width: 30cm (12in)
Height: 80cm (32in)

I always used their box for other flights and had no issues but never used Etihad.

Any feedback? :)

battler2
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Re: Flying Etihad to Europe and bike bag size

Postby battler2 » Fri Jan 06, 2017 5:08 pm

ive never had a problem with etihad and didnt bother to contact them beforehand.

they're not going to get a measuring tape out if its a little longer or wider, unless it's extreme. i mean, people bring surfboards, golf clubs etc. onboard. they've seen a million bike boxes.

the only issue i had was with KTH on a etihad codeshare. i was supposed to call them in advance to reserve a spot for the box, and didn't. fortunately at checkin there were available spots. otherwise i'd have been denied boarding, lost the ticket and consequently forced to book another.

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ft_critical
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Re: Flying Etihad to Europe and bike bag size

Postby ft_critical » Sat Jan 07, 2017 9:09 am

Used Evoc with Etihad to London return. No issues. They even take it from the counter to oversize for you.

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