Sports Gear and flying

[marki]

Being an avid mountain-bike rider I am always hauling a bike around in the hold of an aircraft. It is so much fun exploring such new places. My last major pushbike travel was to Oklahoma last year somewhere in April. Before all the horrible tornadoes at Moore in May and before the shooting of the Australian Christopher Lane the baseballer who was shot dead (August) while jogging in Oklahoma.
It was fun but I did notice there are just about no footpaths and most riding had to be done on the road along with American great big SUV's. I managed. It was fun.

I am returning from some work in Karratha W.A. and my box was ruined by (water damaged) Cyclone Christine on the 31/01/2014.

Any way the Gist of the story is that the Qantas bike box is now $22.50 cents and not the old $17.50 cents. So price is up and the bike box looks the same as before but cost 5 dollars more.

My salary did not go up by 22% overnight...., I guess they have to have some cash for all those extra points and SC. Still I am not happy QANTAS.

From now on a new bike case is on the agenda.

 

[DrA]

I don't really see the problem to be honest.

I travel to take part in triathlons (and marathons), and I scuba dive. I know there's a cost involved in hauling bikes and scuba gear around (assuming it doesn't fit into my luggage allowance). It's factored in to every trip budget.

Regular luggage needs replacing occasionally, and it's always more expensive than it was last time. Why would bike transport boxes be any different?

 

[marki]

I don't really see the problem to be honest.

I travel to take part in triathlons (and marathons), and I scuba dive. I know there's a cost involved in hauling bikes and scuba gear around (assuming it doesn't fit into my luggage allowance). It's factored in to every trip budget.

Regular luggage needs replacing occasionally, and it's always more expensive than it was last time. Why would bike transport boxes be any different?

You are happy with being overcharged, Sure about that? I am usually not pleased with prices going up unless there is an improvement in a service quality. That and a weakening dollar.

 

[DrA]

Am I happy about being overcharged? No, of course not.

But given a $5 increase in cost versus not being able to compete or go diving?

$5 barely covers the cost of a cup of coffee in WA. Not exactly breaking the bank, is it?

 

[prozac]

Any way the Gist of the story is that the Qantas bike box is now $22.50 cents and not the old $17.50 cents. So price is up and the bike box looks the same as before but cost 5 dollars more.

Well the forex USD/AUD rate was 108 not so long ago and now is around US90c which is a drop of around 16%. Maybe the box or materials for said box are imported and now cost around 16% more than before b/c of this change. Maybe there is a bit of inflation involved too. Maybe Qantas has a foreign CEO who hates all Austalians and we have just gone through a prolonged period where the PM also hated us. Maybe life just sucks.

Have you priced a new bike lately? How's the price?

 

[mannej]

How long has the price been at $17.50?

An increase in price is pretty inevitable.

I would say get over it as it's only a $5 increase, but let's just put it down to #firstworldproblems ...

 

[marki]

Don't mind paying.
5 dollars is a price of coffee
Some people only have a wage of 2-3 dollars a day.
Price of a bike can be competitive and who says it has to be a new bike? Been to Kmart lately? That amount is already 1/3 amount of a new bike.

Anyway the point is the price of travel is increasing it only seems a little amount at the beginning but can add up very quickly.

 

[DrA]

Don't mind paying.
5 dollars is a price of coffee
Some people only have a wage of 2-3 dollars a day.
Price of a bike can be competitive and who says it has to be a new bike? Been to Kmart lately? That amount is already 1/3 amount of a new bike.

Anyway the point is the price of travel is increasing it only seems a little amount at the beginning but can add up very quickly.

Sorry, but if you can afford to jet off on holidays just to go mountain bike riding, then you're not earning $2-3 a day.

Be thankful the airlines still agree to carry bikes at all. I don't know if you recall the outrage when BA refused to carry surfboards anymore a few years back.

But as mannej says...#FirstWorldProblems

 

[marki]

This is a travel forum and this is a travel with sports gear thread. According to your opinion the whole forum is a #first world problem. You are entitled to an opinion and I will leave it at that, as it's way OT already. Find another thread elsewhere for guessing current AFF'ers take home pay.

 

[11sjw]

Perhaps Qantas just lost a pile of money and they're looking at ways they can gouge more from their customers. You now have a choice, pay $22.50 or go elsewhere.

 

[JohnK]

The add-ons are the type of things airlines seem to make their money.

Credit card surcharges, prepurchased luggage as opposed to luggage purchased at airport, seat selection fee, charge for exit rows, sports equipment etc.

It is very easy to increase these fees and we have little choice but to pay it.

Off topic but I could buy a book of 10 BNE Airtrain tickets for $110 in 2008. I think it may have been $100 not long before that time. Now the same book of 10 tickets is $145. That is an increase of ~30% in <6 years. At the same time my salary has increased ~15% and that is probably one of the better salary increases and the main thing is I still have a job.

 

[quick_dry]

at least you can pack lots of stuff inside a bike case. Most of my travel is with ice hockey gear - although I can generally fly with status and the extra allowance, other times it can be a challenge trying to go through the fine print of the sporting gear allowances e.g. Delta gives a specific allowance for hockey/lacrosse gear that doesn't count your sticks as an extra piece. Unlike Air France where a few hundred grams of carbon costs you a hundred euro - that one just _barely_ snuck through on being cheaper to bring it than bin it.

 

[mannej]

This is a travel forum and this is a travel with sports gear thread. According to your opinion the whole forum is a #first world problem. You are entitled to an opinion and I will leave it at that, as it's way OT already. Find another thread elsewhere for guessing current AFF'ers take home pay.

You haven't answered the question about how long the box has been $17.50?

 

[marki]

Good question

 

[clarkkent]

Now the same book of 10 tickets is $145.

Gone up to $150

 

[JohnK]

Gone up to $150

That is worse than I thought.

 

[serfty]

Gone up to $150

I used to purchase them for $80 in 2006.

 

[marki]

Perhaps Qantas just lost a pile of money and they're looking at ways they can gouge more from their customers. You now have a choice, pay $22.50 or go elsewhere.

A bike case can cost anywhere from 199-399AUD can be used many times and has a hard case with wheels which is a positive as it rolls everywhere instead of paying for a trolley at the airport.

 

[prozac]

All this discussion piqued my interest in these bags so I ended up doing a search. Ended up reading an interesting blog by a bloke called DC Rainmaker i which he discusses (with pictures) the pros and cons of bike bags. Here is the link if you are interested. "How I travel with my bike" - Biospeed Aerus Bike Case Review: How I travel with my bike | DC Rainmaker

 

[DrA]

What I use for my bike when I fly...