Q for those who've flown with bikes/work in airport/work in package delivery

Don't have any experience flying with bike, but do have some experience shipping bikes to events. Why not ship it directly to the address rather than flying with it? It would be cheaper than the $75-$100 each way charged by the airline, and you won't have the airport hassles.

Because I live in Korea, an international ticket gets me free shipping on the bike, and I have events in three different cities across the US on this summer junket...........

I think you could find out either by calling the airport or doing a yellow pages online search for the specific zip code of the airport you might be shipping it from, and seeing if DHL, UPS, or whatever comes up at the airport address.

That's a good idea - thanks

Still, as you go from city to city within the US of A, shipping may be a better option than flying...

Well, since post 9/11,... I know there is NO U.S. mail service to or from an Airport....

Whether this would apply to private shipping companies, I do not know... but, I could easily see how this would also apply.

FWIW Joe Moya

Edited by Joe M 2005-04-27 12:08 AM

Last year I had to fly to a tri with my bike, but since it was the last race of the season, I didn't need to fly it back, so I shipped it via Fed Ex. It was very reasonable (around $25 I think) and only took a few days. I was able to save some money by having it shipped to my office. There is usually a slightly higher fee to ship to a private residence but not by much. You might also want to check with the race directors. Sometimes they work with a shipping co and a LBS to give participants discounts on shipping and reassembly if you need it.

Hope this helps,
D

I don't know if this helps you but its along the same lines so I thought I would pass it on. Sarah Reinertsen was at a race I ran on Sunday and I spoke with her for about 5 minutes and of all the tips she must have about doing ironman the one she chose to pass on was to have your bike shop pack and ship your bike to a LBS in the city where you will be racing at least a week in advace and have them assemble it. THen have that bike shop re-pack and ship the bike back to your shop. I don't know if she had a bad experience shipping her bike when she did Kona but she seemed to think this was really important.