Bicycle and baggage: YWG to AU - and back. Latest info from Qantas andAC.

Some time ago I posted some questions about baggage and the extra $50
Air Canada charges for carrying a bicycle...

There were a whole bunch of posts on that and for those thoughtful folks
I have to say Thank You!!

Here is the poop on the "baggage mechanics" - courtesy of Qantas and Air
Canada !

My ticket was purchased through Qantas and is a paper ticket. Both
Qantas and Air Canada confirm what a poster or 2 mentioned: Between
Canada and AU the bags can be checked right through - the only proviso
is coming back and waiting at LAX for about 17 hours for a connecting
flight to Canada. There will be some kind of US Customs intervention and
then I will have to wait for about 5 hours before I can check my bags in
for the flight(s) to Canada. There is some "12 hour rule" which states
that baggage cannot be checked in until 12 hours or less before
scheduled flight departure time. Apparently there is no "storage' at LAX
so I will have to sit with the baggage until i can check them in at noon
- then I can go visit Watts and other places ;-)

The other interesting thing is that on the flight to AU from Canada, Air
Canada rules apply for baggage. TWO 50 pound boxes and the bicycle as a
totally separate item (because of the $50). That means I can bring some
extra items that I would have normally not been allowed under Qantas'
weight restriction (2 baggage items with 32 kg max mass - one item being
the bicycle).

There may be a "touch" (by NWA who flies me from LAX to YWG) for
additional $$ for the bicycle on the way back from LAX to YWG because
the bags won't (at this point) be checked through from SYD to YWG.

Oh, did I say that to AU I fly from LAX to Brisbane and back I fly SYD
to LAX (and wait for 17 hours for a connection to MSP to YWG).

I leave a day after school finishes and arrive a day before school
starts - better than leaving just after school ends and an hour before
school starts. Jet lag?? Whatzat? ;-)

Ken
Winnipeg

Ken Pisichko wrote:
is coming back and waiting at LAX for about 17 hours for a connecting
flight to Canada.

There may be a "touch" (by NWA who flies me from LAX to YWG) for
additional $$ for the bicycle on the way back from LAX to YWG because



I don't know who sold you those tickets, but they seem to be truly
incompetant, especially since Qantas flies to Vancouver this summer, you
could have avoided a lot of hassles (although the flight stops at SFO,
and hence probably forced to sunmit to the police state customs/immigration).

17 hours of a layover is not acceptable. Heck, you probably could have
done better with Westjet between Winnipeg and Qantas.

Your bike is worth more than any money you may have saved on this.
Choosing the right itinerary is usually worth any extra money.

You might consider chcking what the penalty is to cancel this ticket and
get something more reasonable in terms of itinerary. If ist is just a
$150 fee get get a decent trip for you and your bike, it would be well
worth it.

nobody wrote:

Ken Pisichko wrote:
is coming back and waiting at LAX for about 17 hours for a connecting
flight to Canada.

There may be a "touch" (by NWA who flies me from LAX to YWG) for
additional $$ for the bicycle on the way back from LAX to YWG because

I don't know who sold you those tickets, but they seem to be truly
incompetant, especially since Qantas flies to Vancouver this summer, you
could have avoided a lot of hassles (although the flight stops at SFO,
and hence probably forced to sunmit to the police state customs/immigration).

Qantas did - it is their ticket with their connections. There are only certain
connections they could/would do. The flight was from YWG. It would have been
worst going through YVR. Sorry - I saw the schedules and you are certainly
incorrect in stating that there would have been less hassle in going through YWR

17 hours of a layover is not acceptable. Heck, you probably could have
done better with Westjet between Winnipeg and Qantas.

Westjet was definitely not an option with Qantas. Forget the "probably".

Your bike is worth more than any money you may have saved on this.
Choosing the right itinerary is usually worth any extra money.

If I would have been smart(er) I would have booked before Qantas extended their
seat sale- then I would have had a cheaper seat leaving YWG on June 30th. Alas,
the seats (prior to July 1st) were sold out by the time I finalized some trip
schedule details. Once those trip details were finalized I could book the trip
and purchase the ticket(s).

Thank you for reminding me how much my bicycle is worth. I truly forgot about
that. Hopefully I will also remember to pack it and bring it with me.

You might consider chcking what the penalty is to cancel this ticket and
get something more reasonable in terms of itinerary. If ist is just a
$150 fee get get a decent trip for you and your bike, it would be well
worth it.

Spending 17 hours at LAX is not exactly purgatory - I can still leave the
airport and do some exploration by public transport. Heck, I could even rent a
car and do some visiting - maybe even drive to some winery (if there are such
places in the LA area).

nobody wrote:

Spending 17 hours at LAX is not exactly purgatory

Remember that after the 14 hour flight from SYD-LAX, you're not exactly
going to be in the best of shapes.

I remember my first trip to Australia. On the return trip it took 20 hours
on a stretch DC-8. I landed in Vancouver on a 2-stop flight (Fiji and
Hawaii) from Sydney, THEN started hitch hiking back to Manitoba. That took
another 48 hours......

Like I said, the 17 hours in Los Angeles is not exactly purgatory.
Purgatory is walking across the border between India and Bangladesh,
finding someone to "stamp" my passport, THEN finding out that I could not
exchange ANY of my Canadian traveller's checks or US dollars because the
banks all stated "our government does not allow us to exchange foreign
currency here - but you can change it in Dakka". That was a bitch of a time
- until I finally exchanged $10 at a bank - courtesy of a sympathetic bank
manager..

After travelling 9 weeks in Australia (6 weeks through the outback doing a
1500 mile tour), the temporary wait in/around LAX won't be too bad ;-)