Call the airline first. I know some charge less (or some nothing at one point) for bikes on international flights.

The problem with shipping it is that I feel they are almost just as likely to lose or mess something up, and it takes MUCH longer transport time. Dunno how the "messed up" times compare though.

Good luck! I always worry about my bike when it is on a plane.

Not anymore, the ding you for everything. It varies across airlines, but the fee is at minimum $80 to as high as $160 to $180 one-way. Check with your airline. I went free to Switzerland last year, but had to pay $160 (240 CHF) on the way back. Also, they are very strict on the weight in Switzerland.

I'm in Pucon, Chile today and my flight from MN to FL should have been $80 on NWA and then free from FL to Chile because of the flight package I bought. I was luckly, guy at the NWA counter didn't charge me.

Just plan on paying, if you don't it's a bonus.

Meredith: I am stationed in Germany and when I came over in 2004, I flew with my bike in a Trico Sports Ironcase. At that time, a bike case would count against one of the two bags you were allowed on international flights. Looking at Lufthansa's website, it seems to be more complicated now. Some international routes now operate under a baggage "weight concept", where it will cost you $100 to fly with a bike (not clear round trip or each leg). Other routes are on the old baggage "piece concept", where the bike case will count as one of your two checked pieces of luggage and flys for free. You would have to check the UPS site to see how much it would cost you, but my guess it will be super high.

But...UPS might still be your best deal depending on how you fly. If you are flying non-stop from Dulles or Chicago to Zurich all is fine. But if you are flying from Little Rock to St. Louis to Dulles to London to Zurich, you have a mix of domestic flights and EU flights where the rules of traveling with the bike are different. You may be hit with a cost for each leg and UPS will be cheaper afterall. Plus, good luck if you bike gets lost in transit! Less of a chance if you are able to fly non-stop. The other advantage of using UPS is that you are not lugging the case through the airport ( or tyring to find a taxi which can take both you and your case!) And if you are seeing the sights of Europe afterwards, where are you going to store your case until you fly back? With UPS, it will be going home while you tour.

I raced 70.3 UK twice and I UPS'd once and flew with the case once. I will fly with it in the future as it is cheaper, I take a direct flight and I am not doing any touring afterwards. Plus, finding a LBS in the UK to receive and ship my bike was something of a hassle, although found a great shop in Bath who did so.

Bottom line: get a quote from UPS and then work your travel reservations so that you can easily beat that quote with minimal risk that your bike get in the lost luggage pile.

Have a good race!

- John

I too am racing in Europe in July (IM Germany) so I am also reading these posts for insight. Based on my domestic travels at IM North America events, I have some insight. I have shipped via UPS to the race site where it was assembled on site and shipped back. The downside was that I had to ship the bike about 10 days before the race. The upside is that it was very convenient (take your bike to your LBS, have them pack it and ship directly from shop; they can also receive and reassemble); I could easily track the bike; and I felt that getting it to the race so far in advance that any mishaps could be fixed on site by the shop. I have also used TriBike Transport - awesome for US races - but they don't ship overseas. My thoughts for our races (Swiss and Germany) would be to take the bike with you on the plane; take it to the race site and pay to have it reassembled and store your bike box; and after race, drop off at race shop and have them disassemble and ship back.

I went to IM Germany in 2005 and had to pay $80.00 each way for the bike box, and went to IM Austria last July and had to pay $80.00 on the return flight. Call your airline and check the rates, but be prepared to pay at the ticket counter. We checked into shipping the bike but it was ridiculously expensive. The bike box is a pain to lug around Europe because of their small cars and little room on the train, but you can fit nearly all of your gear in it which is handy.

Thanks for the shared experiences and qualms. I need to gather the motivation to sit and do the phonework and decide on the best option. Whatever happens, I will certainly resurrect the thread and report back. Now if you can fit "nearly all your gear in it" as Star says about the bicycle box, do you do that even for flying or just for other getting around within Europe? I'd be scared to have all my eggs in one basket for a flight. These comments also make me realize that we need to see what's available at the race in terms of bike management or if we need to look into a bike shop there. We can ask relatives (who live steps from the course) to do some research about that. I expect that if we use the airlines they will ask for more money at every turn.