When I went to New Zealand last year, I decided to take my bike with me. I’d have a van the whole time, so moving it around with me would be easy. And Air New Zealand allowed me two free bags, one of which could be a bicycle.
If you’re interested in travelling with your bicycles, here’s what it will cost you:
Packing the bicycle
Before you can take your bike on a plane, you need to pack it in a bike box. Almost any bike shop will give you one of these for free. There are many YouTube videos teaching you how to box up your bicycle.
Aside: If you have an expensive bike or are planning to travel with your bike a lot, it’s worth investing in a hard case.
If you don’t want to pack the bike yourself, you can pay a bike shop to do this for you.
Bike shops in San Francisco
I called many of the bike shops in San Francisco. Here’s what they charge to box up a bike, sorted by price:
| Shop | Price |
|---|---|
| Warm Planet BIkes | $35-40 |
| Sports Basement | $45 ($30-60) |
| Valencia Cyclery | $45 |
| The Freewheel | $50 |
| Lombardi Sports | $50 |
| Pacific Bicycle | $50 |
| REI | $60 |
| Box Dog Bikes | $70 |
| American Cyclery | $70–85 |
| Performance Bike | $100 |
| Mike’s Bikes | $100 |
| Mission Bicycle Company | — |
| Pedal Revolution | — |
| Roaring Mouse | — |
I’m not sure what Mike’s and Performance do for $100. Maybe they use gold tape on the box.
Bike shops in Auckland
Here’s what the bike shops in Auckland charge:
| Shop | Price (NZD) | USD equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Bike Barn | $35–40 | $25–28 |
| Hedgehog Bikes | $40–50 | $28-36 |
Airlines
Once your bike is all packed up, the airline may charge you another fee to accept the bicycle as a checked bag. This table’s sorted by airline name:
| Airline | Fee | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Air Canada | $50 | |
 |
Air New Zealand | free | |
 |
AirTran | $79 | |
|
Alaska/Horizon | free | |
|
American Airlines | $100 | 2 |
|
Continental | $100 | 2 |
|
Delta | $200 | |
|
Frontier | $50 | 2 |
|
Hawaiian | $100 | 3 |
|
JetBlue | $50 | 2 |
|
Midwest | $50 | |
 |
Qantas | free | |
|
Spirit | $75 | |
|
US Air | $100 | 2 |
|
United | $100 | |
|
V Australia | free | |
|
Virgin America | $50 | |
 |
Virgin Atlantic | free | |
| |
Virgin Blue/Pacific Blue | $20 | 1 |
|
WestJet | free |
Notes
[1] Included in your standard (paid) baggage allowance (cost is $20)
[2] Small bikes (measuring under 62 “dimensional” or “linear” inches) are free (included in your baggage allowance)
[3] $35 for flights within Hawaii