I hope this isn’t a repeat, doesn’t look like my first message made it through.
Just an FYI…Southwest Airlines just posted system wide fare discounts including travel to Seattle. My family and I purchased tickets and will be flying round trip out of Chicago’s Midway Airport to Seattle for $198.00 each. Also, Southwest has a double deal of some sort where you can get a free airline ticket after only four airfare purchases in 2002 instead of the usual eight. Interestingly, Southwest is currently accepting ticket purchase for travel through Saturday, August 3, the day after the closing of UNICON.
Airfare from the UK to Seatle with American Airlines is in the region of 500ukp. Unlikley to go down but might go up. I got a decent price from Trailfinders travel agencey, STA and Campus are also worth a look particualry if you are under 26 or a student.
Luggage limits on AA are great for UNicon, two bags each, no wight llimit. Hurrah, it won’t be like China when I had to wear 3 T-shirts and two pairs of shorts onto the plane.
Probadly worth sorting out air tickets ASAP as they might well go up. Paul and I are flying from Heathrow on the 24th July ( mid morning) with American. Any one joining us?
I have a large bag that I use to ship unicycles, including traveling to
China for Unicon X, it is the same type that John Foss uses. The bag is
billed as being within the size requirements for airlines. The only time
that I have been charged to bring unicycles with me was for that bag on
American Airlines when I flew to NUC in Toronto last summer. The check-in
agent said that it had too much girth, based on the overall volume, not
just weight. He got out a book, then measured to bag, and then charged me
$75. Andy Messenger used the exact same type of bag on United Airlines, but
wasn’t charged. On the way home I ditched the bag, recapped our 2 - 24"
unis into our Roach unicycle bag, our 2 - 20" into our duffel bags and
packed my Telford into a 24" Schwinn box that I got from John Drummond (I
had to remove the frame and tire to get it to fit in the box). I don’t know
if American has different rules than other airlines, but I wound up paying
extra. I may have just gotten an overly efficient and cranky agent, but be
aware that American Airlines may charge you for oversize luggage.
John Hooten
sarah wrote:
> Airfare from the UK to Seatle with American Airlines is in the region of
> 500ukp. Unlikley to go down but might go up. I got a decent price from
> Trailfinders travel agencey, STA and Campus are also worth a look
> particualry if you are under 26 or a student.
>
> Luggage limits on AA are great for UNicon, two bags each, no wight
> llimit. Hurrah, it won’t be like China when I had to wear 3 T-shirts and
> two pairs of shorts onto the plane.
>
> Probadly worth sorting out air tickets ASAP as they might well go up.
> Paul and I are flying from Heathrow on the 24th July ( mid morning) with
> American. Any one joining us?
>
> arah
>
> –
> sarah - munier
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> sarah’s Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/26
> View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/16537
I always fly with the unicycles in Roach bags. Usually, it’s the 3 of us,
with 3 bags, each containing 1 or 2 unicycles. Lately I’ve been on 4
international trips plus several little flights, and I’ve never been charged
extra on them. Occasionally they ask what’s in the bag and I just give John
Foss’s stock answer: “Sporting equipment”. I think that they usually just
think it’s some kind of really heavy guitar or other musical instrument.
—Nathan
“John Hooten” <jhooten@rcsis.com> wrote in message news:3C76B2CA.225F5B0B@rcsis.com…
> I have a large bag that I use to ship unicycles, including traveling to
> China for Unicon X, it is the same type that John Foss uses. The bag is
> billed as being within the size requirements for airlines. The only time
> that I have been charged to bring unicycles with me was for that bag on
> American Airlines when I flew to NUC in Toronto last summer. The check-in
> agent said that it had too much girth, based on the overall volume, not
> just weight. He got out a book, then measured to bag, and then charged me
> $75. Andy Messenger used the exact same type of bag on United Airlines,
but
> wasn’t charged. On the way home I ditched the bag, recapped our 2 - 24"
> unis into our Roach unicycle bag, our 2 - 20" into our duffel bags and
> packed my Telford into a 24" Schwinn box that I got from John Drummond (I
> had to remove the frame and tire to get it to fit in the box). I don’t
know
> if American has different rules than other airlines, but I wound up paying
> extra. I may have just gotten an overly efficient and cranky agent, but be
> aware that American Airlines may charge you for oversize luggage.
>
> John Hooten
> I always fly with the unicycles in Roach bags. Usually, it’s the 3 of us,
> with 3 bags, each containing 1 or 2 unicycles. Lately I’ve been on 4
> international trips plus several little flights, and I’ve never been charged
> extra on them. Occasionally they ask what’s in the bag and I just give John
> Foss’s stock answer: “Sporting equipment”. I think that they usually just
> think it’s some kind of really heavy guitar or other musical instrument.
I went to a bike club meeting last night where the presentation was a bike
tour of New Zealand (looked like a great tour). The people who went where
charged $100/each to ship their bikes from Chicago to LA, and another
$100/each to get them back from LA to Chicago. However, there were no
charges on the international flights.
The explanation given last night is that many European airlines encourage
biking and don’t charge for transporting bikes. It’s possible that they
simply counted it as a cycle and give it free passage.
Sorry, I don’t know what airline they took from LA to NZ.
> extra on them. Occasionally they ask what’s in the bag and I
> just give John Foss’s stock answer: “Sporting equipment”.
Or in the case of a Roach bag, “Unicycle-shaped sporting equipment.” But no,
don’t use the “C” word when checking bags. “Cycle,” that is.
I think that over the years we will find that enforcement of bag size and
weigh restrictions will vary with how busy the counter is, what kind of mood
the agent is in, and how strict the agent is.
So far I have been fortunate, never having to pay extra. Usually, with my
big zipper-expandable bags, I don’t even have to have them all the way
extended. Only make your bags as big as they need to be.
Ouch! That’s a good excuse to join the IMBA (International Mountain Bicycling Association). One of the perks for members is that they have an agreement with some of the airlines to let bikes fly free for flights in the US and Canada. Sure beats getting socked with a $75 - $100 charge for each flight. The details are at the IMBA.COM web page at http://www.imba.com/membership/bikes_fly_free.html
If anyone is planning on packing an oversized bag full of unicycles and are worried about the potential extra baggage charge this is a good deal. I’d rather give my money to the IMBA than spend that same money on an over-sized baggage charge.
I assume that they would let unicycles fly free too…
UNICICLO@aol.com writes:
>In a message dated 2/22/02 1:52:36 PM Eastern Standard Time,
>yoopers.hghb@timelimit.unicyclist.com writes:
>
>
>> My family and I purchased tickets and will
>> be flying round trip out of Chicago’s Midway Airport to Seattle for
>> $198.00 each.
>
>That’s a good price, just like mine, coast to coast from Philadelphia, PA
>to
>Seattle,
>round trip for $255.00 each.
>David Ramos
> uniciclo@aol.com
Great prices. I am seriously considering driving there, tho, since I would
like to bring so many unis, including my Coker. I could make a fun road
trip out there with Joe Merrill and brother John if they are up for it.
I wonder how long the drive is from NYC.
David
Co-founder, Unatics of NY
1st Sunday / 3rd Saturday
@ Central Park Bandshell
1:30 start time after 11/1/01
> Airfare from the UK to Seatle with American Airlines is in the region of
> 500ukp. Unlikley to go down but might go up. I got a decent price from
> Trailfinders travel agencey, STA and Campus are also worth a look
> particualry if you are under 26 or a student.
A few weeks back I check with http://www.Expedia.co.uk and found flights for
somewhere just over 400 UKP flying from Glasgow via London and Chicago. I
can’t rememebr who it was with but AA sounds familiar. I was looking to head
over on the 23rd and come back arount the 13th August - the late return to
accomodate plans to head up to Vancouver straight after UNICON and take in
the North Shore. Me thinks there’s strong interest from some other folks to
to do likewise. The more the merrier
> Luggage limits on AA are great for UNicon, two bags each, no wight
> llimit. Hurrah, it won’t be like China when I had to wear 3 T-shirts and
> two pairs of shorts onto the plane.
That’s a load off I was envisiging having to board to plane with pockets
stuffed full of cranks and pedals.
On Sat, 23 Feb 2002 00:34:14 -0500, “David Stone” <dstone@packer.edu>
wrote:
>
>I wonder how long the drive is from NYC.
>
Long! You can’t drive much further east to west!
Driving directions to the event headquarters from NYC:
Get on the NYS Thruway West.
Stay on I-90 West for a long, long time.
Get off at Exit 31 (North Bend / State Route 202) in Washington.
Note: If you hit the end of I-90 at the Seattle waterfront, you went
31 miles too far!
Take a right at the bottom of the ramp.
Keep going straight on SR 202 / Bendigo Boulevard through the
middle of the town (the intersection with North Bend Way). Continue to
follow SR 202 as it makes a sharp bend to the left two blocks later.
Turn right onto Meadowbrook Way at the first traffic light. Mount
Si High School is one block down the street on your left.
Don’t worry too much about 4 - 6; we’ll have signs to show the way
from Interstate 90.
