Taking bike to Australia with Singapore AA

JohnnyAllez

Has anyone had personal experience in the last 12 months or so of taking a bike with them on hols to Australia using Singapore Airlines? Wondered what was the procedure checking the bike-bag in (any dramas with weights, sizes etc) and mainly any experience with Australian Customs at Perth airport and their dislike or anything that`s seen British soil in the past.

I`ve read SAA guidelines about cycle transport and it`s clear as mud, so I`ve fired off an email to `em, still waiting for a reply, I want to take the bike-bag as my single piece of checked-in luggage (20kg limit) it`s just the size may be a concern. :?

satanas

Not so recent, but I flew from Sydney to Delhi return in late 2006 via Singapore Airlines. They were excellent, all staff extremely helpful, no problems with shipping bike in either direction - and I was expecting them in Delhi on the way back. I'd highly recommend the airline, and Singapore airport facilities.

Re check-in: this is a crap shoot. Usually from the Oz end you will get away with checked bags up to about 28kg, but this is up to the person on the desk. I've no idea of the situation in the UK; someone else should chip in about this. Size usually isn't an issue, but weight is. IME, it's a waste of time trying to get anything concrete out of any airline re baggage policy - it's all up to the person on the desk on the day. Get there early and be nice to them!!!

Re dirt: You MUST clean the bike extremely thoroughly when coming to Oz or NZ - quarantine are very keen on keeping nasties out. I'd suggest either bringing brand new tyres or cleaning them with a toothbrush before packing the bike away. The bike may well be inspected and if it's dirty you may have to wash it, and perhaps pay for the privilege of doing so.

JohnnyAllez

Cheers for the reply mate. Got an email back from SAA, sounds like I`ll be OK. Like you said, they are only bothered about the weight, not the size. 20KG limit for luggage, including bike bag (so not much extra luggage will be being taken !) OR they charge you a flat rate 6kg excess baggage for the bike (up to a max weight of 15kg) and you get to take the usual 20kg suitcase limit. Not forgetting your 7kg hand luggage allowance as well. Excess baggage charges are £37.00 per KG :shock:

Bike will be spotless, they mentioned dis-infecting the tyres and letting the air out, I`m just going to fit a new set of tyres, never seen UK soil Bought the CRC bike-bag, weighs 6.2kg according to their website, so the bag and bike will be well under the 20kg limit and no charges.

satanas

Good luck with the trip. BTW, the reason I mentioned the tyres was because I had to pay $40 to use a hose once when the bike was sent back from O/S as freight; tyres weren't clean enough for quarantine. Last time I cleaned them with a toothbrush and all was well(!).