 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| HomeDiscussion Groups Destinations USA and CanadaEuropeAustralia and NZAsiaLatin AmericaCaribbean IslandsAfricaTravel Types Air TravelCruisesRV Travel |
Travel Forum / Travel Types / Air Travel / May 2006Bicycle and baggage: YWG to AU - and back. Latest info from Qantas and AC.
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 $$ for the bicycle on the way back from LAX to YWG because the bags won't (at this point) be checked through from SYD to YWG. Oh, did I say that to AU I fly from LAX to Brisbane and back I fly SYD to LAX (and wait for 17 hours for a connection to MSP to YWG). I leave a day after school finishes and arrive a day before school starts - better than leaving just after school ends and an hour before school starts. Jet lag?? Whatzat? ;-) Ken Winnipeg > is coming back and waiting at LAX for about 17 hours for a connecting > flight to Canada. > There may be a "touch" (by NWA who flies me from LAX to YWG) for > additional $$ 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. > > is coming back and waiting at LAX for about 17 hours for a connecting > > flight to Canada. [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > 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). > Qantas did - it is their ticket with their connections. Qantas doesn't deal with Westjet or other low cost carriers who do not interline. That is whay they couldn't have given you ALL the options. You would have had to arrange for 2 separte tickets, but it may have turned out better in terms of schedule. Considering that QF won't drive you through-check-in on your return leg with a 17 hour layover, you're not gaining much by having it all issued by Qantas. Qantas's service from vancouver leaves at 18.20. (via SFO).. Air Canada's leaves at 19:30 Westjet and AC each had 3 non stops per day YWG-YVR --------- On the return trip: Qantas arrives Vancouver at 14:30 Air Canada arrives Vancouver at 10:00 From vancouver to winterpeg: Westjet has a flight that leaves at 18:15 arrives at 22:58 Air Canada has flights 14:10 and arrives ar 18:52 and one that leaves roughly at 18:30 arrive 23:12 So they could have done this itinerary for you. Maybe you asked for a date where the Qanats flight doesn't operate to vancouver and the agent didn't tell you about that possibility. > 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. > > 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 ;-) |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2009 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.