Colorado journal. day 1, part 1

Saturday, April 14th... 5am

USAirways Check-in at Richmond Airport

I was prepared to pay the $80 to ship my bike on the plane, and I knew I would have to pay this, each way, as unhappy as I was about it. I wanted to keep my bike the extra 4 days it would have required had I shipped it via FedEx (as my mountain bike was.)

Viewing the Baggage section of the USAirways website, it says that golf clubs and skis are free. So are 2 checked bags. It mentions a weight limit of 50 lbs, with an upcharge of $50 for bags that weigh more than this. It also mentions oversized bags, and I, unaware, packed one (thinking that since "hockey gear" is listed as free baggage, that my standard hockey gear bag would be accepted (even though not packed with hockey gear)). My bag measures 42x16x14, which, added together are 72". There is a limit on total dimensions of 62". So I've exceeded this by 10". I did weigh myself without the bag, and with the bag, and came up with a bag that weighed roughly 50lbs, so I figured if I was a few pounds over, I could talk my way out of it. My father informed me this morning that their 52lb bag wasn't accepted, and they had to rearrange some of their luggage on the spot the last time they flew.

So... to straighten all of this out, you can have 2 bags weighing 100 lbs, that measure 36x13x13 each. But you can't have one 50lb bag that measures 42x16x14. And for this 10" error, I paid $80. The problem I have with this is that you have no choice but to pay the fee. You can't repack your bags if you don't happen to have a spare (and smaller) bag (actually, two) handy. The other problem I have with this is that I had just paid $80 to put my bike on a plane, when golfers and skiers get to take their equipment free o' charge. My father's golf clubs weigh as much as the bike and case I am flying with.

To further analyse this, if I pay for my luggage and my bike to fly back from CO with me next week, I will have spent more on getting my luggage to CO ($320) than I did for the ticket to fly my body to CO ($280).

I am writing a letter to USAirways when I return, in hopes of recovering some of my money. I'm also looking at what options I have to get everything back to Richmond next Monday.