Originally Posted by
fugacity
Rules vs reality?
Expect to pay the $100 fee; notice that it's $100 each way. It's uncommon to avoid it. Changing carriers? Don't be surprised if you have to pay again, on your connecting flight(s).
A folding or collapsible bike will fly for free, because their custom case is about the size of a suitcase. Decent collapsibles aren't cheap, esp if you're looking for a mountain bike.
I had a supervisor waive fee for me from IAH-DEN once, even though it's too big (LxWxH). She even said "i know it's too big, but it's within your weight allowance and you're a plat." Some of the IAH staff are REALLY helpful to platinums, that was my only luck.
On the way back...a redcoat working DEN at 5am acted like she was going to deny me boarding, simply for ASKING if they could waive the fee for a plat.
It's ridiculous that a surboard or golf clubs are free while a bike box isn't; but that's how it goes. A popular belief is that PGA, surfer's groups, etc lobbied the airlines hard for free bags. Since the bike teams are given free transport of their bikes from airline sponsors, the cycling associations don't lobby the airlines to remove the bike fee.
The cycling "associations" don't have much power, because they're fragmented. Their members are not all part of a single travel agency or company... they choose whichever carrier works best for them on a given day. They did, for a while, have a deal with United (I think) that allowed their fees to be waived (when it was just $50 or some such) but it required that members book all flights through the federation's travel agency, and the rates weren't always favorable.
The best way to exert influence on the carriers would be if the industry itself lobbied. A large company like Trek or Specialized or Giant has quite a substantial travel budget. If those companies were willing to consider free or reasonably-priced bicycle carriage a negotiating point each year, we might see something change. But they don't, because they have such favorable rates with shipping companies that they generally ship their bicycles directly to their hotels, saving the hassles of getting the bike to & from the airport. If the companies could see the forest for the trees, they'd see that, if their customers could travel more easily with their bikes, they'd incorporate cycling into their lifestyle more and spend more $$$ (on bikes).