has anyone brought a bike w/them on the plane lately? what are the requirements? (not the airline fees) but the d.r. entrance fees /free///etc...
does it have to been broken down in hard cases?
might be better to bring it in near a race day?week?
There are no DR entrance fees for bikes. It's the airline fees you have to worry about.
These fees are arbitrary. You don't need to state it's a bike. You will have to pay the charges for oversize luggage. The way airlines are nickel and diming passengers to death, you may be charged up to $250 for going over the limit half a centimeter. I've seen this with my own eyes at the airport, so don't think it can't happen to you.
Unless you can construct a frame inside a maleta that is within the size limitations (like all the Dominican guys I know who go back home to train and/or race) and get the bike in there, this is where you will pay the fee. And it will be coming and going.
has anyone brought a bike w/them on the plane lately? what are the requirements? (not the airline fees) but the d.r. entrance fees /free///etc...
does it have to been broken down in hard cases?
might be better to bring it in near a race day?week?
Some airlines have no surcharge for "sporting equipment" and some do. Airtran does not have an extra fee, so it cost me $75 to get it to PUJ. I broke it down myself and packed it into a bicycle box.
Just FYI, if you have a cross or hybrid bike, you need to use a similar sized box, as the tubes make the bike substantially wider than a road bike, and a mountain bike box is too small.
Brought a bike down in September from Toronto on SunWing Tours. Cost $35 dollars to box it up, $30 dollars for the airline fee and no duty upon arrival. It was a used bike not a new mountain bike worth thousands. The lock I bought cost as much as the bike.