Another reply from Air Canada since I advised them it would be a good idea to mention dimensional maximums. I have done this many times, so what is obvious to me, may not be to others.

That means taking the windshield off on certain motorcycles.



And here are other responses from Air Canada that motorcyclists might have...

On the shipping in advance topic, as I mentioned I always shipped a day or two before my flight. I've never been charged a "storage charge", not for two days. That might have changed since 2010 or if your motorcycle sits there for a week.

Due to their response above, I then asked "But if it arrives with the passenger, how long does it take for the motorcycle to reach the cargo facility from the aircraft?"

Air Canada's response:
Six hours is a bit long to have to wait. I am usually on the road 6 hours after landing and that covers getting my luggage, clearing customs, taxi transport to Air Canada Cargo, clearing the motorcycle through customs, getting gas, installing parts, etc.

As for clearing customs, I always had to do the legwork. The office the last two times was a 15 minute walk from Air Canada Cargo on Shoreham Road East at London-Heathrow. Once there, maybe 30 minutes and I was done.

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- If motorcyclists claim to be individuals, why then do so many of them ride in packs?

There's more discussion of this same subject at this post:

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...ler-deal-80707

Below is a picture of my motorcycle (a Honda ST1100, also known as a 'PanEuropean') inside a Uniform Load Device (ULD, also known as an 'air freight can'). This particular size of ULD is used on wide-body flights.

When I shipped this motorcycle to Europe from Canada, the guys in the freight shed told me to not bother putting it on a pallet, instead, I just drove it into the can and tied it down in the can. But, some freight depots prefer to have the moto put on a pallet that they can then forklift into the can. So, find out in advance what the local preference is. Be aware that if you build your own wooden pallet, you have to use pressure-treated (chemically treated) lumber, otherwise the agricultural inspectors at the other end will have fits worrying about whether some unwanted wood-boring insect might be sneaking into the country undocumented inside your pallet.

There are more photos at the other post, the one I referred to above.

Michael

Motorcycle inside an air freight container

That didn't seem to be an issue since it was never mentioned at either end of the transport.

In every case, I either modified pallets (first pic) or made my own (second pic) simply because I wanted to make sure nothing happened to my motorcycle and that it was tied down rock solid. I did all the prep work. The base of those containers look flimsy as in they look as if they could bend in on themselves.

First trip over in 1995...


Last time I shipped...

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- If motorcyclists claim to be individuals, why then do so many of them ride in packs?

I've shipped my moto back and forth across the Atlantic many times, and never had to wait anything remotely close to 6 hours to get it.

In practice, the freight comes off the aircraft itself very quickly (just as quickly as the passenger baggage comes off). Once off the aircraft, it has to be transported to the air freight warehouse, which is usually some distance away from the passenger terminal.

But, if you are on the same plane (as a passenger), you'll have to go through immigration, get your luggage, go through customs, then take a taxi over to the air freight warehouse, and by the time you do that, the motorcycle will most likely be at the warehouse. I've never "beaten the motorcycle to the freight shed" in my life... it's always been there before I get there.

What you do need to know is that the taxi ride from the passenger terminal to the freight shed will not be cheap (the freight sheds are almost always on the other side of the runway, that means a $50 taxi ride), and it will take you an hour or two to do the paperwork and get the motorcycle cleared out of the freight shed by Customs (a much faster and easier process in Europe than it is in Canada). Then, finally, you will have to pay the warehouse fees, which will include one day of storage even if your bike has only been in the building for 30 minutes (figure on about $100 in warehouse fees), and finally, you will need to get the bike out of the can - or off the pallet, as the case may be - and out onto the road.

Don't take it for granted that you will simply be able to drive out of the air freight warehouse. Often, the warehouses have truck docks on the public (the exit) side, and no ramp to run the motorcycle down. That means that you then have to hang around until you can find a sympathetic truck driver who will lower the bike down to the pavement using the liftgate on his/her truck.

Best time I have ever experienced was going into Paris - the plane landed at 0600 in the morning, I was riding down the road on the bike at 0810. But that was quite exceptional. Typically, it takes about 3 hours from touchdown to getting on the road (that's for Europe), and it can easily take a whole friggin' day in Canada.

Michael

Same here in my 20 years of riding there, but as Air Canada indicated to me, it can take up to 6 hours to get the motorcycle to the cargo facility. Something I am not willing to risk with jet lag...I want to get going.

Who have you been flying with? I've never paid any warehouse fees and my motorcycle gets there a day or two before I arrive.

You won't be able to do anything to the motorcycle till it has cleared customs.

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- If motorcyclists claim to be individuals, why then do so many of them ride in packs?

Hi Alex:

The whole 'warehouse fee' issue seems to be dependent on whether the air carrier that you ship the motorcycle with owns and operates their own freight shed, or whether they use an agent to handle their freight at 'out' destinations (meaning, destinations outside of the home country of the air carrier).

Most of the time, I've shipped with Air Transat, a Canadian charter carrier. They don't operate their own freight facilities anywhere, instead, they contract out their freight handling to independent facilities at each airport. I have always had to pay warehouse fees at the receiving end of the shipment, but never at the drop-off location.

I don't know what Air Canada's policy on warehouse fees is - my guess is that it is going to vary by location, and also vary depending on whether it is Air Canada themselves or a third party that handles the freight at the destination.

What I do know, and this is from a lot of experience, is that one always has to be prepared to pay a very wide variety of fees (customs fees, inspection fees, port fees, etc.) that can be imposed by any number of participants (the air carrier, the warehouse operator, the airport operator, customs & agricultural inspectors, etc.) at the receiving end of the shipment. Sometimes one might get lucky and pay very little, sometimes you get the shaft and have to pay $100 to $100. It's a bit like buying a passenger air ticket, in the sense that there are lots of little surcharges that might get added on.

Personally, I think it's great that Air Canada is trying to make it more attractive to customers to ship motorcycles by air. I think Air Canada is a trustworthy and honest company - I've flown over 1 million miles with them, and been given an award for that.

What I have been trying to stress to novice motorcycle shippers in the posts I have made recently is that the the whole process of shipping a motorcycle internationally by air is not as simple as just checking in baggage at the passenger terminal. There are forms to fill out, and processes that have to be gone through (mostly at the destination end). The paperwork is not especially complicated, but for someone who has not done it before, it can be intimidating.

In particular, the legal requirement (IATA regulation) that states that the cargo carrier and their representative who receives the shipment cannot complete the DG paperwork (the person shipping the moto has to do that) can present a last-minute surprise to novice shippers, and problems can arise if the folks at the freight shed are not familiar with the classification (UN 3166, vehicle, flammable liquid powered) and packing instructions for the moto. That stuff is easy for me because I am a retired aircraft pilot who used to teach DG documentation courses. It's not going to be quite so easy for someone who has not ever shipped air cargo internationally.

Hence my recommendation that first-time shippers visit the freight receiving facility well ahead of time to become familiar with the process (and possible pitfalls, such as how to get the moto onto the dock and into the freight shed), and that the ease of getting the moto cleared through customs at the destination end will vary very much depending on the destination country.

Michael

Here's a link to a post I made here on the HUBB 9 years ago, explaining how the DG documentation process works.

I cannot assure you that the rules that were in force 8 years ago are unchanged today - you will have to look at a CURRENT (2015) copy of the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations to determine that - but the general concepts will remain the same.

Here's the link: http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...cles-air-21880

I can confirm that it isn't an issue into London-Heathrow (LHR) and I am sure it would not be into any major center that Air Canada flies into, like Frankfurt. In other words anywhere they have their own Air Canada Cargo office and warehouse.

In my case, in three shipments with Air Canada, the first two being handled through Kuhne & Nagel (K&N no longer handle private accounts), I have never paid any fees other than Dangerous Goods (here) and customs duty at the destination. The duties were on the shipping charges.

I've never had any inspection fees or had my motorcycle inspected.

I have a copy of UN 3166 and have always performed my own prep plus they know me well and just sign off the paperwork because of that.

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- If motorcyclists claim to be individuals, why then do so many of them ride in packs?

I am flying bike out from Heathrow to Montreal in June. The FAQ stuff I got from air canada said that 24 hours of storage was included at either end and that they would look to try and ensure the freight flight and the pax flights were coordinated so that no additional costs were incurred.

I am planning to use James Cargo for the DG certificate and customs. £45 for the DGC and £10 for customs. So I am hoping I simply ride into the air canada cargo area, hand over the bike get receipt, and let the professionals take over form there. At Montreal I am hoping its as simple as get through customs etc, taxi to the AC cargo area, show the receipt and pick up the bike and ride away. I hope!!

I will see if I can attach the files.

Here's some answers to my questions:
)

By clean I believe they mean it cant be covered in dirt and mud. They are talking more for off-road bikes as the mud you bring in may contain contaminates etc.
We accept bikes that are riden on streets so a simple wash down or wipe down is fine. It doesnt have to be show room clean if you know what i mean.

2) Normally our check-in process in montreal is about 6 hours. Because this is a motorcycle the check-in process will be quicker as we only have to visually see the bike to check it in.
When you land.. the process to go threw customs may take an hour tops to get your bags and leave the airport. We are located about 10-15 mins away but its a simple drive. We have a customs office that is open till 8pm at the end of our building so i believe if you land at 16:30.. you will have enough time to claim your bags, pass threw customs at the airport and make it here in time to custom clear your bike for same day checkin. If you like, send me an email the day prior to departure and ill help get the bike checked in quicker to help you out.

Address for pickup in montreal is CARGO NORTH SECTOR 2200 REVERCHON, DORVAL, H9P 2S7. Air Canada Cargo.

3 + 6) There are storage charges for motorcycles after 24 hours. This is due to them being considered dangerous goods.

Minimum charge per shipment
$85.00
Minimum charge per day
$40.00
Rate per Kg
$0.50

In LHR they charge 11.25 Euro's per kg.

You can see for yourself by visiting www.aircanada.ca/cargo , click shipping on top, and then selected ground handling charges.

4) You may want to contact LHR for the handover process. In montreal we like to have the bike the day before transport to give us time to inspect the paperwork, security check the motorcycle, and prep it for departure. The total drop-off process is about an hour. LHR TEL: 011 44 2087508247. Give them a call, tell them you are sending a motorcycle as part of a promotion and to contact us in montreal if they have any concerns as this email address.

5) Because of our natural 6 hour check in.. if you plan on flying back on the 9th.. it would be best to drop the bike off on the 7th, we fly it the 8th.. and when you arrive the morning of the 10th in LHR, there should still be roughly 5-6 hours left of free storage which gives you plenty of time to get your luggage, pass threw customs, and head over to LHR cargo to pick up the bike.

Let me know if you require any other information.

Motorcycle Promo 2015.pdf

Motorcycle Q & A 2015.pdf

^ Wow, considering I have never been charged a penny yet.

I must be likeable or they like BMWs.

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- If motorcyclists claim to be individuals, why then do so many of them ride in packs?

Hi Austin:

The above statement reflects the air carrier's (in this case, Air Canada's) concerns about the cleanliness of the motorcycle, so far as general housekeeping of the aircraft and the freight facilities are concerned. That statement makes sense when considered from that point of view. As a retired aircraft pilot (and one who spent many years flying cargo aircraft), I know exactly what they are talking about. From the airline's point of view, as long as it doesn't have gobs of mud falling off it, it's clean enough.

The cautions and warnings I raised in my earlier post about making sure that the motorcycle is immaculately clean and has no evidence at all of bugs, dirt under the fenders, etc. have nothing to do with the airline or the housekeeping of the aircraft and freight facilities. They relate to an entirely different matter, which is a well-founded concern (arising from my experiences shipping my motorcycle back to Canada several times) that Canada Customs may express concerns about accidental importation of insect eggs or larvae, or accidental importation of soil, and as a result, they may ask agricultural inspectors at the destination airport to look at the bike to make sure there is no soil or insects on it. An agricultural inspection will delay release of the bike by at least 24 hours, and cost over $100.

On each of my last two shipments of my bike into Canada, Customs officers have raised concerns about soil and insects. Maybe I was just unlucky, and happened to get over-zealous inspectors each time. In any case, what I am trying to do here in the forum is give other forum members a 'heads-up' in the hope that they will be able to minimize the risk of being subject to an agricultural inspection.

Michael

Bike being delivered to Air Canada on 5 may in Montreal. Will pick it up in FRA on 8 may. What a difference, last time $2250US each way, now about $600US.

hi to all!

for any british or riders who want to ship their bike from London, here is email from Air Canada, and last for this summer...

Hello Nino,

Just getting back to you on the motorbike qoute. For the summer we charge a flat rate of GBP 650.00 to ship motorbike. This include all charges ex London. To send the bike involves a few steps, so we ideally need it to be with us 1-2 days before its booked date. We commence a dagerous goods check while you are here to make sure everything is in order. The tank has to be 1/4 full of gas. Also we need an invoice/written declaration that states what the value of the bike is. Ir doesn't have to be crated. If you have anymore questions just let me know.

Regards

Andrea





LHR Customer Service Department
Air Canada Cargo LHR
T 0871 2243600 F 0208 750 8220
lhrcustomerservice@aircanada.ca

I just finished shipping my F800 BMW from Paris to Vancouver, CA via Air Canada in May 2015. Here is some info for you to digest. 1) The super low promo prices you have seen are all, and only, for shipping a bike out of Canada to wherever. 2) If you ship into Canada the list price is the same as what Motorcycle Express - Ship Your Bike would charge. 3) The advantage Air Canada has is they ship on their own planes, and can set the priorities. So while brokers cant guarantee you space on the plane on short notice, Air Can priorities are set about as high for your motorcycle as a checked bag. That means the bike will get through. 4) The Air Canada people in Paris really worked to get me and the bike on the plane. 5) Then when we got to Vancouver customs took a couple of days to clear the bike. You pay for storage and hotel for the delay. That delay made using
motorcycle express more economic. 6) The guy who said washing the bike is important was really right. Either you wash the bike, or you will have to pay for some really expensive guy's in white haz mats suits to wash the bike. Dead bugs or mud in the tread or wheels are potential Bio Hazards. Just wash the bike before shipping and you wont have a problem. My bike on Air Can was shipped on a pallet. Moto Express uses a shipping container. What I got worked for me. PM me if you have a question. Dave

I just shipped myself and F800 GS Paris to Montreal and then Vancouver with Air Canada. At their urging I booked a discount air ticket then used the Toronto e-mail address to arrange the Cargo part. They obviously were not practiced on motorcycle shipping and had to check with their boss etc. But the service was very good. I told them I am a well known motorcycle blogger and that helped. A couple of tips. The super cheap shipping promotion will end at some point, and is only out of Canada for now. Their normal rates are the same as Motorcycle Express - Ship Your Bike It helped also that I deliberately booked a ticket on wide body aircraft. Cargo space is less limited. That got the bike tied to a pallet on both planes with me. They did walk me through Paris customs. But in Vancouver just told me where to go. As someone else pointed out WASH THE BIKE really well. Bio hazards can come in dead bugs on in mud on tires. The check for this when the bike arrives and you going to have problems if the bike is dirty. Even so it took a day and some to extract the bike from the Air Canada Warehouse and they docked me a couple of hundred for storage. The major difference between Motorcycle Express and Air Can is ME wants to hear from you a month or two before shipping. ME ships anywhere but the need to arrange things, so they need to hear from you before you by your air ticket. They are very experienced. Air Can got me on the plane a week from my contacting them. They only want a liter of gas in the bike but don't care as long as they don't see fuel washing around the tank. They did not have to disconnect the battery. Supposedly you can only have tools and parts in the bags but they did not check and I had some clothes. They want the key in the ignition and it's OK to have the bags locked. They bill you based on the bikes dimensions and weight. I just used figures from the owners manual and added 30 pounds for stuff in the bags. I don't think they weighed the bike but the might have. Note rates vary a bit by route. It was less to go through Montreal than Toronto. I dropped the bike off 5 hours before the flight. Normally you do it the day before but it was a holiday. Air can gave me a ride to the air terminal from the cargo terminal. Dave