Here is a link to the most recent post on Air Canada's website about shipping motorcycles by air. It is a very comprehensive explanation of everything that is involved, for example, fuel tank 1/4 full or less, no need to disconnect the battery, you have to fill in the DGR form yourself, etc. Much to my surprise, Air Canada is now permitting some materials to be shipped in the saddlebags along with the bike... historically, airlines have insisted that saddlebags be empty.

This article contains prices and information valid for the period May 1 to September 30, 2016.

Click here: Air Canada Cargo’s Fly Your Bike Program - 2016

Michael

Fantastic! This could be a perfect alternative for us. Will call them next week to get a quote.

I have been dealing with AC Cargo over this past week.

My bike is booked to be flown out next week from Montreal to Dublin.
Start of RTW trip.

I will be paying $950.00 (total) for shipping my BMW R1150 GS from Montreal to Dublin Ireland.

To get this deal I had to book my passenger ticket with Air Canada.
Otherwise the shipping costs would have been $1450.00 for the bike.

I live in Ottawa but need to tender the motorcycle with Air Canada Cargo at the airport in Montreal.

For the dangerous goods document I contact DGC Consultant in Montreal.
The company is right near the airport. They are charging me $150.00 for the form and say they need to accompany me and the bike to Air Canada and have AC Cargo weigh the vehicle so that they can have an exact weight before they can sign off on the DG form.

As mentioned on the AC site, make sure that the fuel tank is 1/4 or less. The DGR rep said if you present your bike with more than 1/4 tank of fuel, you could be liable for a financial penalty if AC need to drain your fuel tank.

Air Canada site says that you need to remove battery terminals and wrap them up, DGR rep seem to think otherwise, that the battery could be left connected ??

I will find out next week when I drop off the bike.

AC advised me not to fly on same day with the bike, but rather fly out the following day, so that the bike will have been off loaded and stored in their cargo facility in Dublin. They need at least 6 hours lead time before a flight departure to load it on the plane. No disassembly of bike required, they just
tie it down on a skid.

I asked what items I could leave stored on the bike, i.e. in the panniers, top box, they said only motorcycle related items could be stored on the bike, tools, spare parts, no personal items, clothing, camping equipment etc.

You can have your bike insured for transport, as I remember AC quoted me $3.00 for each $1000 that you declare as value of your bike.

This Fly Your Bike program is only valid for flights between Canada and Europe.

To fly my bike back from Dublin to Montreal, costs would be ~ $1800.00



Brian

Awesome update - and congrats/GL on your RTW venture!

I received much the same news from AC on flights from Calgary to London. The only things that differed were - the logistics company I contacted said they would unhook battery (with my guidance) and I could basically strap anything to the bike (like a duffel full of camp/riding gear) - at least that's been there experience with AC on the Fly My Bike program in the past in Calgary. Cost are right in line with your quote.

I originally planned a May departure as well (not RTW), but I think it'll be pushed back to early-mid June.

I just checked passenger tickets - and they actually went down from a quote I got a month ago...so maybe it's time

Brian:

Please see this post: Rules for shipping motorcycles by air freight. It's an old post, but the procedures have not changed. You don't need an 'exact' weight (to the kilogram) for the DG form. Look up what your manufacturer says your moto weighs - that info will probably be in your owner manual - and adjust as appropriate for presence/absence of liquids, and any significant accessories you have added, and that will be close enough. The airline will weigh the moto with precision before they load it, this because the precise weight is needed for weight and balance purposes (as opposed to DG form purposes).

It is unfortunate that you paid $150 for someone to fill in your DG declaration for you. Next time, you can do it yourself. See this post: How to complete the DG declaration.

The Air Canada site DOES NOT say that you need to remove battery terminals and wrap them up. It says (and I quote) "All batteries must be installed and securely fastened in the battery holder of the vehicle and be protected in such a manner as to prevent damage and short circuits". Here's a link to Air Canada's PDF on the subject: Air Canada - Fly Your Bike 2016

If you don't get damage and short circuits when riding the bike down a bumpy road, for sure you aren't going to get damage or short circuits when the whole bike flies as air freight. If your moto is of recent manufacture and the battery compartment has not been modified from original construction, then you don't need to do anything special concerning the battery or the wires.

Air Canada's statement about batteries, quoted in italics above, is more or less word-for-word what Packing Instruction 900 says - in paragraph (d) - about batteries in vehicles. You can read Packing Instruction 900 in the first link I provided above, I posted a scanned image of it here on the HUBB about 10 years ago.

Michael

PanEuropean, yes you are 100% correct, the DG Section on AC site does say battery just needs to be safely and securely tied down in battery tray, I think where I got this misinformation was from talking to AC rep who told me that battery needed to be disconnected. When I mentioned this fact to the DGR dangerous goods rep he told me what you stated, battery just needed to be secure in tray without any possibility of a electrical short.

I glade you corrected me, this one less problem to deal with when picking up the bike over in Dublin. And for those who owned or have owned a BMW 1150 GS you know what an irritant it is to access the battery on the bike.

From reading this thread I see others have claimed that they were able to store their personal gear on the bike for shipment.

AC seemed pretty emphatic that I could not store any personal gear on the bike.

Brian

Hi Brian:

My experience - shipping my motorcycle by air many times during the past 15 years - is that no air carrier will officially permit personal effects to be shipped with the bike (for example, in the saddlebags, or attached to the bike). That's the airline's official position on the matter.

I suspect that all airlines take this position because they want to minimize the risk of unacceptable goods (camp stoves, etc.) being shipped with the bike. It may also be a result of a conservative interpretation of the DGRs, which state that when a DG is shipped, it must be packed in accordance with the applicable packing instruction and not combined with any other materials (DG or not) which fall into a different UN classification.

However....

The reality is much more accommodating than the official position. Every single time I have shipped my motorcycle by air, I have showed up at the freight shed (where I drop the bike off) and asked the cargo acceptance agent if it is OK for me to put my helmet, riding leathers, boots, tankbag, maps, GPS, rainsuit, sunglasses, granola bars, etc. in the saddlebags, and every single time, the cargo acceptance agent has said "sure, no problem". Air Canada even alludes to this level of tolerance in their PDF (link provided two posts above) when they state that you can't ship personal effects with the bike, but you can ship "equipment and parts" as long as you provide an itemized list.

So, my suggestion to you is that you carefully inventory and document everything that you have that could reasonably be considered "equipment & parts", put all that stuff in the saddlebags, and after you drop the bike at the freight shed, stuff your riding gear and helmet in the saddlebags as well. I'm pretty sure that the cargo acceptance agent will permit you to do that, as long as he or she has a chance to visually inspect what is in the saddlebags.

Some air carriers are more relaxed than others, as you can see from the massively overstuffed rear cargo bag on the back of my motorcycle in the picture below, which was taken after the cargo acceptance agent and myself loaded the moto into the ULD for the flight to Europe. But, I don't think you could get away with that quantity of additional stuff these days.

Michael

Note the luggage on the back of the moto, and the tankbag...

PanEuropean

Well it can't hurt to see if AC Cargo will allow me to leave my riding gear
packed on the bike.

What is more innocuous than motorcycle riding gear.

Hopefully, AC personnel in Montreal will be accommodating when I drop off the bike.

Brian

I'm amazed that they permit the bike with so much fuel on board since it can potentially leak and fill hold with flammable fumes. Some airlines will not even permit a used camping stove if it uses liquid fuel, even if fuel canister is empty.

Vehicles & camping stoves are two entirely different things. Vehicles are designed so that the fuel will not leak and fumes will not leak, and it is not possible for a vehicle to be loaded in any way other than right side up. It's also not possible for a properly secured vehicle to overturn in flight.

Camping stoves are not designed with particular attention paid to leak prevention or fume release, and they could be loaded upside down or sideways, and could overturn in flight. Plus, the nature of the fuel is different - camping fuel is generally more volatile than auto fuel.

Personally, I would not bet on it. Once you start securing cargo to the outside of the moto, you begin to get into a grey area. I doubt that any cargo acceptance agent would refuse a helmet hanging off of a helmet hook on the side of the bike, but a bag full of stuff strapped to the rear seat becomes a judgement call on the part of the cargo acceptance agent that would be difficult to protest against.

Give it a try. If your bag gets refused, you can just check the same bag in as checked luggage when you board the aircraft with your passenger ticket. Personally, I think you would enhance your chances of success if the bag only contained one or two bulky items (for example, your riding suit and your helmet). But, it's 'iffy' - it all depends on how the agent interprets policy.

Michael