Iberia to Chile with bike?

[malarkey]

I have a ticket with Iberia to Santiago de Chile although some flights are with BA.
Its a cheap flight with a 3rd party and the baggage allowance is 1 case 23kg + a carry-on. the flight is Heathrow via and Madrid.
Looking on the website there isn't a way to add baggage if you are not an Iberia direct customer, so I call them and am quoted £150 each way for my bike - gulp!
Looking on the website additional baggage says £120?
Looking at the bike carrying rules it says:
For long-haul flights (America, Asia and South Africa), it (the bike) is considered an item that can be carried within the passenger's allowance. If you add other items, exceeding the permitted number of free items, it will be considered excess baggage.

Now I am thinking that I can substitute my bike for my normal baggage allowance, pack it to 23kg and take a carry on with any heavy stuff like pedals (but not tools because they would probably be confiscated at security.
Any thoughts, experience or insights?

By contrast Avianca to Colombia your second piece of luggage can be a bike and to be fair if I had booked directly with Iberia which would have been more costly as full economy i could have checked 2 bags.

Lots to consider when planning international travel with a bike. Thanks

[teamonster]

I’m pretty sure if it was a BA flight, you could take your bike as your one item of checked luggage, but with Iberia not sure. Why not just ring their customer services and confirm what the policy is ? Better still get it confirmed one way or the other on email.

[simonhill]

Unfortunately a common problem. People grab the cheapest flight then find they have problems with their bike. This why I always fly an airline whose bike policy I know ( usually Emirates), even if they cost more.

In your case I presume your first leg is with BA, which means you might be lucky and get their bike policy applied. Also Iberia are all part of the same company, IAG, which may also help. Although of course, maybe-s are never a real help.

I think officially it is the major carriers whose rules apply - it's all detailed on the IATA website.

Although if you can get enough stuff in the box and carry on the rest, what is the problem?

My bike in box is about 18 kgs (Surly, 26" 54cms) - that gives 4 or 5 kgs of stuff. Personally I wouldn't risk my pedals in carry on. Also think what you can buy cheaply there - maybe some basic tools, tubes, toiletries, etc.

Enjoy.

[malarkey]

many thanks