On this page we attempt to make available the experience of individual bicycle tourists who have travelled with Japan Airlines (you can share your experiences here).
Japan Airlines
I had a similar experience last year flying to Japan: I flew American from St. Louis to Chicago, then Japan Airlines to Tokyo. AA insisted on charging me $45 for the short hop to Chicago, and said the only way I could avoid an additional $100(!) charge for the JAL flight was to to check it only to Chicago. Once there, I had to claim the bike, and lug it, my French horn and another carry-on onto the train to go to a different terminal to catch the JAL flight. When I got there, the JAL personnel could not have been more gracious, and were appalled that AA had had me jump through hoops to get the bike to them.
JAL was wonderful (my best airline experience ever) but when I go back next summer, I will fly one airline (either United or Northwest) the whole way, since JAL doesn't serve St. Louis. š And in the future, I will avoid AA whenever possible!
Dan Phillips, June 03, 2015Melbourne to Denver via Tokyo, LA
I travelled from Melbourne Australia to Denver USA in March 2003 on a JAL flight via Narita (Tokyo). I expected to be charged a fee by Japan Airlines when I checked in two large peices of luggage and a bike box but to my suprise and delight they didn't.
The Melbourne-Tokyo leg was a code shared Qantas flight. When I arrived in LA I thought United might charge me for the LA-Denver leg of my journey but since I didn't have to check in my baggage the question never arose (the bag & box was transferred to the United Terminal by airport personnel after leaving LAX customs and the INS passport check area).
I'm hoping now that I will have the same experience travelling back to Melbourne with Frontier and JAL in December.