Air Canada Cargo - Now Shipping Motorcycles...Cheaply
 

Well they always have but at out of this world prices.

For the riders on here that have been lucky enough to have toured Europe, Air Canada is promoting motorcycle shipping by air. By "promoting", I mean at 1/3 the cost that it ran me in 2010.

While at the Toronto Motorcycle Show last weekend, Air Canada had a booth staffed by Air Canada Cargo personnel. They will have their web site up shortly, but this is what I walked away with:

Toronto or Montreal (and other cities as well) to London, Frankfurt... (there was a list of cities) $700 with ticket purchase or $1000 without, for one way. I paid about $2250 one way in 2010. Check with them for other destinations.

Considering motorcycle rental runs about $1000 a week, a three or more week tour makes this worth it.

From their site...
 

February 18, 2015

Fly your bike with Air Canada Cargo

Did you know that Air Canada can also ship your motorcycle?

This convenient service is available from Montréal, Toronto and Vancouver to multiple destinations around the world.

When your travel is booked with Air Canada, you'll benefit from a special rate for your motorcycle.

FIND OUT MORE

For more information on shipping your motorcycle with Air Canada Cargo, please contact us:

MONTRÉAL: 1-800-361-2159 yulff.lcacc@aircanada.ca
TORONTO: 1-800-387-4865 yyzff.acconnect@aircanada.ca

Very interesting, thanks for sharing. They even put out a news release on motorcycle shipping! What's new - Air Canada Cargo

I just sent them an email. I want to get a bike from Toronto or Montreal to South Africa. It doesn't appear Air Canada flies to South Africa directly according to a map on the website, but we'll see...

Note the 2nd post. They put that out February 18th, two days before the Toronto Motorcycle Show where I came across their info booth.

When you find out, please post their reply.

Had a fast reply to my email. Air Canada doesn't fly to South Africa, so they're not interested. Would require transfer to a different carrier in Europe, as expected.

South Africa Airways does a Toronto-Munich-Johannesburg route, and I have a good quote of $1500 USD through a broker for that option, including bike crating.

I also asked the Air Canada rep if they had a list of destinations -- not exactly. Basically, "most of the major stations we fly into" ... handled on a case by case basis depending on available cargo space in an aircraft.

And they'll take bike shipments into Canada, of course -- good news for anyone wanting to get a bike to North America.

They did have a list at the show. Unfortunately it was not a hand-out.

Available cargo space was always the case, even when I shipped with Air Canada through Kuehne & Nagel the first two times. It is why I always dropped the motorcycle off some 4 or 5 days prior to my flight and I always wanted it to go out a day or two before so that I am not waiting for it to get to the AC cargo facility even though they are right at the airport.

This AC deal is also flagged up in Trip Transport:-

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

Just so all are aware. This program will be a trail for the whole of 2015, to virtually all their wide-body jet locations world wide, any direction. I even got them to guarantee my return price over a year later in 2016 from any of their destinations in Europe (London, Paris, Venice, Rome). They also offer insurance for shipping at $3/$1000 value and this includes all accessories and contents in the panniers as long as they are left open and manifested for customers both ways.

Yes you can also fly out from any of their destinations as long as you arrive in Canada for the same discounted amounts. Prices do vary depending of location obviously.

If you want to speak with their rep in person, they will have a booth at the HU meeting in Ontario in June where you can book as well within 30 day window.

:scooter:

Yes, I noticed that later.

I'm not on here very often since all I tour is Europe and after 20 straight years of doing so, chances are any new tips of importance are already known to me.

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.

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
http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...psazpqfzvk.jpg

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

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...
http://edelweiss.smugmug.com/Motorcy...Z/0/O/9501.jpg

Last time I shipped...
http://edelweiss.smugmug.com/Motorcy...P5210036-L.jpg

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.

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.

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.

Attachment 14863

Attachment 14864

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

I must be likeable or they like BMWs. :biggrin:

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

You may be right Michael, but the answer was to the following question:

Q1. I note that Canadian customs require vehicles being imported into Canada
to be clean. How clean is clean?

A1. 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.

The "they" in AC's reply is a reference to Canadian Customs. I was going to wash the bike at home to make there was no mud or bugs, then jet wash again at a garage as near as I can find to Heathrow (I am 200+miles away) to remove any bugs and road grime from that journey.

Every other thread and post I have ever read on here or anywhere else about shipping or importing to Canada always says that Canadian customs was a breeze compared to almost anywhere else. I have only ever shipped to USA before now and have to say that was pretty easy so have a high expectations of the Canadian end of things. USA was even easier than some of the Eastern European borders who are in the EU. Anyway, it will be what it is and I am sure that before too long we will be on the road heading West :)

Service Not Offered To/From Beunos Aires
 

Just wanted to pass along some info that I received yesterday after discussing shipment of my motorcycle from Buenos Aires to YYZ. I was informed at the ACC booth in Montreal that this service was available but it appears that they've been having a lot of customs problems with the airport authorities so they can't offer the service anymore:

Thank you for your interest in shipping your motorcycle with Air Canada Cargo.



After further investigation we, unfortunately, will not be able to offer this promotion to or from South America due to customs regulations in South America. They will not accept personal effects shipments from unknown shippers. You would be required to work with a broker or freight forwarder out of Buenos Aires or Santiago.



Maybe we can assist you in the future to another destination.



Thanks

Pat

Hola

We have first-hand experience on this subject just from one week ago. There isn’t exactly as they are telling you.

Is not about Customs, the Airlines in Argentina usually doesn´t work directly with travellers (particular) in motorcycle cargo freights. Or even worst, Air Canada Cargo is managed around for a Logistic Handling Company who handled other airlines cargo too. They have to do it through a Forwarding Agent. This is what is required, not a Broker.

Also the problem is that Air Canada in Buenos Aires don´t manage the flat rate that they offer in Vancouver or Montreal and local charges will apply too (read the small letters on Air Canada flyer).

There isn’t a any problem to air fright a bike to Canada or anywhere from Buenos Aires but off course not at that promotional rate by now…

Saludos

In Australia .. it is not Customs who will see to the bikes cleanness but Quarantine. The want it better than showroom clean. No dirt, seeds, bugs ... none at all. Same for New Zealand.

I'd think any place receiving stuff from another place that has no direct land connection will be concerned over getting things it does not have from the imported goods. The cleaner your bike is the better from all points of view.

Thank you for that info javkap. Do you have any knowledge of local forwarding agents in Buenos Aires that I could potentially contact? I will be in South America from November until late December or early January so would it make sense to have the logistics worked out before hand or is it possible to do on the road?

Javier might not say, but there's no reason for me to hesitate: click the blue Dakar Motos link at the bottom of his post and do what comes naturally. Or rather, make a point of phoning Sandra; don't email Javier unless ready to wait a decade or more for a reply.

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

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 Went Paris to Vancouver with my GS
 

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

Update from calling Air Canada today August 21 2015
 

Hello to everybody ...


and thank you for the great information from this thread.

While being out in Florida right now and urgently trying to find some fast and economic transport to Southamerica, I came across this awsome offer from Air Canada via a German friend today. Following it to the Hubb I found further valuable information in this thread here.

So I called Air Canada today in Toronto following this information from their website dating Feb 18 th 2015 at What's new - Air Canada Cargo

Talked to a very friendly guy there , who unfortunately left me with some rather sad information. As I cannot find out , how valid this is, I thought it might be interesting for some of you for further plannings in case. Maybe someone could check with Air Canada what the future setup will be.

I was told today, that due to various customs issues in the countries of destination out of Canada this programm by now is only available for Flights out of Montreal/ Toronto / (guess also Vancouver , but had not asked for that) and back to there for destinations

London Heathrow UK and

Frankfurt Germany

The Programm shall be suspended by end September 2015 and decisions shall yet to be made, whether and where to restart the programm in 2016.

As said I cannot tell you about how official and valid this information is .

Prices given to me with the Programm for a 300 kg R1200 GSA from Toronto would have been for an assumed dimensional weight of 531 kg

-800 CND one way being booked myself on Aircanada to Frankfurt Germany
-1100 CND with the bike flying on itself

that was a price for Roll in the bike and drop at their cargo section without crading yourself

-3000 CND was called for as regular airfare

So as much as this was the perfect airline offer it seems, it could be suspended or at least widely reduced for the future. What a pity that would be for so many of travelling bikers.

Maybe statring some bikers action here in the forum, adressing politely to Air Canada and showing everybodies` interest would help, to get it going on ?


Just my 2 cents searching on for affordable and fast short term transport to Argentina or Chile . Airfreightrates so far out of the US to Buenos Aires as much as to Chile are very impressive and none so far rates lower than 4000 USD one way. Having contacted all recommended freightagents I found in the Hubb here I hope to still end with some better offers.

As I was explained by some freight specialist, the high prices to SA and even more henerally out of the US for airfreight result from the legal issue from the US side, that forces motorcycles as "Dangerous goods" into cargoflights only. While the high demand on Cargoflights at the same time rises prices for the high demand on it.

So a bit offtopic if anyone of you knows a reliable and economic way to get a bike flown shortterm from US or Canada to SA, your information is warmly welcome. as time flies.

And to help get the Air Canada offer going on seems worth some effort :mchappy:

Good nite from Florida

BABA

Air Canada, no more shipping
 

Hi folks,

We are in the early days of researching an extended motorbike trip. We contacted Air Canada, and received this, dated September 1, 2015:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
from:
YYZFF.ACCONNECT@aircanada.ca

Unfortunately our motorcycle service will no longer be available as of the end of September.

Rgds
Elton
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Really unfortunate, for everyone.

Unfortunately the Canadian Airlines cargo shipping deal ended Sept 30 2015. However, they plan to revamp the program starting early spring 2016. That's straight from Patricia the project coordinator.

Update:
This is what I just (2015/10/30) received from AC:

i know that the offer does no longer stand - but still: did anyone use the service and how was the handling at the destination ? was there an agent clearing the bike or could you do it on your own ... any additional costs ... ?

thanks

Hello!

I see that you said you had a deal to send your bike Toronto-Munich-Johannesbourg for $1500? Could you let us know which broker gave you that quote? Did you end up shipping your bike on that route for that price? We are thinking about doing that next year and are looking for more info! Thanks!

We worked with the freight forwarder WG McKay in Toronto and the crating company Topax. Total to ship two bikes in a single crate from Toronto to Joburg was $3000 USD. We partially disassembled bikes to reduce volumetric dimensions.

I can highly recommend both these companies. The experience from start to finish was top notch :)

Air Canada Motorcycle Shipping 2016
 

Available from May to September 2016
https://www.aircanada.com/cargo/shar...ENG_062015.pdf

I shipped w/ AC, Montreal to Frankfurt. Had a lot of people asking for details and ended up writing an article on all the steps. Might be useful for anyone else planning the trip...

https://www.bikeminds.com/thethrottl...e-us-to-europe

If you use it drop me a comment on the article and let me know how it went.

Cheers

I dont see anything about South America anymore.

Is it still possible to Air Cargo bikes from Canada to SA nowadays?

Call them and ask.

MONTRÉAL: 1-800-361-2159 yulff.lcacc@aircanada.ca

Funny you mention. I called the number above, a message told me to call 387-4865. Called that number and it was a gay sex talk line.

:oops2:

You must have dialed the wrong number...maybe from your saved numbers list. lol

1-800-387-4865

Shipped with Air Canada Cargo 2016
 

In searching for info about shipping to Europe this coming summer (2017), I thought I would share last summers experience. I flew and shipped with Air Canada from Montreal to Vancouver this past summer, after touring through Labrador and the Maritimes. The process was very simple and didn't require my even buying my flight ticket with Air Canada. I bought my flight on the interenet, and once having a flight number, you can book your moto, although you have until you are within 28 days of your flight. The hardest part was getting the dangerous cargo certification (another $113 Can) through the independent agency referred to by Air Canada. They were very slow, but a few phone calls finally had them emailing me my dangerous cargo papers. The bike shipping cost was $850 Can. Air Cargo Montreal and Vancouver were excellant. The receiver in Montreal was a rider himself and they helped me through the prep. Officially, I had been told that I had to remove and tape up the battery leads and have no more than a 1/4 tank of fuel in the tank. I had also been told that I could only have bike related gear left on the bike. Except for the near empty tank requirement, most of this was ignored and I was encouraged to leave as much gear and clothing as possible fastened to the bike. It is inspected by a customs inspector before closing all panniers and certain things had to be left behind, as well as others only carried by me in my on-flight luggage. Lithium batteries for any devices, like digital cameras or my Inreach had to be removed from the bike, and the alkalines from my gps had to be removed from the device. I was also not allowed to keep any oil containers (chain or motor) in my panniers, nor a MSR bottle that had been used for my camping stove.
They then rolled the bike away and strapped it to a reinforced aluminum pallet. In Vancouver it arrived before me, as I was able to select a transport flight that left Montreal about 4 hours before I left. It was a 15 minute walk to Air Cargo in Vancouver, and I was riding out of there in about 1 hour. I had left a note on my instrument cluster as a reminder to fill up. The receiver in Vancouver also reminded me. The folks i dealt with were very helpful and the whole process was quite easy.

Just to confirm, you flight ticket was on an Air Canada flight?

And the cost for the bike one way Montreal to Vacouver was 850$?

Twist on shipping a Bike to Europe
 

So a friend of mine had suggested that we would order Motorcycles in the next year or so. We want to get some upgraded Adventure bikes. But as the twist we thought we would have the new bikes delivered to a European Dealer and assembled for pickup there. The intent was to only have to ship the bike to Canada and not receive a new bike only to turn around and ship it back to Europe. We want to ride around Europe once we pick up our bikes. Has anyone done this before? I know this has been done because it is actually written in one of Neil Peart's books. He did this with one of his BMW motorcycles while on tour in Europe. But then he has probably a lot more pull with BMW then I would.

This used to be common, at least for Americans; people flew to Europe, bought cars or bikes there, toured around, and returned home with their new vehicles. It's rare these days because specs on European vehicles (of all sorts) are different from what is legal in the US, and the bureaucratic processes for importing unapproved vehicles so expensive, that hardly anyone wants to bother.

Besides, cars and bikes are generally cheaper in the US anyway, although who knows how this will change with the current upheavals in international trade. How this relates to you as a Canadian I don't really know....but I bet the economics and bureaucratic considerations are pretty similar.

The other key piece is that it's nice to spend some time getting to know the idiosyncrasies of your chosen bike, fitting needed travel accessories, and working through any warranteed defects before leaving home. For the thousand dollars or so it'll cost to ship your bike to Europe, that's not a bad deal. The Air Canada program is one obvious possibility; I'd also check into Stefan Knopf's shipping and storage offerings if you can be flexible about time and place.

Someone else will know better than I which manufacturers still offer North American spec bikes for sale in Europe. If you happen to be extremely wealthy and one of the best rock and roll drummers of all time, well, that's probably going to smooth the way to some extent!

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

Mark has it right on this, with the addition of the following:

1. What you got when you picked up your bike in Europe was a CANADA or USA spec bike, produced and held just for you, and sold BY YOUR LOCAL DEALER to you.
2. With the huge increase in numbers of bikes made and sold by BMW, they cancelled this program years ago. I BELIEVE but am not certain that some of the reason for cancelling was also due to tightening restrictions on shipping bikes in, and in Canada for instance the extremely tight regulations on importing a bike into the country, even one made for Canada. If it didn't come in to the OEM distributor they don't like it.
3. Currently to my knowledge there are NO European delivery packages available. As Mark says, there are advantages to not wasting your vacation time messing about setting up a bike and dealing with a 1000km first serve etc.

Hope that helps clarify it!