Possible transport option between Magadan and Anchorage
 

I've been researching options for getting my bike from Anchorage to Magadan. I saw on the HUBB that Vladivostok Air will be starting passenger service between Anchorage and Magadan in July of 2008. I spoke with a Vladivostok Air representative in Seattle, (206) 443-1614, and he told me that the airline is in negotiations with cargo companies in Anchorage and will have chosen a company to handle cargo shipments to Russia by the end of March. The cargo will be shipped in passenger planes (737s I believe), and the possibility of flying a motorcycle as cargo will be left up to the cargo company they select. Vladivostok Air does fly motorcycles in their passenger planes currently (from Japan to Vladivostok). Let's keep our fingers crossed.

Vladivostok Air press release:

Newsroom | Press releases

Valdivostok Air testing for Anchorage flights:

For passengers | News

Vladivostok Air
 

This is great news after Magadan Air finished flying the route few years back.:thumbup1:
We'll see what comes out of it.

Are you saying that without Vladivostok Air there is no way to get bikes from Magadan to Anchorage (or tuther way round) by air.......
Does anyone have any info on possible modes (by sea) or routes....what do people do at the mo - fly it to Japan and then Japan to Anchorage.
Cheers
Char:mchappy:

Flights
 

Yes, there is no service to Magadan currently. Magadan Airlines is a small carrier serving the far east of Russia and used to have flights from Anchorage to Magadan which stopped sometime around 2003 or 2004. Since then, some have been successful shipping by sea to Magadan from Vladivostok (and some unsucessful:)). To ship across to there, it seems the most common way to get to Vlad is by ferry from Korea. On the North American side, most have been shipping to west coast USA and riding up, due to cost and frequency of service options. There is some great info on the site by Phil who shipped his truck from Vlad to Korea to US. Going there, Bill Shockley air freighted his bike across to Vlad last spring.

I've been in contact with Brant at ITCAlaska - they are an agent that deals with the tickets etc for flights from Vlad to Anc. He'll be getting more info later on (ie. after 25th Feb) regarding prices, taxes, bike as cargo etc.

I'll update when I hear more from him.

Okay, so that answers the question. Cheers Mountain Man.
Kinvig - wicked! I shall keep my eye on this thread! Pukka.:thumbup1:
Char

Magadan - Anchorage
 

Hi guys. I have the same problem. Planning RTW start March 8th from Czech Republic, with an expected arrival in Magadan during the 1st or 2nd week of June. Maybe will be possible to get to Kamchatka over Sea. Knows somebody how to get me and bike from Kamchatka to North America? Best to Anchorage?

Van-

This Vladivostok Air possibility is the most promising I've found so far. Unfortunately, they won't be starting service until July, so it wouldn't work for you. I've also looked into cargo flights to Petropavlovsk, Kamchakta and crossing the Okhotsk Sea by boat, but have run into dead ends. Lynden Air Cargo specializes in getting heavy equipment to places in the Arctic and might be able to fly a bike to Magadan, but the pricetag could be really high- higher than I can pay at least.

Lynden Air Cargo: Home Page

If I can't get to Magadan, I'll probably fly the bike to Japan and take a 2-day ferry from Toyama/Fushiki to Vlad: $360 (cheap seats) for passenger and $150 for bike:

BUSINESSINTOURSERVICE // Tourist Company

Here's another ferry link:

Russia Tour, EURASTOURS-SPECIALIZED FOR TRAVEL TO RUSSIA & THE EAST EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

Or have the bike flown to Korea. Here's a useful post by Boxer2V regarding that option (Jan. 08):

If you air freight your bike to Seoul, you will not be allowed to ride it out of the airport because the only access roads to Incheon International are Expressways ( Toll Roads) and , unfortunately, motorcycles are not allowed on expressways in Korea.

Previous travellers have had to freight their bikes out of the airport to the nearest highway or direct to Sokcho to catch the Vladivostok ferry.

If you ship your bike to Pusan however, you can look forward to a pleasant ride up the coast to Sokcho. ( avoiding expressways).

Good luck.
________

**see entire thread here:
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...ght=vlad+korea

Kingvig- I'm looking forward to hearing what you find out from ITC Alaska.
I'll be talking with Vladivostok Air in late March and will post my findings here.

Marcus

Hi Roadsacallin,

If my plan to travel from China to Anchorage falls through then paln B is to ship from Vladivostock to Japan and then air freight the bike to Anchorage.

Do you have any idea of costs (passenger and bike), and how frequent the flights are from Japan to Anchorage. Also how long does the flight take?

Any info would be much appreciated

regards

Until Vlad Air comes through to Magadan...the cheapest and most reliable is to fly/ship bike to korea and have it trucked to Dong Chung Ferry...arrive in Zurubina(South of Vladivosotok) and ride up...
Russian customs in Zurubina are infinitely easier to deal with than Vlad.

Your cost of shipping should include possibility of delays when you arrive, cost of hotels, bribes etc. in Russia.

If you need a contact to ship from the West Coast to Korea, reliably boat/air...PM me.

HTH

update on VladAir carrier
 

VladAir recently selected Panalpina as their cargo carrier for the flights out of Anchorage. The problem with putting a motorcycle (dangerous goods) onto a passenger plane (the VladAir flights to Anchorage are all passenger planes) is that we as individuals are not "known shippers". The Panalpina guys are looking into options like getting a special inspection of the bike, but they think with all the new regulations for shipping dangerous goods on passenger planes, we might be out of luck. I'm leaning towards flying the bike to Korea.

Legally and according to international air cargo standards, used motorbikes can't be shipped on passenger planes as they're considered dangerous good. No matter how much fluid you drain...that is the case...
They have to be flown via cargo planes...

Back in the day, some of the Russian carriers would put the bike on and not worry about it...but if Vlad Air hired a freight forwarder like Panalpina to deal with the air cargo portion...those days are no longer.

Now I wonder if Vlad Air would consider your bike "accompanying luggage" if you were a passenger on the plane? Technically it violates international air cargo standards, BUT the Russians sometimes are Russian ;)

When i arrived in magadan in 2006...already knowing that the flights never started in the 2006 season, i was able to get a passenger flight to Vladivostok with my bike as luggage!!

The Russians are pretty relaxed about most rules.....

See The bikes on the plane on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

"Legally and according to international air cargo standards, used motorbikes can't be shipped on passenger planes as they're considered dangerous good. No matter how much fluid you drain...that is the case...
They have to be flown via cargo planes..."

Hmm, I'm flying my bike with Air Transat from Montreal to London next month...and it will be a passenger plane. According to Motorcycle Express, the broker, I don't even have to fully empty the tank...

SORRY, don't want to hijack this thread here...

Flying bikes on passenger planes
 

I've flown two BMWs recently from Oz to LAX separately - on the same planes that I also travelled on. No problems with Qantas at all.

Latest news ?
 

Hi,
Does anyone have an update on the Magadan Anchorage saga....or is it in another thread ?
Thanks

Motorbikes can be freighted on passenger planes. There´s even a place on the DG (Dangerous Goods) Declaration form, where appropriate boxes "Passenger & Cargo aircraft" or "Cargo aircraft only" will be marked, depending on the type of goods transported.

Thanks. I was also thinking of flights themselves. I had a quick look on Vladivistok Airways site and they appear to be doing Kamchatka to Anchorage in 2009. Was interested in any routes (air) from Magadan.

The flights ran last year after a 4 or 5 year hiatus. However, some kind soul posted his experiences here on looking into this option and I seem to remember that it was possible but the costs were very high and it didn't seem to be reasonable for most riders. A quick search should turn up the thread.

Magadan to anchorage?
 

folks,....
Just wanted to clarify...do you think you can freight a motorcycle from magadan to anchorage?
thanks a million for your help
regds
Oisin

Flights from Anchorage to Magadan
 

Really the unique air option just now from Anchorage (alaska) to Magadan (far east russia) is by taking 3 flights:
1) Anchorage to Seatlle: by Delta Airlines (return: 503 USD);
2) Seattle to Murmansk (via Seoul/Korea): by Korean Airlines (return: 1600 USD);
3) Murmansk to Magadan: by Aeroflot (Russian Airlines) (return: 650 USD).
Total for a return full ticket from Anchorage to Magadan: 2700 USD
Unfortunately it is the unique currently option. But if you only get one way from Anchorage to Magadan, it will cost you a half of price: 1350 USD. It already includes the taxes. Have a nice trip! Bye.

tec277,
Welcome to Horizons Unlimited.:welcome:
Please tell us your sources for this information.
Are you just giving the price for flying a person? That has never been a problem. We need to get our motorcycles across the ocean.
Half price for one way? I don't think so! In fact, one way is often MORE EXPENSIVE than round trip.
Please give us more detailed information, such as the size of motorcycle you got a quote for.

Oh,
And please fill out your profile. It gives you more credibility as a poster on an information site if your profile is not blank!

Flights from Anchorage to Magadan - Part 2
 

Hello all! Hi Chris! I got that prices from the site of the flight companies (Delta Airlines, Korean Airlines and Aeroflot). Really that prices are for a return ticket.
But I have searched for best options yesterday for a one way ticket and the results are below. I am sure these flights are much better even to transport your motorbike. Be careful for the fact that Aeroflot is cancelling flights from Vladivostok to Magadan, so it´s safer to use the company Vladivostok Air (Avia). Please check out these prices in the site of the flight companies. And ask them the rules and prices to transport your motorbike.
China Airlines: Anchorage to Seoul/Korea (including connection in Taipei/Taiwan): 750 USD;
Korean Airlines: Seoul/Korea to Vladivostok/Russia: 470 USD;
Vladivostok Air: Vladivostok/Russia to Magadan/Russia: 340 USD.
Total for a one way ticket: 1560 USD. This last company has the city of Anchorage as part of your itinerary in its site but it is not operating at the moment. Let´s see if they will operate this route to Anchorage in 2010. Ask them information about.
Have a nice and adventurous trip to far east russia.

Vladivostock/Magadan
 

We could not get our bikes airfreighted from Magadan to Vladivostock (our preferred destination was Khabarovsk) last July so we put them on a boat while we flew.

Fuller details in posts 4 and 5 on http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...-magadan-45495
or the appropriate dates of the Blog Sibirsky Extreme

So, you don't have any information on motorcycle transport?
Have you even confirmed that those airlines will carry a motorcycle as freight?
This is a site for motorcycle travel and, while I don't want to sound mean, we don't really need info on passenger transport. Our people want to get their motorcycles across the ocean. And I doubt you can get a bike between Anchorage and Magadan today for just $1500 inclusive...
But if you have any information other than what you pick up of airline websites, we always welcome your input.:thumbup1:

In fact you just can't do it (as of this August anyway).

There are NO Magadan international flights to or from anywhere for bikes OR people.

The over zealous/greedy Customs Unit at Magadan airport did much to bring about the airfirms stopping flying internationally - even on an 'ad hoc' basis.

Typically of Russian burocracy, the Customs Unit is still there and manned all the time, even though aparently there has not been a commercial international flight, in or out, for at least two years!

Every bike we are aware of this year reaching Magadan came/went by road or sea.