We are on our Way: We have a shock when checking in at the airport - Exploring Germany, Czech Republic and beyond... on our Recumbent Tandem - CycleBlaze
We are on our Way: We have a shock when checking in at the airport
Finally, the day to depart from our home has arrived. We have been very busy spending time with family and we have had a hectic few days getting ready to leave our home. Lucky for us, the ferry to Vancouver is direct and thus a quick ride this afternoon.
It always seems daunting to fit everything in the bags - are they too heavy?....we always wonder what we could have left behind. We are grateful to Kelvin and Sandy who quickly sent us the instructions on the steps to fit our bike in the bag. This time we have added an Arkel Bug pannier/day backpack to our set up - along with the usual Radical Design trailer, 2 Arkel 40 underseat panniers.
Our friends Dave (and Robin) helped us get us to the ferry terminal. The logistics of travelling with heavy large bags make it a bit complicated - it was very much appreciated. It always feels like we are officially on our way when we get to the Long Harbour ferry terminal - next stop Vancouver.
Our first experience at an Air BnB - Frieda's in Richmond. This will be the first of many times we use Air BnB - excellent accommodation, friendly hosts (who picked us up from the airport - thanks!) and a great breakfast.
Barry's brother Lewis and his wife Caroline brought their mom, Hazel to meet us for lunch before our flight. It was so good to have a family visit before leaving.
And then we checked in at Air Transat - feeling organized and excited to get going. Then the trouble began….as you can see there are two supervisors beside Mary Ellen, none looking happy.
Despite having flown successfully with Air Transat on 3 previous trips with the same bike: same bag and same weight - this time, Air Transat refused to take our bike. We tried to explain that we had approval for the bike from the Air Transat agent who had booked our flight and that we had provided full disclosure of its size and weight. Perhaps it would be helpful is she referred to our file? We were greeted with disbelief and the suggestion that we were making all of this up. We finally got to a point where we were able to remove enough weight to make it acceptable and then we put the bits and pieces in to a shrink wrapped parcel. We didn't appreciate the aggressive tone of the supervisor.
The magic of shrink wrapping. The final insult was when the supervisor informed us that we would have to pay $100 for the extra piece of luggage. Luckily we had paid extra (Option Plus) for extra luggage and we refused to pay any more. In fact, I tried to suggest that they should help us with the cost of the extra packaging - but no success.
