Shipments done by Travellers

We contacted Qantas Freight direct and got a quote, then made a trip down to the depot to speak to someone in person.
They recomended DGC for the Dangerous goods declaration.I faxed all the required info to Joseph and the documentation was completed ready to pick up when I arrived the next day. Very easy.
The bike was then weighed at Qantas coming in at a very healthy 325Kg.
I had to pay for actual weight only which worked out very well for me.
I was charged AUS$5.5 per KG
Other charges came to AUS$282.50
I'll edit this when I pick the bike up in London in 4 days time.

Every one was very helpful and friendly which was lucky as LAN are the only option to Auckland.

There are 3 flights a week and the time differences make it more interesting.

My bike was put on a pallet for USD30 and wrapped in clingfilm.

Start the process as early as posible in the morning as you can only pay by VISA before 5pm. I had to return the next day to pay.

I had decided to ship the bike by air, so I went to the cargo airport in Mumbai. I wasn't able to get into the complex, but outside, on the left is a big building with some majors companies (Alitalia, Lufthansa, etc). There, I was told that its impossible in India to deal directly with the company and that you have to take a shipping agent. I made contact and asked price to 3 of them (really easy to find, there are many of them around the cargo terminal). After a few days, I had the same price for all of them : around 1,000 EUR, so I decided to ship by sea.
This agent (Ibrar, from galaxy freight), has been recommended to me by a company of Mumbai which is a bit similar to Lally Singh (Delhi).
It took one week to do everything, and it was not very easy. I

I contacted Jenny Keel early on in the process and we coordinated everything ahead of time by email. She was very prompt in returning emails and answering questions and the whole process went exactly according to plan. Only about a week's notice was needed to schedule the shipment, but we were in contact a couple of months in advance.

Worldwide Animal Travel is located at the Vancouver Airport in the Cargo area. Their primary business is shipping animals from Vancouver, BC to locations all over the world, but they have also shipped several motorcycles over the years. Their primary shipper to Europe is KLM Cargo and they have a very good relationship with the folks at KLM.

Jenny Keel and the folks at Animal Travel were very helpful and getting the bike ready was a breeze. I just had to have less than 1/4 tank of gas remaining, the battery cables disconnected and taped, and the dirt and grime on the bike wiped down. They even helped me clean the bike! Most importantly, the bike needs to be delivered to the shipper at least 48 hours prior to departure for security reasons.

I left everything on the bike during shipment: my aluminum side panniers, rear top box, tank bag, tank panniers and two large dry bags strapped to the tops of the side panniers.

Retrieving the bike in Paris was straightforward. The bike was shipped from Canada on KLM Cargo, but Swissport was the agent in Paris. After picking up the paperwork from Swissport we then walked about a half mile to the French Customs office. The customs officials were very friendly and were mainly concerned if we were planning on selling the bike in France (if so, they wanted duty on the value of the bike), and whether we had the required "green card insurance" which is mandatory for all vehicles travelling in Europe. After explaining that we had no plans to sell the bike and showing our insurance card, the customs officials wished us luck and we were on our way back to Swissport to get the bike. We showed the Swissport officials the customs documents, paid a fee of 64 euros and were shown the Transalp parked out back in the warehouse. The bike arrived in perfect condition.

The whole customs process in Paris was very simple, it probably took no more than two hours from the time we arrived to the time we were reunited with the bike. Everyone was very helpful during the entire process, although a knowledge of French sped things up a bit.

You can take the metro and RER trains from central Paris to the cargo area near Charles de Gaulle Airport and a bus will take you right to the Swissport warehouse.

The final cost was $1350 Canadian Dollars in Vancouver and 64 euros in Paris. The bike shipped was one 1989 Honda Transalp. Overall, the whole process was very simple and stress-free. I would highly recommend this shipper!

When inquiring about shipping with airport cargo companies at Caracas International I was told I could not ship directly but had to use a shipping agent. I made inquiries at Lan Chile, American Airlines, DHL (which does not have service set up for air shipments as of April 2005). There are several airline cargo companies flying to Miami International but Vensacar seemed to be the most flexible with one cargo flight per day Tuesday through Saturday as of April 2005. There were two of us motorcyclists shipping bikes at the same time but there was no discounts given. Cost breakdown is at the very bottom.

Royca is one of many shipping agents available in the cargo district of Caracas International Airport. Off the main hwy exit take first immediate right. Royca is located in second main building at the north end towards the highway on the second floor. This company is Spanish speaking only. I couldn't find one that spoke english. If you are planning to visit 2-3 companies make sure to get all quotes in writing. They will probably provide the quote based on (Kg) weight of your bike. You should have a good idea what your total gross bike weight will be in Kg before you make your inquiries as they will give you the quote based on the weight you give them but weigh the bike on the scale in the preparation process. If you have the time it would be a good idea to visit 2-3 companies and play the quotes off each other to possibly get the best price. The prices may vary significantly. Most agents, whether or not have ever shipped motorcycles will probably tell you they have experience shipping motorcycles as they want the business. The president of this agency, Richard (Ricardo) appeared to have tried to pull a bait and switch tactic on us. After receiving the written quote, we brought our bikes in to start the preparation. Once the bikes were already committed in the process and we were ready to pay, he then told us there was a problem and Vensacar would charge Royca based on volume, not Kg weight. They argued that parts of my bike were sticking out a little beyond the pallet. I had already removed the bags and windshield and made sure nothing protruded beyond the pallet during the inspection process prior to this arguement. The volume weight - how it was measured -raised the price beyond the quote another $160 USD and we had to argue for almost 1.5 hours (in Spanish) in his office before convening for lunch. After we returned from lunch and we were preparing to war again and he changed his mind and decided to honor the written quote. I'm not certain why a change of heart though he did appologize. I believe he decided to give in only because we had a strong arguement with his written quote and were clearly not going to give in. Also, it was never determined if Vensacar required volume weight shipments. Be prepared to argue over Kg verses Volume weight whichever agent is used. If the bike is large and sticks out over the standard wood pallet they will measure by volume weight and may intentionally create a case against you that you may not win. Beyond the financial issues, Royca did a good job in preparing the bike for shipment. They use steel banding to secure the bike to a standard wooden pallet. Make sure they put a cross piece of wood on the pallet under the kick stand as the banding will break the standard boards unless the kick stand is directly over the cross support boards. This detail will matter when they measure the bike, again, nothing should stick out over the edge of the pallet. The bike was shrink wrapped after both the drug and customs inspections. We tried unsuccessfully to visually verify the bikes were actually loaded on the plane.
*General shipping notes for Caracas*
Agents appear not to accept credit card payments, so be prepared to pay full amount in cash (Bolivars). Depending upon your bank limits this may take 2-3 days worth of withdrawals. The agent will need to call the airline companies and reserve space and date of flight before they can guarantee the flight date to you. There are two separate inspections in the process, one is by the military for illicit drugs and the other is a standard customs inspection for hazardous goods. Be prepared to pay/argue a bribe to the military to pass inspection. In our case, Royca paid the bribe for us. Prepare to remove all contents of your bags for inspections. You will need to make sure there is very little gasoline in the tank and be expected to disconnect the battery and remove air from the tires. Royca will shrink wrap the bike after all the inspections are completed. If you have padlocks on any external bag it may be wise to unlock them just prior to the shrink wrap. Upon entry into the USA Homeland Security will inspect the bike before you see it through customs and may cut off any padlocks for the inspection. In my case, every lock was cut off and I had to buy new padlocks in Miami. The Caracas Airport is north and east of Caracas on the coast about 25 Ks away. There are a few nice and reasonable hotels in Macuto, about 10 miles east of the airport towards Caribe if you may have an extended wait for a cargo plane reservation.

Royca Air Freight Cost breakdown in $USD for BMW F650GS actual weight 286 kg -quote based on 300 Kg.
360.00 Flete
27.00 Imp/Flete 7.5%
35.00 Corte AWB
90.00 Combustible
45.00 Seguridad
100.00 Manejo
80.00 DRG
52.50 IVA 15%
150.00 Customs fee
25.50 Embalaje
965.00 Total fees paid (shipping only)