Air Canada jams stick in triathlon’s spokes
Shipping embargo on bicycles complicates competitors’ travels
Thousands of athletes from around the world will arrive in Edmonton in August as the city hosts the 2014 TransCanada Corp. World Triathlon Final, but an Air Canada restriction on shipping bicycles means some competitors might land without their bikes.
The dates of the triathlon overlap the annual Tour of Alberta cycling race, which takes place at the beginning of September. Because of capacity constraints during peak season, Air Canada has halted the transport of bicycles to and from Edmonton and Calgary between Aug. 22 and Sept. 5.
This is causing headaches for some international triathlon competitors, who say Air Canada simply wasn’t prepared to deal with two major cycling events at the same time.
One of the main concerns are flights from the United Kingdom, said Sheila O’Kelly, president of the 2014 TransCanada Corp. World Triathlon Grand Final. The organization has been working with Air Canada over the past few days to resolve the issue, she said.
O’Kelly has attended 15 world championship triathlon events, and said she has never heard of an airline restricting the transport of bikes because of capacity constraints.
“This is not good for our event,” she said. “It did take us by surprise that this would happen-on-a-London-Edmonton flight because it’s a pretty popular route and it’s a direct route from Britain.”
In a notice on their website, Air Canada said it will honour all bicycle bookings for tickets purchased before June 23, 2014. Those who have purchased tickets after that date who have not registered their bike will receive a full ticket refund. A website for a bicycle shipping company, Race Day Transport, is listed as an alternative solution.
O’Kelly said the date of Britain’s qualifying event for the World Triathlon Grand Final means some competitors might not have been able to book their tickets to Edmonton until after June 23.
Air Canada spokeswoman Angela Mah said in an email the airline’s entire fleet is fully deployed for customers and their checked baggage during the summer peak, and confirmed it has received more bike bookings than usual for the period between Aug. 22 and Sept. 5.
“We have also advised the local organizers that we remain committed to assisting them look at alternate transportation methods for sporting equipment, such as ground transportation from other hubs such as Vancouver,” Mah said.
Competitor Paul Fitzpatrick will be flying from London for the competition. Competitors could rent racing bikes in Edmonton, he said, but it’s not a popular option.
“It’s a high-calibre event and people would bring their own race bikes,” he said.
Shipping a racing bike from the U.K. through an alternative transportation method would cost about $450, he added. And there’s no guarantee it will arrive on time or in good shape.
Fitzpatrick heard through social media the embargo and capacity concerns were because the triathlon coincided with the Tour of Alberta, which happens Sept. 2-7.
Tour of Alberta executive director Duane Vienneau said he’s never heard of competitors having a hard time shipping bikes, and that Tour competitors have so far not mentioned any problems. If competitors were having problems, he would know, he said.
From Olympic medallists to weekend warriors, 4,000 athletes are expected to attend the World Triathlon Final, which runs from Aug. 26 to Sept. 1.
O’Kelly said a number of emails have been exchanged with Air Canada, and that organizers are working to make sure no athletes’ bikes end up stranded in Britain or elsewhere.
“We’re going to do everything to make sure athletes get their bikes over here,” she said. “We’re just really trying to figure this out and make sure we provide the best experience for the athletes.”