Bikes on planes

[Thoglette]

Don't bother in the States though.

Where your security screening is provided by the lowest bidder. Just be glad you're not a cellist.

[kb]

Don't bother in the States though.

Where your security screening is provided by the lowest bidder. Just be glad you're not a cellist.

I remember really enjoying reading "Travels with my 'Cello" by Julian Lloyd-Webber. (Apologies if the the title is wrong - I read it early 90s). He just booked 2 seats when flying and kept the thing with him

[kb]

Then again, he also never washed his left hand, so maybe not the best model...

[LG]

Another option if heading to London and one we've elected to try - Royal Brunei have a 30kg baggage allowance plus waive 12kg of the weight of your bike if taking one, so in effect your allowance ends up being 42kg, on top of being the cheapest return fare. Only downsides appear to be the requirement to have a stop in Brunei (3 hrs on way there, 2 hrs on return) and no service of alcohol on the plane. They indicate acceptance of bikes packed in a soft bag or box, we're going to try the Ground Effects body bags with extra padding.

[Warin]

Royal Brunei have a 30kg baggage allowance plus waive 12kg of the weight of your bike if taking one, so in effect your allowance ends up being 42kg, on top of being the cheapest

'Only' fly in/out of Melbourne ... no other Ozie airports.

[LG]

Royal Brunei have a 30kg baggage allowance plus waive 12kg of the weight of your bike if taking one, so in effect your allowance ends up being 42kg, on top of being the cheapest

'Only' fly in/out of Melbourne ... no other Ozie airports.

Which suits us , you could always at first fly the wrong direction to Melbourne and then leave Oz . We leave in March and will report back on how things go.

[dalai47]

Thanks for the tip about Royal Brunei. Where did you find out about the bike policy? I couldn't find anything about it on their website.

[dalai47]

Please ignore my question about the bike policy. Looked again and found it immediately... Great deal!

[LG]

No worries, their information in relation to packaging bikes is scant on their website, so have confirmed details with them via email.

[marshmallow]

We fly every year to Europe with Singapore Airlines and take our touring bikes in cardboard boxes - they have a 30kg luggage limit and we never exceed it. I wouldn't say the boxes arrive unscathed, but I consider the baggage handlers more at fault than the airline. Each year we pick up a scratch, but never anything serious.
This year we bought boxes from Air Corsica which were much longer and allowed us to fit the bikes in quite easily. My suggestion is to buy 2 x 100 metre rolls of packing tape and 'mummify' the boxes. Worked well last time we tried it.

[rowdyflat]

Recently went with Qatar Air to Spain Morocco no problems .
They allow total luggage of 30 kg including bike no charge.
Used a Ground Effect Tardis softbag with extra cardboard took off pedals, handlebar ,seat and seatpost out,derailleur off,and spacers on axles.No problems easy to carry over shoulder and very compact which impresses taxi drivers .
Must admit I dont understand the huge ,heavy expensive, hard cases. I saw one that was 12 kg empty !!!!!
Have been on Cathay Pacific in past they were no problem in fact coming back from Rome they didnt even weigh the bike.

[triguy]

Hi all,

I'm travelling to NZ in March and was wondering if anyone has had any difficulty transporting their bike with Qantas using a Scicon Aerocomfort? I see the dimensions fall outside of Qantas' bike policy so was wondering how closely the policy is followed or not?
Thanks
TG

[Fresh]

Posting here rather than creating a new thread. I'm doing the Cairns Half-Ironman and need to transport my bike up there via Virgin Airways. I have a Spartan bike bag and would prefer to use it rather than the boxes supplied by the airline...will there be any issues with using this bag with Virgin?

Thanks

[RonK]

No, I have travelled many times on Virgin flights with my bike in a similar bag.

[Fresh]

Thanks mate!

[Germann]

I have had many good experiences with Emirates.
Some airlines have a weight limit (30 kg) which means you can take a bike and another bag as check-in luggage (Emirates for example).
Others have an item (and or weight) limit, which means every item counts.

I have read somewhere that adding all your stuff in the bike bag is not great for the handlers as it makes the items excessively bulky and hard to handle and it might be easier for them to accidentally break something.

[g-boaf]

I also had good experience with Emirates last year, they actually totally ignored the weight of my bike bag, numerous times. My bike bag and luggage together were about 37kg, they just didn't care at all.

I had a Scicon, but going again this year I think I'll go for a bike bag with fixed rear wheels and turning front ones for ease of moving it around the airport(s) and train stations. Also look for a bike bag has reasonable clearance from the ground as well, this will make it easier to move it over uneven surfaces (tactile paving especially). The soft bike bags will sometimes bottom out on the tactile paving.

[gsxrboy]

QatarAir (Qantas codesphare at the time) in 2016, 30kgs big cardboard box no problems, they match Emirates for capability.

Two things..

a) I bought a Binkd Jetpack for MTB duties, problem is it weighed 10.3kg empty, far above the 9kg specced :-/ So it's going back. Does anyone have an actual weighed weight for an Evoc 280 & 280pro? thanks!

b) Bikes on a plane? better than snakes on a plane! ... ooooohhhh I'm here every night too... *sees door to the left, sees himself out*

[scirocco]

I also had good experience with Emirates last year, they actually totally ignored the weight of my bike bag, numerous times. My bike bag and luggage together were about 37kg, they just didn't care at all.

Are you Silver status or something? I have had the opposite experience with Emirates, one time bike box plus bag was 30.4 kg and the check-in lady said "if you had been 30.6 I would have rounded it up and charged you". Maybe she was kidding. And another time when I was Silver for a while I turned up with 33 kg for a 40kg allowance, they said "you're over" and I had to point out that I was Silver.

Maybe it all depends on the airport and how full the flight is.

[g-boaf]

I also had good experience with Emirates last year, they actually totally ignored the weight of my bike bag, numerous times. My bike bag and luggage together were about 37kg, they just didn't care at all.

Are you Silver status or something? I have had the opposite experience with Emirates, one time bike box plus bag was 30.4 kg and the check-in lady said "if you had been 30.6 I would have rounded it up and charged you". Maybe she was kidding. And another time when I was Silver for a while I turned up with 33 kg for a 40kg allowance, they said "you're over" and I had to point out that I was Silver.

Maybe it all depends on the airport and how full the flight is.

No, first time I've ever flown with them. Fairly full flights too, with the exception of Dubai-Munich. I turned up early and was just generally polite as I am with staff and it was no problem. They were lovely, the staff in Sydney were really friendly.

[Cheesewheel]

I try to stick to airasia if I am taking a bicycle. I have never had issue with them (maybe on 8 occassions in the past 6 years). I always prepay for sports allowance, and have weighed in at a max of about 35kg (on 40kg sports allowance). Only problem is that if you cannot purchase insurance on the luggage for some leg of the journey, it indicates the airport does not have proceedure rolled out for oversize luggage. One time I flew into chennai (south india) and was inquiring where you go to pick up oversize luggage. The staff pointed to the regular luggage conveyor belt, and about 5 mins later my bike box came slamming down the 40 degree ramp onto the luggage carousel.
Just recently in kolkata, flying back to oz, the staff member looked after it nicely and put fragile stickers all over it. When in the plane, I saw my bike being the final piece of luggage loaded (even though about half of the passengers had checked in before me)

If you are amongst those windy queues to the check in counter or otherwise negotiating the somewhat narrow cordons (at least by bicycle box standards), I find it easier to put the box long ways on the airport trolley (as opposed to length ways). Put the heavy end (if you have one) on the trolley (along with all your other bags) and drag the nose on the ground. Usually people behind you will help push the trolley while the queue makes it through the check point. If not, you can usually manage to keep the back end of the box on the trolley. Its the only way to negotiate the corners in the cordon queues.

I have looked at getting bicycle bags but I can't seem to justify the price (considering the bike boxes I get for free). At the moment I am using a 26" fat bike box (its a little bigger than your regular ones). It has survived 2 return flights to india over 3 years. If I can't find a similarly sized box, it may even do for a 3rd later this year.

Anything that is dismantled in the box (eg, front wheel) I zip tie to the frame. I pack the frame upside down on the seat post with the chain ring at the top. I fasten a compression sack full of soft stuff (clothes, sleeping bag etc) on the derailleur side of the back wheel and another on the other side of the bike at the front, over the dismantled front wheel (again, zip tie both). This seems to keep the frame snug and protected.