Fling on a budget airline with a bike? Advice pls.

philip99a

This may have been covered exhausitively on the Forum already but a search hasn't revealed it.

What is people's advice on how best to fly on a budget airline with a bike? Wheel it on, pack it in cardboard? A soft bike bag or a rigid case aren't really options as we plan to fly to one airport, cycle, then return from another, or possibly by train

Specifically we may fly to Inverness from Birmingham in spring 2010, probably by BMIbaby.

I do have some relevant experience, 8 years ago with EasyJet who were an utter nightmare when six of us flew from Stanstead to Bilbao and back. They put six bikes on the plane at Stanstead and took five off at Bilbao. Pretty clever huh? Then on the return they serious smashed up two of the bikes including carbon fibre bar ends etc. We reckoned they must either have thrown those bikes from some serious height (possible) or driven some kind of vehicle over them and kept quiet! Yes, we claimed successfully on our insurance, but it was a real hassle. Plus damage like that on the way out rather than the way back could have wrecked our trip. Things may have changed in 8 years. Got better, or maybe got worse!

btw EasyJet's advice at the time was wheel the bikes onto the plane, no packing required. Just turn the handlebars thru 90 degrees and deflate the tyres. We'll look after them from there; Ha Bl**dy Ha!

So advice please. I'm sure different airlines have different policies, but what is the safest, best, most hasslefree plan? Or is there somewhere up to date on the web that tells me all this? Many thx in advance.

philip99a

Re my title for this topic, if any racy posters want to tell all about their fling (or flings) on budget airlines, I'm sure we'd hear you out.
But Yes you've maybe guessed I was meaning to ask about flying on budget airlines with a bike. Sorry if that disappoints

RimTape

Lets hope the baggage handlers dont fling your bike around too much!

philip99a

Hiya Rimtape. A reply from NZ!

This viral video was around this summer. I know it's about a geetar not a bike, but the story's the same.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOq ... r_embedded

5 and a half million hits!! That's a lot of negative exposure for the offending airline. It'd cost them a heckuvva lot to counter that.

RimTape

Hiya Rimtape. A reply from NZ!

Well I'm at work having a quick browse..

Time you were in bed!

Cheers
Velox

hisoka

LOTS AND LOTS of padding and lots of time to get it checked in before your flight. My advice after flying with easyjet to Spain and back.

amaferanga

If I had the choice between flying Birmingham - Inverness or taking a train I'd take the train every time. If you still have a couple of months or more before you go then you can get very cheap rail fares. For example, I got a train from Sheffield to Penzance then from Thurso to Sheffield for a total cost of less than £50. I looked at flying with Easyjet to Marakech a couple of years back and I'm sure they had pretty expensive charges for taking a bike (more than the cost of the flights IIRC).

I don't think there's such a thing as hassle free flying with a bike these days unfortunately. I've flown with a bike quite a bit in the past (to Africa) with BA, BMI, KLM, Gulf Air and Thomsonfly and never had any problems, but these days it seems to be getting stupidly expensive and much stricter when it comes to packing a bike.

pneumatic

I've done this several times with various airlines (Ryanair, Easyjet, BMI):

1. seriously try to find an alternative, for the sake of your nerves
2. if there is no alternative, use a good quality padded bike bag
3. dismantle the bike and use pipe lagging to protect what you can
4. put the bike in saddle and bars DOWN (then protect the bar ends and hoods as above)
5. unscrew the rear mech from the frame and bungee it into the space between the drop outs
6. put a spacer into the forks and rear drop outs (I use spare plastic legs from IKEA kitchens, because they are adjustable
7. practice taking off your pedals several days before you leave (they get stiff) and grease them properly
8. stick some surgical gloves and hand wipes into the bag (you'll need them!)

and lastly

Be VERY VERY nice to the baggage handlers that take your bike into outsize luggage. Help them to lift the bike onto their trolley, look concerned about its fragility and thank them for looking after it. This worked very well for us with the guy a Copenhagen a couple of weeks ago - he almost promised to guard them with his life.

At the other end, you have a left luggage problem: i.e. the bag. You might be able to negotiate to leave it with your first and last night's stay near the airport. If you are doing a point to point tour, you can post it to yourself at your destination and the Post Office will look after it until you pick it up.

bahzob

I know its contrary to the idea of budget travel but if planning to travel a lot I'd recommend a Scicon Bike Box. I've used mine for lots of trips and it pretty much guarantees your bike wont get damaged in transit.

Brains

Let the train take the strain. A lot less grief.

mercsport

I'll have to pipe in here and declare that I've just returned from a foray down to SW France after flying to Bordeaux courtesy of BMIbaby, with my light aluminium ex-racer converted to tourer ( I was the bag carrier ) and my partner's multi grandsworth titanium jobby.

I can't count the times I've put a bike on an aeroplane, but there's usually some irritant that makes you wonder if its worth the bother. It used to be fairly simple and it was a case of just turning up and wheeling your steed over to the awkward baggage despatch belt, and then meeting some guy at the other end wheeling it out for you you to hop on and away. Not any more, of course, but despite all the horror stories I've never had a stuffed bike.

Anyway, before boring you all to bits, on this last trip we simply bought a couple of CTC plastic bags at a fiver each ( we were flying back from a different airport and had to carry them with us on the tour ), cut off the excess plastic, and, not bothering to pad anything or take off the rear mech' etc., popped'em in the bags. The irritant here was the fact we had to deflate the tyres, which meant that we were never able to restore the original pressures throughout the trip, and swivel the handlebars, and that was that. Other than that the bikes were in perfect order at Bordeaux after a perfect flight in a clear , sight seeing sky.

I've borrowed canvas bike bags on a couple of trips and found them to be a pain, a nuisance and expensive finding a left-luggage place at the other end. The CTC bags I managed to be able to roll up to about the size of a roll of kitchen foil, and didn't feel too resentful about having to lug them about.

jc4lab

Theres a sports equipment inc bike option with all airlines nowadays..which you pay extra for.Try booking a flight with the bike option and see waht they ask for then dont go ahead with the booking.till you are ready It usually tells you to box it or use a purpose made bike bagbag to get it on no hassle....Its the clever improvised options which are hit and miss.( lanudry bag for my folder was allowed after a bit of crawling!).Bet the rules change by Xmas yet again..so check nearer the time..

andymiller

philip99a wrote:

A soft bike bag or a rigid case aren't really options as we plan to fly to one airport, cycle, then return from another, or possibly by train

You could get a Ground Effect Tardis which you can fold up and pop in the post (either to a hotel or poste restante to a post office.

Specifically we may fly to Inverness from Birmingham in spring 2010, probably by BMIbaby.

Can I add my voice to those suggesting the train - or more specifically the sleeper from London? (I wouldn't particularly recommend the Virgin Cross Country service as it always seems to get delayed and has very limited bike storage facilities) Yes I know you've still got to get to Euston, but it could end up being a lot less hassle than flying. The Bargain Berths are indeed a brilliant bargain - although the cheapest tickets go very fast.

http://www.scotrail.co.uk/caledoniansleeper/index.html

Special K

news today about the baggage handlers for Ryanair at Stansted makes me even less inclined to travel with them and certainly not with the bike.

APIII

I've taken my bike on BA, Ryanair and Easyjet, and always found it to be relatively painless. I use a padded bike bag though, so wouldn't really consider flying without one.

devoninbred

Out of interest has anyone had any experience of using SAS, will be flying from Gatwick to either Bergen or Oslo late next year for a tour up the NSCR.

Chokingfish

Flying with your beloved bike is stressful so avoid it!!!

I first flew my brand new bike out to Peru, wrapped in some card board and luckily it was fine - it got completely scratched by the rear cassette but that was entirely my own doing.

I then flew with a budget airline last summer to Bilbao. I searched the small print on EasyJets website for how they like them packed and they actually provided a photo - bikes were to be wrapped in a clear plastic bag with pedals removed, tyres flat and the handle bars flush.

I printed a copy of the photo so I was ready for any questions at the check-in desk. Unfortunatly, a day or so before flying I lost the image, went back on the site to print it off but it had been removed. Some alarm bells then started to ring but it was too late by then to do anything.

We wrapped our bikes in bubble wrap and pipe insulation before putting them in the clear bags and arrived very early to the airport.

I was mostly shocked by the comments at the outsized baggage desk and quite frankly wanted to hit the over weight, non cycling man on the head! He basically was saying the bikes will be lucky to make it on the plane (in plastic bag) and who knows what they would look like on the other end.

Thankfully they arrived in one piece and the over sized plastic bags are quite useful when your on a camping tour!

jay_clock

I have flown perhaps 15 round trips with a bike on Ryanair, Easyjet and Flybe. Very few problems. My only one was a slightly bent outer chainring (soft alloy) that I bent back with pliers

I have not had a chance to re-read properly but here are my notes from last time I was asked.....

---

First tip TURN UP EARLY if only to stop any arguments.

To pack the bike I use the http://www.bikeadventures.co.uk/shop.html bag - have just binned one after about 5 uses. They weigh 550g and will fit in a pannier or on the rack. Remove pedals, swivel handlebars and drop saddle right down. I take tons of cables ties (fix wheel to bike if needed [Flybe], fix pedals to rack etc, and I also unscrew the rear mech (leave all cables on) and cable tie it to the frame to prevent the hanger being bent. On Flybe I use a spacer for the front forks. To tape up the bag I use heavy duty clear tape from B&Q - has a checkered pattern, and tears easily, does not unstick in use, but can be peeled off afterwards.

As a precaution for anyone saying “that is not a bike bag” I print a screen shot of the Bike Adventures website showing the bag on sale and in use. I also print the airline’s own terms and conditions just in case.

Easyjet and Ryanair take payment in advance which has the benefit of knowing you have a booking. I have used both several times with a bike.

I have used Flybe on several return trips and they have been great. I live 4 miles from Southampton so there is a big attraction to use them. The ONLY issue I have is that officially it is a standby only arrangement, which could really screw up your hols. However it has always worked fine

Because they use smallish planes you have to remove the front wheel as well as the usual pedal/handlebar stuff. If you do not have front pannier frames, you can just turn the handlebars and forks sideways, rather than undo the bolts to twist it. I strap the wheel to the RIGHT hand side of the bike as on the first occasion I ended up with a slightly bent outer chain ring (Stronglight softish alloy) which I bent back with pliers. TOP TIP, as Flybe are at smaller airports they may well not have an excess baggage Xray large enough for bikes, so do not seal the bag till they tell you they are happy, as they may do a manual explosives swab.

I have only been asked to pay once with FlyBe. On other occasions they either didn't ask me, or because I was carrying the panniers as carry on bags, they didn't think it was fair. However with new rules on carry on bags (max 1 and rigidly enforced), I will be checking in the panniers, but plan to put these inside a £shop duffel bag I got to avoid being charged on a per-piece basis!

They will only not carry your bike on the same flight as you if it is very full and very laden. Now that people have to pay for bags this is less likely, as more will reduce luggage and carry it on. But there is the risk in which case they will send it on the next flight

However I have had telephone contact with Flybe (trying calling Ryanair!) and they are friendly and helpful - I am confident that if the bike misses the plane they would do their best to help.