Flying With Bike From Gatwick

bradsbeard

Flying to Majorca with Norwegian Airlines from Gatwick and have been told the following:

We recommend for all bikes to be packed in protective packaging suitable for the transport of bicycles. Flights departing from London-Gatwick (LGW) and Bangkok (BKK) require that all bicycles are packed in a hard case/box, a bag is not acceptable. Bicycles that are not packaged in a hard case will be rejected. Norwegian does not have hard cases/boxes available for purchase at the airport.

Anyone flown from Gatwick this year with their bike in a soft case? Haven't heard this from any other airline.

bradsbeard

Flying to Majorca with Norwegian Airlines from Gatwick and have been told the following:

We recommend for all bikes to be packed in protective packaging suitable for the transport of bicycles. Flights departing from London-Gatwick (LGW) and Bangkok (BKK) require that all bicycles are packed in a hard case/box, a bag is not acceptable. Bicycles that are not packaged in a hard case will be rejected. Norwegian does not have hard cases/boxes available for purchase at the airport.

Anyone flown from Gatwick this year with their bike in a soft case? Haven't heard this from any other airline.

dhope

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19683545#p19683545]bradsbeard[/url] wrote:

Flying to Majorca with Norwegian Airlines from Gatwick and have been told the following:

We recommend for all bikes to be packed in protective packaging suitable for the transport of bicycles. Flights departing from London-Gatwick (LGW) and Bangkok (BKK) require that all bicycles are packed in a hard case/box, a bag is not acceptable. Bicycles that are not packaged in a hard case will be rejected. Norwegian does not have hard cases/boxes available for purchase at the airport.

Anyone flown from Gatwick this year with their bike in a soft case? Haven't heard this from any other airline.

I wouldn't send a bike in a soft case, seems a recipe for ending up with a broken bike...

tgotb

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19683545#p19683545]bradsbeard[/url] wrote:

Anyone flown from Gatwick this year with their bike in a soft case? Haven't heard this from any other airline.

Yep, flew Easyjet from Gatwick (North Terminal) to Malaga and back at Easter, with one bike in a hard case and another in a soft case. No issue with either.

Due to a miscalculation on my part, the hard case actually weighed in at 34kg. The guy at excess baggage looked at the weight, and then wrote 32kg on the ticket...

il_principe

I've flown from Gatwick to Malaga with Norwegian. Took a hard case. Flew back from Geneva to City via Swiss on Monday as well. Hard case again. I'd caution against using a soft case, my brother's bike was badly damaged flying out from Gatwick to Cyprus a few years ago...

meanredspider

I've used my Evoc bike bag lots of times on lots of airlines - absolutely no issue (including Gatwick a few weeks ago on EasyJet). It's not like you're shipping glass or crockery - bikes are pretty tough. I use a frame to brace the drop-outs but that's it. Frankly if they're going to make a mess of your bike, they're going to make a mess of your bike box. I've often watched my bike being loaded onto various planes and they always handle it carefully and considerately.

VTech

I have only flown with a hard case, they are usually packed with the oversized luggage and I wouldn't trust my bike in a soft bag tbh.
I am unaware of any airline offering free hard cases ?

warreng

I've just flown Gatwick-Nice on Easyjet with my Cervelo S3 in a soft case and had no issues at all - they were very helpful. I was concerned about using a soft case so I bought 2 pieces of plywood to make the case more rigi d and spent a few quid on bubble wrap

PS I find that you can completely bypass check-in and security queues if your 14 year old daughter faints.

elbowloh

Yeah flown a couple of times from Gatwick with a DHB bike bag no problem.

Been told that baggage handlers prefer bags to hard boxes as they're easier to grab/hold and manoeuvre. The hard cases are more like to get chucked about....

tgotb

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19683697#p19683697]WarrenG[/url] wrote:

PS I find that you can completely bypass check-in and security queues if your 14 year old daughter faints.

Did she see Robert Pattinson in the security queue?

warreng

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19683703#p19683703]TGOTB[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19683697#p19683697]WarrenG[/url] wrote:

PS I find that you can completely bypass check-in and security queues if your 14 year old daughter faints.

Did she see Robert Pattinson in the security queue?

I've just had to Google that. The minds of 14 year old girls were a mystery to me when I was a teenager, even more so now I've got one sponging off me

I initially had a go at her for falling on the bike bag. It wasn't until she hadn't moved for about 10 seconds I realised something was up

sheffsimon

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19683505#p19683505]bradsbeard[/url] wrote:

Flying to Majorca with Norwegian Airlines from Gatwick and have been told the following:

We recommend for all bikes to be packed in protective packaging suitable for the transport of bicycles. Flights departing from London-Gatwick (LGW) and Bangkok (BKK) require that all bicycles are packed in a hard case/box, a bag is not acceptable. Bicycles that are not packaged in a hard case will be rejected. Norwegian does not have hard cases/boxes available for purchase at the airport.

Anyone flown from Gatwick this year with their bike in a soft case? Haven't heard this from any other airline.

Bike box Alan will deliver a hard case to your home. I used one earlier this year, great piece of kit and simple to get your bike packed.

FatTed

I have flown from LGW with a bike bag, no problem, but it was Easy Jet.