Reassurance needed: Bikes on BA flights

philkeeble

I phoned BA customer services and got assurance that the 'CTC Plastic Bag' was acceptable for our forthcoming flights to Zurich (It was, so long as bars were turned, pedals were removed and it was less than 190cm long ... as per their website conditions for transporting bikes). Based on that, we bought tickets and booked accommodation for our forthcoming Rhine cycleway tour in June.
Having read some advice on another forum to get written confirmation in case of resistance from check-in staff, I emailed BA. They just quoted 'recognised cycle bag' but added a further condition that it had to be no bigger than 190x75x65 cm. I replied that my bike stands 105cm at the stem, my wife's 85cm, and that I hadn't owned a bike less than 75cm high since I was 8 years old. I have also checked the pukka bike boxes on Wiggle and can't find one that is less than 75cm high!
I think I have been quoted total nonsense, but I would dearly like to hear of (hopefully positive) experiences of others who have taken their bikes on BA flights. Right now I wish I'd booked SAS via Copenhagen!

apreading

See this thread: viewtopic.php?f=40013&t=13063598&p=19859784&hilit=britishairways#p19859784

In terms of size, the advantage of bags/cases over your CTC bag is that you take the wheels off and seatpost out, thus making it much smaller. Bike box alan doesnt fit BA's dimensions but lots of others do - mine is 105cm X 65cm X 18cm.

On my trip to Italy, lots of people had hard cases, I had a soft Aerus Biospeed and one person had a CTC bag. The person with the CTC bag had their rear derailleur fail on the first day - the hanger snapped. This may or may not have been due to the flight, but they are quite delicate so even if the airline takes care its easy to cause some harm here.

AK_jnr

Planning a tour abroad and then taking your bikes in a plastic bag. You are mad.

Anonymous

Take a spare hanger.

Its a handy thing to have at home when you are cycling less and maybe even have a spare bike to use.
An absolute necessity on a cycling holiday IMO.
Especially if you give it to the baggage handlers in a sandwich bag.

apreading

or undo the rear mech and ziptie it to the chainstay in a jiffy bag.

Spare hanger makes sense to me though - it can be hard to find one quickly, and doesnt cost much so always worth a spare.

Anonymous

The hanger issue on our last trip abroad was nothing to do with the flight.

apreading

Carbonator wrote:

The hanger issue on our last trip abroad was nothing to do with the flight.

hence why its worth having a spare on tour (or even at home) anyway.

fenix

Is there a CTC forum you could ask on. I don't know anyone who has flown with a bike in an unpadded plastic bag. I get the theory that people can see its a bike and look after it - but once its on a conveyor belt, or baggage truck - whats to stop it falling off - and being slippy plastic too....

Cant you use a standard bike bag and keep it in left luggage ? Bit pricier but peace of mind.

I've flown to races all over the world and always used a proper bike bag. The soft ones are fine if you pad the bike to the nth degree.

philkeeble

Guys, you aren't making me feel any happier! I can't use a 'proper' bike box/bag because we are cycle touring : we start in Switzerland and finish 1400km away in Amsterdam (ferry tickets home a month later are already bought and paid for). Additionally, the bikes are full-on Hewitt Cheviot SE tourers with guards and racks. They won't fit a bike box. They are also steel framed and don't have replaceable gear hangers.
If BA only accept bicycles in boxes less than 75cm high (which don't exist) then they are not bicycles, they are luggage. The BA website states quite clearly the requirements for accepting bicycles as ..

We will accept non-motorised bicycles up to 190cm (75in) in length, provided they are packed in a recognised bicycle bag.

Please ensure that you:
•pack the bike in a protective case or bag
•remove the pedals or fix them inwards
•fix the handlebars sideways
•deflate the tyres to reduce the risk of damage


n.b. no mention of any other dimensional restriction. If they have to be packed within a 'proper' bike box then why the need to tell you to turn the bars and remove the pedals as the amount of dismantling to get it into the box is way more.

armovanbuuren

I've flew lots of times with BA using a CTC bag and never had even had any problem with BA accepting my bag or measuring size. They've only measured weight to ensure in was under 23kg I think! Tip - take off the rear dérailleur and wrap it in an old towel to the chain stay and tape it on there to hold it in place. Lower the saddle down to the tube and rotate the handlebars so the front wheel is flat and handlebars are also flat. Then get some fragile tape (from ebay) and then wrap it all around the bike esp where the handlebars are and other contact points on the bike the bag. Last ensure the bag is fully sealed and there no lose plastic i.e the bag being open that could get trapped in the conveyer belts.

PS An easyjet queue attendant decided when we were flying to Inverness to start a charity JOGLE that we couldn't fly with CTC bags but a quick talk to a manager and they said it was no problem. So I'd just print some info out about the ctc bag from their website being a recognised flying bag.

andy81

My girlfriend and I flew with BA from Heathrow to Geneva last summer with 2 bikes, both in Bike Box Alans. No problem with the size, it wasn't even measured. Not sure if they even weighed it (though it was under 23kg); we just had to use the oversize baggage bag drop area. Bikes arrived fine at the other end and no complaints or additional charges from BA.

homers_double

Can you not get cardboard bike boxes from your LBS and pack them with bubble wrap, pipe lagging and other "disposables"?

Unpack at the other end and bin the packaging?

Monty Dog

The size dimension probably relates to fitting the bike in an X-Ray machine. Most airlines have a 32kg weight limit on single items. Took my 5" tyred fatbike to the arctic in a case that made Bikeboxalan look like tupperware!

de_sisti

I've flown with a bike bag on BA on several occasions and they have never questioned the size,
or weighed it. The bag was one these:

philkeeble

Just to close this topic off, and give hope to others : I paid a visit to BA customer service at Aberdeen airport before the day of departure and asked the question face-to-face to the folk doing the check-in. They assured me that it was no problem; just rock up with the bikes wrapped and if it fits the scales they weigh it but if it doesn't (it didn't) I tell them the weight. Then I take it to 'Oversize Baggage' and hand it over (with some trepidation). Come the day, all went swimmingly. Both wrapped bikes fitted an 8-seater taxi to the airport; we got there so early they even put us on an earlier flight to London. The bikes and us were reunited at Zurich totally unharmed and I took 1.1/2 hours unwrapping and setting them up with a cleaning lady waiting on us to clear away the bag/tape/pipe-lagging. We took the train to the centre then 3 trains to Oberalppass, cycled the Rhine to Ijmuiden, ferry to Newcastle and train to Aberdeen all without a hitch. Then the evening connection to Inverurie was cancelled due to a Scotrail strike. Welcome home!