Airlines & Bicycles

In the late 90s, I took my bike with me when I moved to Europe. I took it with me to the plane as I was told by my company that it was much cheaper to bring the bike as luggage than to ship it with the moving company. I was able to get a box for the bike from the airline at the airport. I made a few mistakes here. To fit the bike properly in the box, you really need to be able to remove the pedals and also have tools to turn the handlebars so that they are in line with the bike. I didn't bring any tools with me, so I was a bit stressed at the airport packing up my bike and basically my box was bulging where the pedals were. My bike did make it there with a few scratches, but all in all, it was ok. This was pre-9/11 and before the days of reduced luggage allowances.

One of my colleagues had his bike boxed at a bike shop and they did a much better job that I ever could have. I'd recommend that you contact a local bike shop and also check with your airline.

oh and one more thing ... I had to make arrangements to have taxi that was big enough to accommodate the bike. If I were going on a short trip, I think I'd really look hard to rent a bike in Europe.

Or you can look at the world of folding bikes if bike travel is something that you might consider repeating:

http://www.gaerlan.com/

http://www.bikefriday.com/node/1666

We took our tandem to Europe in July. Check with your airline to see what it requires. We removed the pedals, turned the handlebars sideways, deflated the tires and wrapped it in two big plastic bags we purchased at the airline check-in counter. They supplied the tape. Since we were travelling by bike, we had very little luggage, so the bike fit well within our weight limit and there was no charge for it. Having rented bikes in the past which were horrible, we felt it was worth the risk to take our own. We had a fabulous trip.

Or get a unicycle and save space! Just kidding!

The information so far is absolutely correct. Bicycles must have pedals removed, tyres deflated and handlebars turned parallel to the line of the frame. Since spring this year the airline I work for has been charging GBP15.00 per sector for the carriage of bicycles but you don't have them included in any luggage allowance. It's worth noting that, depending on the type of aircraft, there are limits to how many bicycles we can carry on any one flight.