Airlines and CTC flight bags

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
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hillspecial
Posts: 143
Joined: 22 Mar 2009, 1:12pm
Location: Geneva, Switzerland.

Airlines and CTC flight bags

Post by hillspecial »

Hi all,

never had any probs on the past with CTC flight bags. Not so last month. Anyone else had any probs?

Looked on various airline websites since our return - many now say that bikes must be in a bike bag or box.

But what constitutes a bike bag ?

Still no reply from Easyjet to the e-mail below after about 5 weeks .

Looked at RyanAir, now £110 return for a bike - more than for a passenger !!

Flown with Jet2 a few times of late as well, no probs.

Dunno if an Easjet or an Airport issue ?

Thanks,

Hill Special

*************************************************

10th August 2015

Hello Easyjet,

we are just back from a cycling holiday mostly in the French Alps; Geneva to Nice.

We have to be as lightweight as possible as we move on most days and have to carry all of our equipment, tent, clothes etc on the bikes.

I have taken my bike on over 20 return flights from the UK, with both budget airlines and 'national carriers, to various parts of Europe, both mainland and Islands and the USA without any issues.

I've also taken a coach to Europe twice, but this took 24 when things went well and over 36 hours when there we had both traffic problems and a delay on the ferry. We've also travelled by car several times to the Alps and Pyrenees with the bikes on the roof, tow bar or trailer.

We cannot take bike cases or heavy padded bike bags on these types of holidays.

But from the North-West England the best way to get to the Alps / Pyrenees with a bike has always been by plane.

Back in the 90s, we flew with the likes of BA, Swiss Air and Air France, our un-bagged bikes and {any number of } bags were included in the ticket price, ditto food and drink on board. We just used to tape a little cardboard to the frame to prevent scratches.

This year we flew to Geneva using our CTC flight bags, as pioneered by BA, as can be seen on the link below.


http://www.ctc.org.uk/cyclists-library/ ... /bikes-air


We had no problems at all with the bikes and the lightweight, thick, clear plastic CTC flight bags on the Liverpool to Nice flight.

See the link below for the type of holiday that we do.

http://www.ctc.org.uk/sites/default/fil ... -tales.pdf

Over 16 days we cycled to Nice, over a few Cols {mountain passes} and staying at some places 2 or 3 nights.

For the return flight, we arrived at Nice Airport a good 3 hours before the departure - we packed our bikes on the CTC flight bags and queued at a very busy check-in for over 40 mins.

The EasyJet staff member on the desk insisted that we could not fly with our bikes in the CTC flight bags as it was against 'EasyJet policy'. We explained how we had flow out to Geneva with EasyJet 16 days earlier - but he was having not of it.

So he sent us to the opposite side of the building, downstairs to get a box - it took us 10 mins to get there.

They charged us 22 Euros each for a thin cardboard bike box, these offered no more protection to the bikes than the CTC bags did, and of course 'customs' could not see what was inside.

We then had to take the bikes back to check in .

All in all, this took over an hour.

On landing in Liverpool we had to throw the boxes away.


So what of next year? The expense is one thing, logistics another, but also how do we know that the European airport will have boxes for sale, or if they do that they have them in stock, or it the 'office' is open ?

TVG French trains will not take bikes, slow local trains do, but these also charge per single leg of the train journey for the bike.


The bike bus is slow, has limited pick up and drop off points. See link below.

http://www.bike-express.co.uk/Availabil ... ssengers=1

So it looks like we might have to go by car and have a different sort of holiday, based in 2 or 3 places over 2 weeks and cycling each day to and from the same place.


So, in short, could you clarify the EasyJet position for summer 2016 on bikes and bags / boxes and also explain how this year we were able to fly with EasyJet for Liverpool to Nice with out a problem, but then we could not get back from Nice to Liverpool with EasyJet without a box ?

Thanks,
simonhill
Posts: 5226
Joined: 13 Jan 2007, 11:28am
Location: Essex

Re: Airlines and CTC flight bags

Post by simonhill »

May I suggest you write a much shorter email. Your rather long and rambling email is unlikely to be answered.

If Easyjet are not going to honour the CTC bag then it is a cause of concern for many.

A simple statement of complaint and another asking for clarifation should suffice.
bluemootwo
Posts: 101
Joined: 21 Aug 2015, 7:14am

Re: Airlines and CTC flight bags

Post by bluemootwo »

How about you drive to a suitable French railway station and leave the car there. Cycle your tour, ending at another railway station. Lock up the bikes, take the train back to the car, drive to the bikes and then home. Now cars are so much more economical and the fuel now so cheap, we need to get used to using the car for these sorts of journeys. If there is 4 in the car, the total carbon is not so bad and certainly better than a flight.
hufty
Posts: 571
Joined: 28 Jan 2011, 7:24pm

Re: Airlines and CTC flight bags

Post by hufty »

On the one hand I agree with simonhill that a shorter email would be better, on the other hand, can I suggest you don't email at all.

The whole point of the CTC bike bag is that it constitutes a bike bag! If the airline has a specific brand of bike bag in mind they would say so on their website where they detail packing requirements for sports equipment. They have said the bike should be in a bike bag, you have put your bike in a bike bag, end of story.

The worst case scenario is that your email forces someone in an office somewhere with no particular understanding of cycle touring to come up with a policy - I can promise you it's not going to be the one anyone wants.

A good thing to do is to search this forum to see if people have had recent problems with certain airlines and CTC bike bags. Apart from the Norwegian problem, I never have by the way. I've never flown with Easyjet, but I would happily turn up at the airport with a CTC bike bag for any airline that says "bikes must be in a bag".
Please do not use this post in Cycle magazine
IanCh
Posts: 68
Joined: 11 Apr 2011, 1:46pm

Re: Airlines and CTC flight bags

Post by IanCh »

I organised a London to Paris bike ride in 2011 - ferry out and easyjet from Paris to Liverpool using the CTC bike bags. Six weeks before the trip, two of our party flew to Mallorca from Liverpool but the Easyjet staff refused their CTC bike bags - they had to lock their bikes in their car and hire bikes in Mallorca. This sent alarm bells ringing so I contacted the CTC who in turn contacted easyjet. I was given emailed, written, assurance that the bags would be acceptable and each member of the Paris trip took a copy with them. We had no difficulty at Paris apart from clumsy baggage handlers.
bobzeller
Posts: 114
Joined: 20 Aug 2013, 8:37pm

Re: Airlines and CTC flight bags

Post by bobzeller »

Would it not be possible for the CTC to meet individually with each airlines that cyclo tourists tend to use, show them the CTC bags and, if the bags are acceptable to that airline, ask the airline to advise its employees and issue letters or other documents confirming it? ? We could then take a copy of that letter to show airline employees that the bags are indeed okay - assuming they are. Chris Judden,where are you?

Cheers

Bob
hillspecial
Posts: 143
Joined: 22 Mar 2009, 1:12pm
Location: Geneva, Switzerland.

Re: Airlines and CTC flight bags

Post by hillspecial »

[quote="simonhill"]May I suggest you write a much shorter email. Your rather long and rambling email is unlikely to be answered.

If Easyjet are not going to honour the CTC bag then it is a cause of concern for many.

A simple statement of complaint and another asking for clarifation should suffice.[/quote

Yo Simon

In sort.. Thanks . HS.

CTC . Not Ramblers. I get it .
hillspecial
Posts: 143
Joined: 22 Mar 2009, 1:12pm
Location: Geneva, Switzerland.

Re: Airlines and CTC flight bags

Post by hillspecial »

bobzeller wrote:Would it not be possible for the CTC to meet individually with each airlines that cyclo tourists tend to use, show them the CTC bags and, if the bags are acceptable to that airline, ask the airline to advise its employees and issue letters or other documents confirming it? ? We could then take a copy of that letter to show airline employees that the bags are indeed okay - assuming they are. Chris Judden,where are you?

Cheers

Bob


Yeah Bob. That's what I would hope too. Sent a 'long rambling e-mail' to the CTC as well. No reply as yet
Possibly they are still reading it ? Have been asked to sign a disclaimer a couple of times when using the CTC bag.
simonhill
Posts: 5226
Joined: 13 Jan 2007, 11:28am
Location: Essex

Re: Airlines and CTC flight bags

Post by simonhill »

Unfortunately it is often not the airline!

It can be the staff at different airports and often these are not even the airline's employees. They have ( or make up) their local rules and refuse to change them.

Unfortunately even waving a piece of airline correspondence often doesn't work. Once a local decision has been made senior managers often don't want to undermine their staff and change it.

I fly a lot, but rarely in Europe and am very aware of this problem. A few years ago the AirAsia staff at Bangkok insisted that boxes had to be used - a company rule. Strangely unheard of by the staff at a number of other airports I used.

You do also have a problem that some airports ( not airlines) do have formal or informal rules eg using a box, that the check in staff adhere to.

Sad but true!!!
borisface
Posts: 360
Joined: 19 Feb 2010, 3:48pm

Re: Airlines and CTC flight bags

Post by borisface »

I've had a couple of issues in the past.

First was at Gatwick when the helpful check-in staff said that the bikes needed to be in boxes and not bags (we all had CTC bags) so after a bit of a stand off I had to print out the Easyjet T&Cs to show that a bag was fine. The check-in cow then said she didn't work for easyjet!

Second was coming back from Malaga airport where the check-in girl said that's not a bag. I said it was a bag. She said that they meant a proper bike bag, I said that the T&Cs didn't specify and if that's what they meant then they should say so. This was accepted.

Finally, I've got fed up with people asking me to deflate my tyres so I now say that these are special airline tyres that are designed so that they don't need to be deflated on aircraft. Its worked twice now.
Vorpal
Moderator
Posts: 20700
Joined: 19 Jan 2009, 3:34pm
Location: Not there ;)

Re: Airlines and CTC flight bags

Post by Vorpal »

I normally fly with the CTC bag and have never had any problems. I have not flown out of Gatwick, Geneva, or other airports where problems have been reported. I often take CTC packing instructions with me, in case people don't believe that it's a 'bike bag', but I've not used them in anger.

I might consider sending the reciept for the 22 euro boxes and asking Easy Jet to repay the cost of these. You might get a quicker explanation, at any rate.

As for deflating tyres goes.... I let a little air out, but leave enough in that the rims are still protected by the tyres. That way I can say that I have deflated them but I haven't (hopefully) introduced any additional risk of damage.
“In some ways, it is easier to be a dissident, for then one is without responsibility.”
― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
hufty
Posts: 571
Joined: 28 Jan 2011, 7:24pm

Re: Airlines and CTC flight bags

Post by hufty »

Just to point out that there's only problems out of Gatwick with one airline (Norwegian of course) it's not a general thing.

On the subject of deflating tyres, I tell the check-in staff that I'll partially deflate the tyres once I've wheeled the bike to big bag security as it's easier to move the bike around.
Please do not use this post in Cycle magazine
hillspecial
Posts: 143
Joined: 22 Mar 2009, 1:12pm
Location: Geneva, Switzerland.

Re: Airlines and CTC flight bags

Post by hillspecial »

Just had a reply from Easyjet re CTC bike bags and their refusal to take our bikes in CTC bags on our return leg of our tour.

Emmmmmmm, receipt.


Hi ,

Thank you for your patience. We have clarified the issue with the airport {Nice, France} and I can confirm that {CTC} Polythene Bicycle Bags are allowed and you should be able to travel with them during your next flight with us. Remember, however, that the final decision always belongs to the airport crew. We apologise for all the inconvenience caused and, if you wish to be refunded for the boxes, feel free to send us valid receipts.

Regards,
Cathy
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