WARNING: Bicycles in aircraft !

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
Mark1978
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Re: WARNING: Bicycles in aircraft !

Post by Mark1978 »

simonhill wrote:Thanks for posting, but what else are you doing about it? I presume you have contacted EasyJet to ask for an explanation.

Did you take the name of the member of staff? Letting them know that you will be reporting the matter and their name on your return can often be effective and at least you have a target to aim at. Also as stated abve, a recent copy of the company's terms is worth having, although with so many mobile devices about, you could probably show in real time.

Assuming you are reporting it to EasyJet, please report back here.

Personally I now always use a (free) cardboard bike box to save this sort of aggro. I know the box could be put at the bottom of a pile, but I have not had any damage since using a box, whereas I often used to get the od knock and scratch when using the bubblewrap method.

I think the reason that nothing else is allowed in the box (clothes, etc) is due to security. Lots of odd bits of stuff poked around the bike can be a bit hard to check.


It's probably more due to baggage allowance as a bike isn't subject to being weighed. So some might think taking a bike is a good wheeze to get around excess baggage charges.
paieye
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Re: WARNING: Bicycles in aircraft !

Post by paieye »

Here is another link that looks as though it might help: http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... fAodMUoAXA.
simonhill
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Re: WARNING: Bicycles in aircraft !

Post by simonhill »

paieye wrote:No, I have not raised it with EasyJet, because they told me that the policy was not theirs, but that of the B.A.A.


.....but surely if BAA's (supposed) rules contradict EJ's policy they should be made aware of it. If no one follows this up it essentially drifts into urban myth as plenty of others have not experienced the problem. If I were an EJ user I would want to check it out. However, as I fly Emirates ex Gatwick and have never had a problem, it does not affect me. I would have thought though that there are plenty of people out there who would want clarification, maybe one of hem should follow it up.

My point about other stuff in th box and security, was that it adds an extra dimension to checking what is in the box. A simple xray can check it is a bike. Sometimes my bike won't fit the xray machine and then they may open and do a quick visual or maybe a chemical sniffer for banned substances. Also, with the airlines I use, I always have my bike weighed: on Emirates it is part of your 30kg allowance, so they weigh; on AirAsia you have a set weight for bike (choose 15 or 20kgs) and like all budget airlines thay are hot on you going over your allowance. I agree that this is not the case for airlines who give you a bike for free or for set payment as they don't want you 'nicking' some of this with other luggage.

Re leaving box at left luggage: OK if only staying a few days, but cost can often be £5+ per day or more. Also you need to be returning from same airport. Not a lot of use if flying into one and out of another. So this option is not viable for many trips.
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al_yrpal
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Re: WARNING: Bicycles in aircraft !

Post by al_yrpal »

Since the CTC primarily represents cycle tourists (although it now claims to be everything to everyone) should our club take this up with BAA and all the UKs major airlines to discuss and agree a sensible standard of packaging? Isn't this part of what we pay our subs for?

Al
Reuse, recycle, thus do your bit to save the planet.... Get stuff at auctions, Dump, Charity Shops, Facebook Marketplace, Ebay, Car Boots. Choose an Old House, and a Banger ..... And cycle as often as you can......
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BeeKeeper
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Re: WARNING: Bicycles in aircraft !

Post by BeeKeeper »

I think the BAA issue is a red herring. If it was BAA policy people would be experiencing problems at lots of airports and this is not the case. As I mentioned earlier I think it is just a case of the people on duty at the time having a bad day. The problem with going to BAA is if the issue is forced it might become policy.
nmnm
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Re: WARNING: Bicycles in aircraft !

Post by nmnm »

whiskywheels wrote:can't put your clothes in the bike bag. Years ago... ...with BA... ...the bike bag and contents came within the 23kg hold allowance there was no charge
I did this a fortnight back, but with a cardboard box. Same 23kg BA policy still applies.
whiskywheels
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Re: WARNING: Bicycles in aircraft !

Post by whiskywheels »

nmnm wrote:
whiskywheels wrote:can't put your clothes in the bike bag. Years ago... ...with BA... ...the bike bag and contents came within the 23kg hold allowance there was no charge
I did this a fortnight back, but with a cardboard box. Same 23kg BA policy still applies.


Thanks, that's good to know! Unfortunately BA don't fly to Alicante direct anymore (it's via Madrid), and my other regular destination, Mallorca, can only be reached from London City airport which is far too awkward for me to get to. Having to pay anything from £30 upwards with most airlines means that BA is a good deal and I'll certainly check them out for future trips. I'm paying £30 return with Thomson from my local airport when I go to Mallorca in a couple of weeks, it has to be pre-booked and it costs 10p a minute for the priviledge of phoning them to make the booking!
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bigjim
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Re: WARNING: Bicycles in aircraft !

Post by bigjim »

I flew back last night from Beziers with Ryanair. I turned the handlebars and removed the pedals, threw this £6 bag over the bike and secured the bottom with gaffer tape. No padding. It was accepted at check in with a "improperly packed" note on it. Evidently they always do this if it is not in a box. However at my insistance they marked it fragile. It arrived at Manchester in one piece. This bag has pictures of bikes printed all over it so they cannot argue it is not a bike bag but it offers little protection, however it only weighs 300g so easy to carry on tour.
Image
I used Easyjet a few times last year always with a plastic bag. They argued at Biarritz that it was not a bike bag and we had to get the airport mananger to calm the rude, obnoxious, check-in girl down and let the bike through, but it was a load of hassle. We had to insist they check Easyjets website.
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Sweep
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Re: WARNING: Bicycles in aircraft !

Post by Sweep »

I don't understand what BAA has to do with it. Aren't they just the folks responsible for the airport/flogging folk loads of supposedly bargain duty-frees? Unless they are worried about probelms with their carousels.

I flew a bike out with Easyjet a year or two ago and used a Tardis no problems.

http://www.groundeffect.co.nz/product-d ... AR-BAG.htm

It's a soft bag and you have to do a fair bit of disassembly of the bike (but nothing too extreme) and you can pack inside it with protective cardboard/pipe lagging/bubble wrap. It's a dodle to carry. A drag that you have to pay substantial postage for it to come from NZ (and of course its made in China I think) but it's very good.

I've never understood Easyjet's ban of putting clothes in the bag either (though check - regulations change) as last time I used them you effectively pay for all the weight you take anyway - the bike charge just bought you an extra 12kg or so, not a unit bike as it once was. So what difference does it make which bag it's in?

I did see someone forced to go get their bike boxed (somehow they found one at Stansted) but i think they may have been trying to take the bike on raw with just the bars turned, ie not even in a plastic bag. Anyway, Tardis recommended - once used you can fold it to the size of a thickish A4 book and carry it with you. I've even heard of folk burying it ready for their return, though do of course take careful notes on where you put it/GPS mark it and ensure you have batteries.

Easyjet didn't have any FRAGILE stickers - best take your own and some good tape to make sure they stick to the bag properly.
Sweep
hufty
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Re: WARNING: Bicycles in aircraft !

Post by hufty »

al_yrpal wrote:Since the CTC primarily represents cycle tourists (although it now claims to be everything to everyone) should our club take this up with BAA and all the UKs major airlines to discuss and agree a sensible standard of packaging? Isn't this part of what we pay our subs for?


I hope that's unlikely to happen - it sounds like a quick way of getting the requirements changed to "bikes will only be carried in a metal box". The lack of co-ordination between airlines and airport operators (BAA only run a handful of airports btw) is the thing that allows you to shop around, and ultimately will keep you flying with your bike the longest.

As posted above, this will have nothing to do with BAA so don't cause them trouble over a policy they don't even have.
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seventeezlad
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Re: WARNING: Bicycles in aircraft !

Post by seventeezlad »

The OP is a concern, although as 'Beekeeper' posts later on, I very much suspect that the BAA quote's a red herring too! easyjet check in staff are often contractors working for the airline and are not always completely familiar with the airlines policy in regard to the carriage of sporting equipement (inc bicycles) even if they've recieved training. easyjet caused problems for several passengers flying with cycles last year from both John Lennon Airport and Stanstead, with check in staff refusing cycles wrapped (apparently) incorrectly. When CTC first supplied bike bags easyjet where one of the first airlines to accept the bags, so much so that they actually included a photo of a bike in the CTC bag on it's website.

I'll be copying the link of this thread to Dave Holladay (Public Transport Campaigns consultant) as it was through Dave's intervention last year that resolved the issues at both of the above mentioned airports.

Andy (CTC Touring Officer)
iviehoff
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Re: WARNING: Bicycles in aircraft !

Post by iviehoff »

Portland wrote:Easyjet didn't have any FRAGILE stickers - best take your own and some good tape to make sure they stick to the bag properly.

If it makes you feel better. I once watched someone going to great lengths to get his electrical keyboard checked in as fragile luggage, but through the window of the boarding gate I could see it being thrown around and stacked like any other suitcase.
dave holladay
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Re: WARNING: Bicycles in aircraft !

Post by dave holladay »

The problem is not so much with easyJet but with the contractors who deliver ground handling services. At Luton they use Menzies (and the staff at the gate wear Menzies tabards reather than easyJet uniforms - and they can't pronounce Menzies correctly either!).

Probems tend therefore to be airport related rather than airline specific, although the airlines do issue briefing notes to their contractors - but I suspect that high turnover rates at the 'grunt' level of employees and issues in how the management chain from airline(client) to contractor delivers consistency here may result in flare-ups from time to time.

Stansted ranks as one of the worst airports in the UK for problems boarding with a bike, and may have parallels for those travelling with other sporting equipment. Liverpool (JLA) had a bad patch for a while but generally around the UK it has been relatively quiet. However when travelling by air, rail, sea or road with a cycle, do ensure you have a copy of the conditions of carriage that confirms you are presenting the bike appropriately, with all the required conditions met.

In the event of a problem make sure you are actually talking to the genuine employee of the airline rather than a contractor in the livery of the airline - one party coming back through Geneva were really grateful that the British Airways local person took on the ground handling and security team on their behalf and just managed to get their packed bike through to the flight - despite arriving 2.5 hours early. For mainland Europe destinations the hassle, potential for damage, and time costs of early check-in are increasingly making rail a popular option, especially if you can pack down the bike to the accepted size for a carry-on large suitcase.

If you do have problems please feed back the detail of the ground handling agents as well as the airline, as this is often the root cause of the problem.
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CJ
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Re: WARNING: Bicycles in aircraft !

Post by CJ »

whiskywheels wrote:I've always wondered why most, if not all airlines, specify that you can't put your clothes in the bike bag.

Most airlines do not specify that. But Easy-Jet and other 'low-cost' short-haul operators have such a rule, and as that's how most people fly nowadays it may seem like most airlines. The reason for it is obvious. The so-called low cost operators charge for all the extras and don't want cyclists to avoid also paying for an item of hold luggage.
Chris Juden
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CJ
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Re: WARNING: Bicycles in aircraft !

Post by CJ »

paieye wrote:
The only sure way is the use one of those strong purpose built hard plastic bike boxes which cost and then of course there's the problem of what you do with it at your destination. There has to be an easy answer to this somewhere.


What you do with it at your destination is usually not a challenge -- you leave it in Left Luggage.

Really? Have you ever looked for left luggage at an airport and actually found such a facility? (I think it might be something to do with bombs.) I did find one once, but to leave such a big item for a fortnight would have cost more than the flight!

What you do with it is get a BIG taxi to your first night's accommodation, which you have already booked on condition that they store your bicycle box until your return. This restricts you to tours of a circular nature with first and last nights in the same place, but heigh-ho, it works.
Chris Juden
One lady owner, never raced or jumped.
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