CTC Bike Bag on Ryanair

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
User avatar
matt2matt2002
Posts: 1126
Joined: 25 Oct 2009, 7:45pm
Location: Aberdeen Scotland UK

Re: CTC Bike Bag on Ryanair

Post by matt2matt2002 »

Yep. That scanner part of the trip can cause problems.
I was called out by security in Bishkek airport.
My bike had gone through the check in part and disappeared alng the conveyor belt.
Result, I thought.
But at departure I was called out of lone and taken down to the base!ent where an x-ray machine was set up to scan everything.
The bike box was too big to go through!
I had to open it and let security rummage through it.
And then of course there was no tape to reseal!it.
I did my best bit knew something would fall out.

I couldn't believe my luck when as I looked out of my window on the plane before departure, I saw a guy spend 5 mins using good quality te to reseal the box.

Moral; think x-ray machine size.
2017 Ethiopia.5 weeks.
2018 Marrakech 2 weeks.
2023 Thailand 8 weeks.
Always on a Thorn Raven/Rohloff hub.
TonyR
Posts: 5390
Joined: 31 Aug 2008, 12:51pm

Re: CTC Bike Bag on Ryanair

Post by TonyR »

mben wrote:Their cost for transporting bikes is much higher than Easy Jet c£60 from memory (again all on line).


The good thing about Ryanair is they are such a money-grubbing little airline (IMO) that they would rather grab the £60 than turn you away.
whoof
Posts: 2519
Joined: 29 Apr 2014, 2:13pm

Re: CTC Bike Bag on Ryanair

Post by whoof »

If you ever fly from Exeter their oversized luggage scanner is tiny. My bike was in a box with the wheels off and it still didn't fit. They said it was because they were a small airport. I expect they therefore only get tiny people with little luggage.
hufty
Posts: 571
Joined: 28 Jan 2011, 7:24pm

Re: CTC Bike Bag on Ryanair

Post by hufty »

:D

Even at Manchester the oversize x ray machine is too small for my Thorn RT to fit through in a CTC bag. Someone turns up to swab it with a special swabbing device instead.
Please do not use this post in Cycle magazine
andy_l
Posts: 56
Joined: 19 Jan 2008, 2:13pm

Re: CTC Bike Bag on Ryanair

Post by andy_l »

No problems in general with the CTC-type bag on Easyjet, but I recently had a 'discussion' at Inverness airport, where a ground-handling person claimed that my son's bike wouldn't fit through the oversize-luggage scanner. He was asked to 'just drop the saddle using the lever', but a) the bike is an ancient Raleigh Royal with (imperial) bolted seat-tube clamp b) the bike was already wrapped and taped up and c) most of our tools had already been checked-in in hold baggage. This was despite the fact that the same bike had gone through the same airport (Inverness) a few years ago with no problem. We ended up using 'keyhole surgery' to remove the Brooks saddle from the seatpost, letting it drop and float around the bag. This of course left a prominent seatpost in the bag which would have been more of a risk to baggage handlers 'downstream'. The ground-handling bloke did keep going on about 'people in lycra scaring the other passengers' etc so I got the impression he wasn't going to go out of his way to help..... maybe he was one of the many drivers who passed us by a whisker on the A96 between Inverness and the airport - a short but scary ride after a generally problem-free LEJOG. My smaller bike (also a Raleigh Royal) went through with no problems.
User avatar
bigjim
Posts: 3244
Joined: 2 Feb 2008, 5:08pm
Location: Manchester

Re: CTC Bike Bag on Ryanair

Post by bigjim »

I often fly back from Beziers with Ryanair. Will be doing again in September. I use a crappy £6 lightweight bike cover that offers little protection but it is covered in pictures of bikes so no argument about it being a bike bag.
Image
I have never being refused though I was once asked to sign a waver. The bag tears easily but the bike will wheel in and I sometimes get two or three trips out of it. It is also very light.
However. The last time I travelled I suffered a dinted toptube and slightly bent frame that I had to scrap. Maybe could have happened with any bag.
In Faro airport it would initially not fit in the largest Xray machine [25" frame] and they wanted to open the bag to inspect but eventually juggled it through when I objected. I have used the CTC bag without damage but also being refused boarding in Biarritz when I was told it was not a bike bag. I've also had bags torn by staff to let down tyres that don't have to be let down. :roll: I don't know the answer to a hassle free flight with a bike. I often use a box when flying out but it is a pain to dismantle the bike to fit and then have to put it back together on arrival. Also it may be used as a platform to stack suitcases, although I have never suffered damage using a box. I find the CTC bag heavy and bulky to take on tour.
tyreon
Posts: 936
Joined: 4 Oct 2012, 4:39pm

Re: CTC Bike Bag on Ryanair

Post by tyreon »

We are paying for these airlines and baggage handlers to respect our packages. They know what they are. They are making a profit on them. Fair does. But treat the baggage(bicycles) right,please!

We're an encumbrance! Well add £10 to the fare,then. Just make sure our kit arrives okay. Treat us ok;we're part of your bread and butter!
Steveindenmark
Posts: 14
Joined: 6 Sep 2013, 7:51pm

Re: CTC Bike Bag on Ryanair

Post by Steveindenmark »

I have flown all over Europe with my bike and Ryanair and have never had any problems so here is my 2 penny worth,

Just because the staff at Ryanair in Stansted are satisfied how you have packed your bike to go to Paris, for example. Dont take it as a gimmie that the Ryanair staff in Paris are also satisfied when you come back. Even if you have packed it exactly the same way. I have always got it on the plane but have had to ask for the manager in the past. There is no uniformitet to ryanairs rules.

I pack my bike in a home made bag made of bright spinnaker material, it is not protective. Before putting it in the bag, I remove the pedals and handlebar. The pedals and handlebar spacers go in my hand luggage. I tape the handlebars to the frame as well as the empty water bottles and I do not deflate the tyres. Nothing else goes in the bag, but I have left empty panniers and empty bar bag attached in the past without problems.

Once the bike is secured in the bag I have a 5mm elastic rope which i wrap around the outside to give the handlers something to get hold of.

It always gets there and has never been damaged. Thats how I do it.
tyreon
Posts: 936
Joined: 4 Oct 2012, 4:39pm

Re: CTC Bike Bag on Ryanair

Post by tyreon »

The elastic rope around the bag to give handlers a grip's a good idea++
albal1
Posts: 206
Joined: 2 Feb 2011, 4:09pm

Re: CTC Bike Bag on Ryanair

Post by albal1 »

Currently in gran canaria flying to uk sat 12th, and not 1 bike shop has a box. I,m in the south.So with that what i just read, yeah i know, crap grammar. I will locate a bag from a bed shop! In Gran canaria? Dont think there are any? I wonder if they supply bags at the airport? Talking other airlines here as i am flying with brianair!
hillspecial
Posts: 143
Joined: 22 Mar 2009, 1:12pm
Location: Geneva, Switzerland.

Re: CTC Bike Bag on Ryanair

Post by hillspecial »

Had a prob with Easyjey this summer - emailed them 5 weeks ago - no rely to date.

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 ?
albal1
Posts: 206
Joined: 2 Feb 2011, 4:09pm

Re: CTC Bike Bag on Ryanair

Post by albal1 »

hillspecial wrote:Had a prob with Easyjey this summer - emailed them 5 weeks ago - no rely to date.

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 ?



Interested to hear your response. If any. I have flown Easyjet LGW - GIB, without problems except it wouldnt fit through the oversize scanner, so they did a manual check. A couple of years ago I bagged my bike in Seattle from a bed store.
Upon check in the BA staff said I could not fly with this ,so they gave me a purpose made cycle bag with BA written all over it.

When I recovered it in heathrow the top had been cut open by homeland security and taped up very well by them.

which takes me back to my last post, I found a specialized store to get a box. He wanted €10. At Vecindario I came across a shop on a day ride, they offered me a Orbea box free, so a €4, round trip on the bus, which politly asked me to stick it in the luggage hold of a packed bus. Made my way back to San Agustin.

No problems with check in at the Ryanair desk. I did take 1 pannier and a bar bag as hand luggage,with 2nd pannier in the box, no need to check a bag in.
Sussexboy
Posts: 5
Joined: 27 Jun 2014, 11:15am

Re: CTC Bike Bag on Ryanair

Post by Sussexboy »

Dear Mullism ,
You posted your enquiry in July , so this is no doubt too late . Furthermore , my experience relates to Easy jet , not Ryanair , but it was from Stansted and the check-in staff , employed at the time by Menzies , probably deal with several airlines . Also , my experience was about five years ago . I had previously taken my bike on planes three or four times before , though either from Gatwick or Heathrow , always with no mishap . We had booked to fly with Easyjet to Tallinn in Estonia and we were concerned about the ambiguity in the demand that bikes must be transported in a " box or a bike bag " ( I distinctly remember these words verbatim ) . My friend packed his bike in one of the heavy , thick , canvas bags . However , I opted to use one of the thick , transparent , polythene bags which are sold by the CTC . I went beyond the usual requirements of reducing the size of the bike , as I also used a lot of bubble wrap , not only to protect the gears , but also to protect other passengers' bags from any projecting parts of my bike . Because I was aware of the ambiguity in the demand for a " box or bike bag " ( which is the very reason why you posted your enquiry ) , we took a print-out of Easyjet's terms regarding bikes to present to the staff , if the need arose , at Stansted . All of this was to no avail whatsoever : the check-in woman employed by Menzies refused point-blank to accept my bike , claiming that she had often seen damage caused by bikes to aircraft baggage holds ! ( yes , severe turbulence can cause a bike to smash up and down in the hold , but one would imagine that it would be the bike which would be wrecked , and that the baggage hold is sufficiently robust to withstand such impacts ) . My friend attempted to use charm , and asked to speak with this woman's superiors , but perhaps not surprisingly , given that there were fifty or sixty other passengers within earshot , they supported their colleague's intransigent attitude . However , they suggested a solution , namely that another colleague , seated less than ten feet away " regularly dealt with this " , but when we talked to him , he did not seem to know what to do . After prompting by his colleagues , he 'phoned a local bike shop , who kindly sent a cardboard box used for transporting brand-new bikes for free , although the taxi in which it was transported cost £ 20 . As my friend and I frantically put my bike in to the cardboard box , the box split slightly , which I countered by using electrical insulation tape . When we returned to the check-in desk , with bike wrapped as ordered , and despite all the Menzies staff being witnesses to what had happened , we were refused access to the flight ! This was because we were , according to the clock in the departures hall , one-and-a-half minutes late for check-in and , as two or three A4-sized Easyjet posters on the walls stated " if you're late , we won't wait " ( this is because the budget airlines work on a very tight turn-around in order to optimise the flying time of their aircraft ) . As a result , we of course pointed out the reason for our delay , but the Menzies staff refused in any way to yield . We then asked a more senior Menzies employee if we might be allowed on the next flight to Tallinn , which was in a day or two , only to be told that we would have to pay the full market price ( i.e. without any reduction for early booking and without taking in to account the money which we had already paid for our missed flight ) . We even , in order to have some sort of cycling holiday , asked if we could take another Easyjet flight to other destinations to which they were due to fly that day , such as Edinburgh and Glasgow , and the reply again was that we would have to pay the full price without any allowance for what we had paid for our missed flight .
The consequence of all of this was that we had to return home with our tails between our legs . On reaching home , I contacted the CTC who informed me that the larger airports , such as Heathrow and Glasgow here in the South receive many more bikes than the smaller airports , so the larger airports tend to be more aware of the rules concerning the carriage of bikes on planes , so they apply these rules correctly . The following year , I went with my partner to Tallinn , though not on a cycling holiday . We used Estonian Air from Gatwick , and had no problems at all .
Some of the posters here seem to believe that it is fine to take a bike via Stansted . It is evident that they had a reasonable experience . Nevertheless , despite the fact that our experiences date back to about five years ago , and even if our misadventure was unique , nothing would ever induce my friend or me to ever again use Stansted or one of the budget airlines , even for a non-cycling holiday .
User avatar
bikes4two
Posts: 1306
Joined: 12 Jan 2010, 10:14pm
Location: SE Hampshire, UK

Re: CTC Bike Bag on Ryanair

Post by bikes4two »

Looks like 'hillspecial' got a 'jobsworth' at the Nice airport - I've done the Easyjet LGW to Geneva and Easyjet Nice to LGW with bikes in CTC bags without any problems.

The CTC Website has good information on how to pack a bike for air transit - very informative - give it a read here

In addition to the plastic bag, I wrapped the whole package with thick cord to give the handlers something to get hold of (as mentioned up post and a sound idea/suggestion :wink: )

It really is a good idea to reduce the height of your bike as much as possible to avoid any problems with getting it through the large baggage scanners.
Without my stoker, every trip would only be half a journey
tyreon
Posts: 936
Joined: 4 Oct 2012, 4:39pm

Re: CTC Bike Bag on Ryanair

Post by tyreon »

Sussexboy: That story scares the hell outta me!

Have flown with bicycles many times: all successful. Nevertheless the fear that is engendered by such (true)stories makes holidaying with bike very stressful+++ And taken many walking holidays to avoid that sorta travel experience.

Now back to thinking about travelling by rail with bike. Oh no! That seems as fraught as going by air!

At times I wish I was a Clarkson: a petrol head. Easier.
Post Reply