Best airline for bike travel - Lufthansa ?

[Therealsouthstander]

I've just returned from a mini tour of Germany ,France ,Luxembourg and Switzerland and would like to share my airline experience..

I travelled with the German airline Lufthansa and my experience was extremely positive..

I rolled up at my local airport ,checked in my baggage and bike ,dropped it at the bulky baggage door and that was it..No bike bags or fiddly cardboard boxes,no turning handle bars,no deflating tyres or anything..Arrived in Frankfurt and not a mark on my bike..

Same was to be said for the return flight

I was traveling with 4 pannier bags ,so instead of getting charged for excess baggage,I put the 4 panniers into an IKEA duvet bag..

Another bonus was,the check in staff forgot to charge me the 50 Euros for the bike on the outward flight


lufthansa is my bike carrier of choice

[simonhill]

Well done, you were very lucky.

Lufthansa may be great for one stop to and from Europe, but if going long haul, via German hub, I think they charge for the bike for each leg. This means that it is an extra £140 on your fare. Plenty of other airlines take your bike for free.

Also you were lucky with your airports. My experience of flying with a bike is that everything depends on how the local staff interpret the rules. You were lucky this time, but may not be next time with different staff or different airport. This is why I now normally box as it is the only method that is always accepted.

[gdlerner]

The best is BA you just buy online one more peace of luggage for 40eur.Fly from Germany to SA and you pay 150eur one way

[BlueRomany]

+1 for Lufthansa.
But beware of flights advertised on Lufthansa website that are operated by German Wings. This airline requires bikes to be boxed.

[foxyrider]

I found Lufthansa very good last year, Swissair are very good too.

As has been pointed out though, it's the baggage handlers that are the potential problem on any airline - i've been sat on the plane and watched as my bike case dropped 2m from a conveyer to the ground - I think that was at Berlin. Frankfurt is Lufthansa's main hub so they have more control there so there may be fewer issues there.

[rootes]

Baggage handling is independent of the airline and depends on the airport, the same firms that load Lufthansa will also load all the other airlines..

[greyhead]

Interested to read of the OP's experience with Lufthansa as I have been sorely tempted to use them to get from Brum to Frankfurt or Munich. I tend to use the various ferries to start and finish my annual continental tours but flying directly to Frankfurt (for say a Mosel or Romantica Road tour) would save a significant chunk of time and add extra possibilities regarding the trip. The faff of bagging or boxing the bike has put me off flying so the idea of wheeling the bike fully assembled up to the check-in appeals greatly. I have phoned Lufthansa and they coinfirm that this is their policy and they claim to have a special place in the hold for bikes. But, but, but ............. I still can't bring myself to trust the baggage handlers. Damage on the outbound flight could really spoil the trip although maybe worth taking the risk on the return leg.

[Therealsouthstander]

I found Lufthansa very good last year, Swissair are very good too.

As has been pointed out though, it's the baggage handlers that are the potential problem on any airline - i've been sat on the plane and watched as my bike case dropped 2m from a conveyer to the ground - I think that was at Berlin. Frankfurt is Lufthansa's main hub so they have more control there so there may be fewer issues there.

This is why I've said I rate Lufthansa. - No bag or box required ,can't see them dropping a bike that's not boxed !!

[Therealsouthstander]

Interested to read of the OP's experience with Lufthansa as I have been sorely tempted to use them to get from Brum to Frankfurt or Munich. I tend to use the various ferries to start and finish my annual continental tours but flying directly to Frankfurt (for say a Mosel or Romantica Road tour) would save a significant chunk of time and add extra possibilities regarding the trip. The faff of bagging or boxing the bike has put me off flying so the idea of wheeling the bike fully assembled up to the check-in appeals greatly. I have phoned Lufthansa and they coinfirm that this is their policy and they claim to have a special place in the hold for bikes. But, but, but ............. I still can't bring myself to trust the baggage handlers. Damage on the outbound flight could really spoil the trip although maybe worth taking the risk on the return leg.

This is some of the route I took and throughly recommend it.

Frankfurt airport - Mainz - Koblenz

Koblenz along the Mossel to Zell

Zell along the Mossel to Trier

Trier - Luxembourg City - Metz

Metz - Sarvene

Sarvene - Strasbourg - Colmar

Colmar -Basel

Train from Basel to Baden Baden

Baden Baden through part of the Black Forest to Heidelberg

Heidelberg - Frankfurt Airport

652.7 miles

Slept in my tent every night and the first 2 days it was 42 Deg C in the shade..The locals on the Mossel were saying it's the hottest its ever been in the region...Was drinking 15 litres of water per day.


Was a brilliant tour

[TonyR]

This is why I've said I rate Lufthansa. - No bag or box required ,can't see them dropping a bike that's not boxed !!

While I agree they tend to handle naked bikes with more care I have seen a bike picked up and swung by a handler onto the top of a trailer full of bags only for momentum to carry it across and fall off the other side.

[CJ]

I'm bumping this up the list in the hope we can get a bit more feedback on Lufthansa and their very welcome return to the practice of carrying bikes just as they are.

A lot of people just won't go touring anywhere they have to fly because they can't bear the hassle of taking their bike half to bits and the very real risk of putting it back together somehow wrong.

[pal]

Another positive vote for Lufthansa (though I haven't tested their new Naked Bike policy yet...). I've also had very positive experiences with SAS, who don't insist on a bike bag either (and will also take a bike as part of the normal baggage allowance: this means that if you get one of their 'SAS Plus' fares, which can sometimes be relatively cheap and allow two checked bags, you can check a bag of panniers and a bike at no extra cost -- and get a free beer on the 'plane!)

[Dweasle]

We took our bikes to Cuba with Virgin Atlantic earlier this year. Virgin took them without additional charge under their sporting baggage allowance - up to 23kg each in addition to hold luggage (also 23kg). We cycled to Gatwick; took the pedals off and turned the handlebars parallel to the frame; put them in a CTC clear plastic bike bag (from Wiggle) and handed them over. They were not damaged in flight.

Virgin are not a cheap airline, but they have an impressive approach to carrying bikes.

There are photos on our blog if interested :- http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/cubanwheels

[simonhill]

Is there a link to their new naked bike policy?

Do they still charge 50 euros for each shorthaul and 100 for long haul?

[Dweasle]

This is the info we sourced before travelling, and I confirmed it by email with Virgin. I think this policy only applies to Virgin Atlantic.

http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/gb/en/tr ... pment.html