Airlines that bring bicycles to Thailand hazzle-free: Advice?

[ROB58]

Hello,

I am planning to book return flight to/from Europe and was wondering if anyone has brought a bicycle over from Europs lately and can recommend a good airline carrier. Criteria should be (1) safe(!), (2) cheap/no extra charge if possible, (3) good customer service. I would prefer not even to pack it myself, but roll it into the airport as it is. Last bike I brought over was with Turkish Airlines via Germany and the packing was a pain, becasue I didn't want to invest in a 250USD Suitcase for the bike. Result was, that the crank shaft was damaged.

I heard Qantas used to be brilliant and offered roll-in service, and apparently Thai Airways has offered it on domestic flights - but does anyone have recent experience and can share? Thank you in advance!

[Skint]

Klm and Lufthansa both good.

[craigt3365]

I'm not sure of the airline, but my friend packed his very nice bike into a padded bag. It had a lot of damage. This time he got a hard case and after 2 flights, no damage at all. You could hear from 10 people that say they had no problem, but you might be the one who gets hit....

[el jefe]

I have two professional travel cases for my bikes, a hardshell and a softshell, but I'd always prefer to just have a bike rolled onto the plane. I've probably checked an unboxed bike over 100 times and the only damage I've ever had is some scratched paint.

It used to be pretty easy to fly around Asia with an unboxed bike but even that is getting more difficult. I've never flown out of the UK with a bike but my experience is that it is almost impossible to fly out of Europe or North America with an unboxed bike.

If you don't want to invest in a good travel case, my suggestion is to take your bike to your local bike shop and have them take it apart and put it in a cardboard box. They should be able to pack it so that it has the least chance of being damaged.

I usually fly Cathay Pacific and they're great, but that won't help you much. Good luck.

[edwinchester]

I spent some time working as groundcrew back in the UK. The way some of the baggage handlers treat bicycles is beyond belief. They can be thrown around and have luggage dumped ontop of them quite easily.

I'd never take my own bike if it wasn't packed in a bikebox or cardboard box at the very least.

[CNXBKKMAN]

Loads of info about taking bikes to and from Thailand if you do a search. It's been covered many times on this site.

[rak sa_ngop]

The CTC (Cyclist Touring Club) lists lots of overseas bicycle tours for their members. I have a friend coming out to do an organised tour of Laos this year, starting in Chiang Rai. I think he is coming out with Thai airways. They always bring their own bikes. Maybe you can contact the CTC for the best advice.

iI haven't flown with my bike myself for many years now, but I preferred the 'un-boxed' method on the basis that if the handlers can see it's a bike they will be more careful with it. I used to take the pedals off, loosen and turn the handle bars round to be flush with the frame and then remove and tape the front wheel to the frame. With practice all this can be done at the airport. Only damage that occured was to my spokes by having somebody else's bike with pedals still attached thrown on top of mine.

[ROB58]

Thank you for the info. It looks like there is only a little chance that I will be able to roll my bike onto the plane. I will contact CTC and ask them what they know.

From my experience prices change, so I would still appreciate an updated recommendation for an airline. Lufthansa costs 250 Euros, that I rather invest in a new bicycle then and that might not even be true when I fly in a few month. Turkish Airlines last time told me before booking the tickets thatit is free but I would need to tell them 24 hours in advance. Then, when I called them a few days before, they told me that this info was wrong and I had to pay 75 Euros. Last, at check-in I payed 110 Euros which really pissed me off. I obviously paid after I went through the hassle to bring my bike all boxed up to the airport.

When I wrote a complaint, they asked me they cannot handle the complaint, if I cannot tell them the name of the staff who gave me the information prior to booking the flight. Ridiculous!

So, if you have reliable fares, I would appreciate it!

[noodle]

The cheap way to pack it is to get a used cardboard bike delivery box, appropriately sized, from a bike shop and partially strip it to fit.

[kjhbigv]

I bought a brand new one over from the UK a month or so ago in it's box, being new it was partially dismantled.

No problem. BA checked it in, I picked up at oversize in BKK through customs up to Bangkok Air for trip to CNX. BA allows bicycles to be included in your weight allowance of 23kgs at no extra charge. Bangkok Air charged 800 baht extra.

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