It is 2021, the 16th of July and hopefully most of the lockdown restrictions will be lifted on the 19th of July. You can pack up your bike in a Shokbox and then board an airplane with you bike. But where are you going to go for your cycling holiday ? Of course it all depends if the country is on a green, amber or on the red list. There are further complications unless you are double vaccinated, then the word opens up a little more without restrictions. For the latest advice visit the Gov site on travel advice.
August and travel guidelines have now been updated, especially if you are double vaccinated. Do check the government website for the latest travel advice. As of March 2022 most covid restrictions have now been removed, it’s time to get your bike transport case.
It is 2021, the 16th of July and hopefully most of the lockdown restrictions will be lifted on the 19th of July. You can pack up your bike in a Shokbox and then board an airplane with you bike. But where are you going to go for your cycling holiday ? Of course it all depends if the country is on a green, amber or on the red list. There are further complications unless you are double vaccinated, then the word opens up a little more without restrictions. For the latest advice visit the Gov site on travel advice.
August and travel guidelines have now been updated, especially if you are double vaccinated. Do check the government website for the latest travel advice. As of March 2022 most covid restrictions have now been removed, it’s time to get your bike transport case.
What do you do with your bike box once you reach the destination?
Airlines Weight And Size Restrictions
Each airline has their own weight and size restrictions so it is best to check the airline that you intend to travel with. The Shokbox bike box dimensions are
120cm Long x 33cm wide x 91cm high
The weight of the Shokbox is 12.9 kg
Average Weight Of Cycles By Type
- Average weight of a Mountain Bike = 13.6 kg
- Average weight of a Road Bike = 10kg
- Average weight of a Touring Bike = 13.5 kg
- Average weight of a Cruiser Bike = 16.5 kg
- Average weight of a Utility Bike = 17.4 kg
Do weigh you bike in the bike box before you set off to the airport as you do not want any nasty excess charges before the holiday begins. What to pack for your cycling holiday.
Find the Right Airline for Shipping Bikes
Choosing the right airline for shipping your bike is an extremely important decision. You need to consider, for example, the distance of your trip, the weight of your bike, and what size bike you are looking for. Our airline guides flying with your cycle.
Step 2. Pack Your Bike Properly for Air Travel
Ideally you will pack your bike in a hard bike box like, Shokbox. If you don’t the airlines recommend the below.
- Partially deflate the tyres to reduce the risk of damage.
- Turn the handlebars so they’re in line with the frame.
- Remove any attachments, including pedals.
- Ensure the gearing is especially well protected.
- Protect the frame with bubble wrap.
Use spacers between the dropouts
Fit spacers between the dropouts of your frame and fork to prevent damage. You can buy dropout spacers but when manufactures ship the bikes to shops they come fitted with a plastic spacer. Talk with your local cycle shop can you may even get some for fee or a few pennies.
Disc Brake Pad Spacers
If your bike does have disk brakes then consider fitting a pair of spacers
Don’t carry tools in your hand luggage
Make sure you read the airlines guidelines but as a rule of thumb do not take tools in you hand luggage. The UK airports rules are “say no screwdrivers, pliers or “tools with a blade or shaft longer than 6cm”. However, We’ve heard of people having multi tools and hex keys taken off them, so you’re better off avoiding the hassle by putting anything like this into the hold.
C02 Cartridges On Airlines
Do you take your CO2 cartridges or go for the old fashioned hand pump when flying aboard. The CO2 does come with some complications and this his what the CAA has to say
No more than four small cylinders of carbon dioxide or other suitable non-flammable non-toxic gas per person and the water capacity of each cylinder must not exceed 50 mL. Note: For carbon dioxide, a gas cylinder with a water capacity of 50 mL is equivalent to a 28 g cartridge.Civil Aviation Authority
However, the bike forums and real life experience says a little different about carrying CO2 canisters. It seems that it depends on the airline and in some instances the 3rd party security and baggage handlers. It really is much easier to take a simple hand pump with you.
Size Of Transport At Your Destination
Something that is very often overlooked, you get your bike box to the airport. Then its on the airplane to your destination and once your there you find out that our rental vehicle won’t accommodate your bike box and luggage. Ensure you check the manufacturers dimensions of your hire vehicle before setting off to your destination.
More often than not it is more expensive to upgrade your hire vehicle once you are abroad, rather than online. Secondly the option of upgrading to a larger vehicle once you are the may not be available. Not every destination airport has a mass of large vehicles available to hire at a moments notice.
Bike Insurance For Traveling Abroad
You may have taken very precaution possible but accidents and baggage handlers still do happen. Even worse your luggage could go missing and that could also spoil the euro cycling holiday. Bike insurance is essential when you are flying with your bike, and the cheapest is not always the best. Do ensure that it covers everything you need
Think about what protection you want from your bicycle insurance.
To find the best cover, you should think about:
- How often you want to take your bike abroad
- How much cover you would need to replace your bike
- If you need travel insurance to ride your bike overseas
- Theft, accidental damage and vandalism
- Personal accidents, for example if you are injured after a crash
- Third party liability
- Damage or loss of accessories like your helmet
- Replacement bike hire
- Cover while in transit
- Getting your bike home, If you are injured and need to get home, the cost of returning your bike separately will be covered
You will need to read your policy carefully and note what could not be covered on the insurance. Some insurance companies state “approved locks”, they may even state that mountain biking is an extreme sport and is not covered. Also speak with your fellow bikers to get the good, the bad and the ugly about the bike insurance companies.
Check Your Bike For Damage When You Reach The Destination
If there is any obvious damage to the bike case report it to the airline immediately, ideally contact the insurance as well. Hopefully there will be no sign of damage to you bike box but do inspect your cycle as soon as possible. Upon inspection if there is any damage to the bike then document and photograph. It may be a good idea to take a picture of the bike in the open bike box before you fly. This way it will be easy to show the insurance company any differences that occurred during transportation.
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Fly Your Bike
You should check the airlines official website when flying with your bike because they are all different. We have pulled together some of the main information for you.
Virgin Atlantic Airlines
If you’re planning a cycling trip and only your own ride will do, you’ll be glad to know you can bring your bicycle with you, as part of your baggage allowance – as long as it doesn’t weigh more than 23kg. Your board musn’t exceed our standard dimensions of 190cm x 75cm x 65cm (75″ x 30″ x 26″) and 23kg in weight. More on Flying your bike with Virgin Atlantic Airlines.
TUI (Thomson’s Airways)
They happily take on board different sports equipment, such as bikes, golf clubs and fishing rods. In order to book these, please give us a call on 0203 636 1790. We recommend that you do this as soon as possible as space on each flight is very limited. You can also book these on Flight Extras once seat selection is open for your flight, however given that availability is limited we would suggest calling us earlier. More details on fly your bike with TUI.
Thomas Cook
If you are planning a cycling holiday and flying with Thomas Cook you will happy to know that you can take your bike. There are conditions of course, the bike and the case needs to be under 30kg, above that and excess baggage charges will apply. The case dimensions need to be no more than 200 cm length x 40 cm width x 100 cm height. Fly your bike Thomas Cook.
Easy Jet Airlines
If you have chosen EasyJet and want to fly with your bike, you need to add it as Sports Equipment or more specifically Large Sports Equipment. Full fees details.
Fee:
- 45 GBP per flight if booked online
- 55 GBP per flight if paid at the airport
More on flying with Easy Jet Airlines and a bike.
Jet2.Com
Flying with a bike on Jet2.Com seems a pretty simple process of just adding it to your online booking form. If you are traveling in a group even better as 1 in 4 bikes go totally free. The bike allowance is pretty generous with 32kg, that means even if you had a heavy average mountain bike at 17.5kg and then added our bike box at 12kg you would still have a little spare. Fly Bike Jet2.com.
British Airways
On a British Airways flight you can take your bike as a part of your FREE checked baggage allowance. If your fare doesn’t include checked baggage allowance or you need to take extra luggage with you, than a fee will apply. More details on British Airways.
Air France
- Requires approval from customer service department at least 48 hours before flight
- Bikes are not a part of baggage allowance
- Bike transport within Europe costs €55
- Price ranges from €40–100 depending on five different flight zones
- Max linear dimensions of 300cm
- Weight limit of 23kg
- For more details visit Air France here
Aer Lingus
- No online booking available so call customer service centre
- A bike will cost €50 per flight with a weight allowance up to 23kg
- For flights to/from North America bikes can be carried as part of your luggage allowance
- Extra luggage is charged at €75 / $100
- Business class passengers carry sports equipment for free
- For more details visit Aer Lingus here
Alitalia
- Sports equipment is counted as part of your baggage allowance
- Weight allowance up to 23kg
- Not clear on dimensions
- For more details visit Alitalia here
Eurowings
- Eurowings cannot guarantee that they will carry your bike if there is not sufficient space (this applies to any airline)
- £45 / €50 for short haul flight
- £89 / €100 for long haul flights
- For more details visit Eurowings here
Iberia
- Bike counted as part of luggage allowance for long-haul flights
- A €45 fee applies for short-haul flights
- Weight allowance up to 32kg
- Permissible dimensions of 131x72x21cm
- For more details visit Iberia here
KLM
- Same conditions as Air France
- Require approval from customer service department at least 48 hours before flight
- Not a part of baggage allowance
- Within Europe €55
- Prices range from €40–100 depending on five different flight zones
- Max linear dimensions 300cm, up to 23kg
- For more details visit KLM here
Lufthansa
- Register bike at least 24 hours before departure
- Bikes counted as part of your baggage allowance (except in Economy Class Light)
- Weight allowance up to 23kg for economy, 32kg for business
- Maximum linear dimensions of 3.5m
- Additional baggage costs between €70–250 / $80–287
- For more details visit Luthansa here
Norwegian Air
- Adding a bike will cost between £35–45 online
- A bike will cost £60 on long-haul flights
- Weight allowance up to 25kg
- Maximum linear dimensions of 3m
- more details visit Norwegian Air here
Swiss Air
- Space must be reserved in advance
- Bikes appear to be part of your luggage allowance
- Weight allowance up to 23kg in classic, 32kg in business class
- Dimensions up to 162x92x24cm
- Additional fees outside allowance are very expensive
- details visit Swiss Air here
Ryanair
- Fixed £60 / €60 fee per flight with a weight allowance up to 30kg
- Large sports items up 20kg cost £55 though it’s unclear if this can include a bike
- Not clear on specific dimensions
- For more details visit Ryanair here
Flying to, from or in the US with a bike
Air Canada
- Bikes must be registered at least 24 hours in advance
- Specifically requests that bikes are packed in purpose built bike-bag
- Bike can be counted as part of your baggage allowance
- Weight allowance up to 32kg for bikes with no overweight charges
- Maximum linear dimensions of 292cm
- details visit Air Canada here
Alaska Airlines
- Alaska will waive oversize and overweight baggage fees and charge bikes at standard rates
- Unclear what the weight and size limits are
- Alaska Airlines here
American Airlines
- Bike can be taken as part of checked allowance
- Must be under 50lbs / 23kg
- Must be under 62 inches / 1.57m in linear dimensions
- Above this will incur a fee of $150, increasing allowance to 70lbs / 32kg and 126 inches / 3.2m
- visit American Airlines
Delta
- Bag can be carried as part of your checked luggage on most flights
- Weight allowance up to 32 kg
- Maximum linear dimensions up to 157cm
- Above those limits bicycle is charged at $150
- visit Delta
Icelandair
- Carrying bikes between US–Europe costs £92 / $116
- Weight allowance up to 70lbs / 31.7kg
- Maximum dimensions of 87x22x40 inches / 220x55x101cm
- Icelandair here
JetBlue
- Bike can be taken as part of checked allowance
- Must be under 50lbs / 23kg
- Must be under 62 inches / 1.57m in linear dimensions
- Above this incurs a fee of $50
- For more details visit JetBlue
Southwest Airlines
- Bikes can be carried as part of checked allowance
- Must be under 50lbs / 23kg
- Must under 62 inches / 1.57m in linear dimensions
- Above this incurs a fee of $75
- For more details visit Southwest
Spirit Airlines
- Bikes are charged at $75 each way
- Count towards part of your checked allowance
- For more details visit Spirit here
United
- Bike can be carried as part of you free luggage allowance
- Weight limit of 23kg
- Maximum of 158cm linear dimensions
- $150 for travel in North America if limits are exceeded
- $200 for travel everywhere else if limits are exceeded
- For more details visit United here
Flying to, from or in Australia
Air New Zealand
- Items can be carried as part of your checked allowance
- Items may weigh up to 23kg
- May not exceed 2m in length
- For more details visit Air New Zealand here
Cathay Pacific
- Contact at least 72 hours in advance to book bike
- Bike must be transported in a “recognised bicycle box”
- Bike counts as part of checked allowance
- Weight limit of 23kg
- For more details visit Cathay Pacific here
Emirates
- Bikes must be booked at least 24 hours in advance
- Can be carried as part of your checked baggage allowance
- Weight limit of 23kg or 32kg depending on the class you are flying in
- Maximum linear dimensions of 300cm
- Additional charges are rather expensive
- For more details visit Emirates here
Etihad
- Bikes are exempt from oversize rules
- Weight allowance up to 32kg
- 300cm linear dimensions
- For more details visit Etihad here
Jetstar
- Bikes can be carried but must pay oversize fee
- Charged at AU$25 per flight
- Make sure to purchase enough weight allowance
- For more details visit Jetstar here
Malaysia Airlines
- Bikes will usually be accepted as checked baggage
- Unclear on specific dimensions
- Weight limit of 23kg
- Fees appear to vary depending on airport
- For more details visit Malaysia Airlines here
Qantas
- Bike can be carried as part of your baggage allowance
- Maximum weight of 32kg
- Dimensions of 140x30x80cm
- For more details visit Qantas here
Qatar
- Bike will be carried as part of free baggage allowance
- It is very expensive to add extra items of luggage to your booking
- For more details visit Qatar Airways here
Singapore Airlines
- Bikes are carried as part of free baggage allowance
- Weight limit of 32kg
- Unclear on dimension restrictions
- For more details visit Singapore Air here
Virgin Australia
- Bike accepted as part of checked luggage
- Must be packaged in specific bike case (soft or hard)
- Weight limit of 23kg (32kg in business class)
- Unclear on size restriction
- Virgin Australia
please do visit the Airline site to ensure the information is up to date
What do you do with your bike box once you reach the destination?
