Here we have compiled a compehensive list of the major carriers policies on taking your bike along for the ride. Just make sure your steed is well packed and you’ll be ready to join us on one of our tours

UK Airlines to Europe

British Airways

British Airways have a very helpful Bike policy in that you can take yours on free of charge as part of your free checked baggage allowance as long as it meets dimensions and weight restrictions. Only if your total number of bags is more than your free checked allowance, will you need to pay extra bag charges.

http://www.britishairways.com/travel/bagsport/public/en_gb

Easyjet

Easyjet charge a fee for each flight for yours bike which differ depending on when you declare it. When pre-paid the price is £25, when paid at the airport you pay £30. This fee gives you and extra 12kgs of weight allowance on top of your booked baggage, with a maximum of 50kg allowed per person, including your bike, subject to available space. So one passenger with a bag and a bike bag has a total of 32kg allowance which can be distributed amongst the two however you like.

The maximum weight or your bike bag or box can be 32kgs

Excess kilos: £10

http://www.easyjet.com/en/planning/baggage.html

http://www.easyjet.com/en/book/regulations.html#baggage

Ryanair

The largest discount airline in Europe will charge you £40 each way if you book your bike online with a charge of £50 if you pay for it on the day. Usually sports equipment can weigh up to 20kgs, but there’s a small line of text saying Bikes can weigh up to 30kgs so it’s worth packing as much as you can into your bike bag/box and taking the rest as hand luggage depending on the length of the trip.

http://www.ryanair.com/en/terms-and-conditions#regulations-tableoffees

Excess kilos: £20

Bmi Baby

When you book online with Bmi Baby you can expect to be charged £17.99 or €22.00 (£23 when booked on the phone or at the airport) per sector per item with a maximum weight of 18kgs. This is all subject to availability of space on the plane so best to check before hand.

Excess kilos: £12

http://www.bmibaby.com/bmibaby/faqs/baggage.aspx

Thomsonfly

Thomson charge £30 return for short and mid haul flights and £60 return for their long haul offerings. They do ask you to call ahead to pre-book you bike onto your flight on 0871 231 4787.

 http://www.thomson.co.uk/editorial/faqs/flights/luggage.html

Excess kilos: £10 short/mid haul £15 long haul

Intercontinental flights

Virgin Atlantic

Virgin also offer a great service in that you can take along your bike at no extra cost, that’s as long as it doesn’t weigh more than 23kg. That’s in addition to your free baggage allowance.

http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/gb/en/travel-information/baggage/sports-equipment.html

Lufthansa

The biggest German carrier charges a fee for you to take your bike along. Flights within Europe cost 70€ with intercontinental flights costing 150€. You also have to call their reservation hotline in order to register your bike after booking your flight and they can’t definitely guarantee that sports equipment will be accepted.

http://www.lufthansa.com/online/portal/lh/de/info_and_services/baggage?nodeid=3331156&l=en&cid=18002

Lufthansa Special Baggage pricing

Swiss

Swiss airlines have a similar policy to Lufthansa, a bike comes in their ‘Medium’ sports equipment tariff which means that it’s between 16 kg and 30 kg and/or is between 1.41m and 2m in length.

As with Lufthansa, Swiss charge 70€ ($100) for flights within Europe, with intercontinental flights costing 150€ ($200).

http://www.swiss.com/web/en/services/baggage/pages/sporting_equipment.aspx

Air France

If you want to book your bike with Air France, you’ll need to call their sales department for confirmation. But bikes are treated as baggage items and their transport is included in your baggage allowance.  This allowance is 23kg per item and for anything beyond this a fixed-rate fee is charged. This fee depends on the amount and can be found out by taking a look at their checked baggage section.

http://www.airfrance.co.uk/GB/en/common/guidevoyageur/pratique/bagage_equipement_sport_airfrance.htm

Qantas

Another major international carrier, Qantas includes your bike in your check baggage allowance (economy 23kg, business 32kg, first 40kg) as long as it doesn’t exceed 1.40m in length. You can also purchase and additional baggage allowance to save on airport excess baggage rates. Nice and simple!

 http://www.qantas.com.au/travel/airlines/sporting-equipment/global/en#jump0

American Airlines

This airline’s bike policy depends on the size and weight of your bike. If it doesn’t exceed 62 dimensional inches (157.5cm) or 50lbs (22.7kg) then the bike is charged the applicable baggage charge for the 1^st checked bag. If it exceeds this then the bike is charged a fee of $150 regardless of the number of checked bags.

http://www.aa.com/i18n/travelInformation/baggage/baggageAllowance.jsp

As an interesting side note, AA also offers a special option to fly with antlers. They must be as free of residue as possible and the skull must be wrapped and tips protected. You’ll have to remember that when you’re transporting any extravagant cycling trophies home!

United Airlines

Bike’s with United travel for an extra fee as special luggage at £130 (150€/$150) each way. This makes it pretty simple to work out, if not slightly pricey.

http://www.united.com/page/article/1,,53403,00.html

http://www.united.com/page/article/1,,50773,00.html#bicycle

Air Canada

The major Canadian airline doesn’t apply an oversize luggage charge to your bike, but a handling charge of $50 CAD/USD (plus applicable taxes) is applied for each leg of the journey. If you have a few more bags then you thought you might then you will be charged and additional checked baggage fee in addition to the handling fee. This will vary depending on the weight so check it out before hand.

http://www.aircanada.com/en/travelinfo/airport/baggage/sports_equip.html#-bike