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UPDATE: In a very disappointing development, as of 2008 some domestic and international carriers - e.g. Northwest Airlines and Air France - are starting to charge for bicycle even in suitcases, detectable in the X-ray machine. Please check with your airline before you fly.
Folks are always asking us what they should expect when they get those suitcases concealing their -- shhh! mysterious unnamed folding bicycle --- to the airport. This topic is often discussed on the YAK! which we recommend you join for the latest tales of the unexpected. Until our new community site with online forums is developed, check here for snippets on this topic. Thank you to the BF owners who have taken the time to share their experiences.
Useful Links:
Travel with Bicycles maintained by BF owner George Farnsworth.
POST YOUR AIRPORT EXPERIENCES HERE
PRINT THIS: An exchange between United Airlines and a Bike Friday owner which allows Bike Fridays at no charge on United. Print out and present at the United Counter if you get grief!
March 2006: Southwest Airlines loves us!
Thanks to Austin Bike Friday owner Bob Vitray for pointing out Southwest Airlines' policy on sporting goods which says, under 'Bicycles':
Non-motorized Bicycles, including Bike Friday and Co-Pilot, will be accepted as checked baggage at no additional charge provided the limit of three checked bags is not exceeded; the bicycle is properly packaged; and the box containing the bicycle fits within the 62-inch sizing limit and weighs 50 lbs or under. The handlebars, kickstand, and pedals must be removed and placed inside the box. A $50.00 each-way charge applies to bicycles that don’t meet the above criteria. Bicycles packaged in a cardboard box or soft-sided case will be transported as a conditionally accepted item.
Nice to know that the Bike Friday ranks up there with the 'co-pilot' !
From: "Don Zawadiwsky" on the YAK! Subject: TSA bike handling, Date: Tue, 8 Jun 2004
Now a different matter for those who regularly fly with their Bike Fridays. When I was returning from Round Up! yesterday at O'Hare in Chicago, I noticed that after my suitcase had come off the carousel, it showed evidence of having been opened, as there was part of the lip of the suitcase near the center lock of the Carlton that was not properly engaged, and I know I didn't leave it that way. I leave my Carlton closed but not locked with the combination at 000. When I got the suitcase home and opened it, there was a note from TSA thanking me for the picture which I taped to the inside of the case. Apparently TSA had decided to randomly pick my suitcase for complete inspection, had taken everything out and then repacked. Without the picture of the completely folded bike within the case -- which was inserted into a sheet protector with the notice "This is a folding bike. You may remove the bike from the suitcase for inspection but please note that it only goes back in one way -- see picture for details." -- they wouldn't have been able to get everything right, and I would have had bike parts fricassee to contend with. Glad to see that even in these post 9/11 times a little forethought goes a long way. I also taped my itinerary in a separate sheet protector next to the one with the picture, as I didn't want my bike to get sent to the Lost and Found of the airlines in case it didn't make the flight with me.
Don
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From Alex Wetmore in Seattle:
Another couple of ideas: * Put pictures of how things go in (showing it one part at a time). I did this for my Swift Folder, but haven't done it for the Bike Friday yet. * Use compression straps to hold everything in place. I put these around the frame, wheels, and bars. You can pick up my Bike Friday, examine all around it, and put it back in place easily. The other smaller stuff (like my lock, water bottle, and saddle) fit in many positions anyway so I don't worry about them being loose.
My bike was examined on both flights of my most recent trip. I expect that it always will be at this point.
alex
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From Don Fannon in NY:
Please let Hanz know that his "strap everything together in the travel case" idea has continued to bear fruit. In the six air trips I've taken since reading that suggestion, the bike has been opened for inspection every single time (I have a collection of Transportation Safety Administration tape and luggage tags!) with no damage. I've put a sticker with the case combination under the handle, to make the opening job easier. Once I was called from the boarding area to the examination area for a "conference". I use six or eight 12-inch, bright yellow velcro straps to cinch things together as I prepare the bike for the case and it pretty much goes in in one big "blob". I also put fewer accessories in the case now, making the examiner's view clearer and their re-pack task easier. The only thing I have to find a solution for is keeping the plastic tube with the electrical plate ends that keeps the case sides from collapsing in on the bike together. Twice, the examiner didn't get it back in right, but I lucked out that it still worked well enough. I've thought of going to an "attached to the case" base and threaded plastic pipe instead of the conduit-style plates, but that would impede the easy lift-out by the examiner. There doesn't seem to be an easy way to make it part of the folded bike package either. Ideas?
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From Bob Immler via the YAK!, Tuesday Nov 11, 2003 Subject: Flying to the Southern Tandem Rally
Thursday we flew from Manchester, NH to Jacksonville, FL to attend the Southern Tandem Rally in Tallahassee.
It was our first domestic flight with a BF since 9/11.
We usually fly out of Hartford, CT and the last time I took my daughter there for a flight, I told the woman at the counter that I had a bicycle which folded into a suitcase, and could I be there if it were inspected?
She said "certainly."
We flew Southwest from Manchester to Baltimore to Jacksonville. I asked the woman at the Southwest Counter if I could be there if the suitcases were opened?
But she answered "No!"
Then my wife said "They have a bicycle in them and everything needs to go into a certain place!"
When she heard the word "bicycle" she informed us that they charge $45 for bicycles.
I then corrected my wife and said "Well, it's actually bicycle parts."
We weren't charged and after dinner in Tallahassee I assembled the tandem. I'd left the suitcases unlocked and they didn't seem to have been opened.
My wife's suitcase had evidently been opened and it was secured with a plastic lock.
BTW there were four Fridays at the Tandem Rally. Our Family Tandem Traveller, two Twosdays and a Twin Air.One couple had just received a Tandem Traveller XL but only had about 10 miles on it and had been hesitant to bring it.
We had a great time and even won one of the door prizes, a weekend at the Bicycle Inn in Bakersville, NC.
We also learned that the "FL" behind Tallahassee does not stand for flat!
We flew home last night. I figured the answer would be "no" but I again asked if I could be there if the suitcase were inspected.
She said I could. But I needed to lock the suitcases and that if it were opened, they'd page me.
I don't think I was ever paged, but I may have been.
When we picked up the suitcases they both now had blue Federal inspection stickers on the outside.
One had an inspection notice inside. Nothing seems to be missing. I do have the combination listed on the outside of one of the suitcases, but it had come off the second. To lock them I only changed one of the digits.
Maybe the inspectors figured that out.
I'd secured as many of the pieces together with velcro, so that everything could hopefully be put back into the right place, if they were taken out. And I can see that one of the zippered pockets on the panniers had been opened, but not shut.
Anyway so far, so good.
There were many tandems at the rally with S&S couplers. Apparently they charge about $250 per coupler. I smile when I realize that our tandem cost less than just the conversion to S&S couplers for most of the bikes.
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From Alan C via the YAK! Thursday, July 10, 2003 Weighing cases on bathroom scale
They are enforcing 50 pounds flying domestically within the US, and 70 pounds flying internationally per suitcase. Most of us have to fly a domestic leg, in order to get to an international flight, so keep that in mind.
Australian Domestic Travel: I was tickled by Virgin Blue, who not only transported my Crusoe unboxed and unmodified except for letting some air out of the tires, but have a darn good sense of humor, eg the carry-on measurement frame that says, "You can carry all the emotional baggage you like but your carry-on must fit in here." They simply rolled the bike up a ramp into the hold in Melbourne and on my arrival in Sydney, I found it standing neatly against a wall next to some large pieces of cargo under a big sign saying, 'SIZE MATTERS'. And the ticket was a bargain $A100 return, way cheaper than Qantas. I didn't have the suitcase because I had taken the train down to Melbourne, which was such an arduous long haul I decided to fly back. Virgin reminds me of Southwest - responsible, responsive and not boring. Here's a movie of the BF flying Virgin...
MOVIE: BF on Virgin Australia (404 kb): You'll need something like Quicktime (free download) to see it.
From Debra Y via the YAK! Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2003
My husband and I just flew American from Miami to New York with our new Bike Fridays in the Carltons. They wanted to charge us excess baggage because they weighed in at 52 and 54 pounds, but since we were continuing overseas where the weight limit is over 70 pounds, they didn't charge us. One problem we had, though, was during the bag x-ray procedure. After they x-rayed the suitcases, they opened them up for physical inspection. Even though I explained that they were folding bikes, they still poked around in the cases. AND they insisted on letting ALL of the air out of ALL of the tires, including the trailer tires that were also in the suitcase. I don't know if it is related to that, but both of us had to replace the tubes when we put the bikes together because the tubes were torn where the stem is attached. Good luck!
From Tim S on the YAK! Date: Mon, 07 Jul 2003
I travelled on Alaska Airlines recently with my NWT in a carboard box, which was just 62 inches total. I called the airline ahead of time, and they told me there would be no excess baggage charge, as the box could go on the conveyor belt. The main reason that airlines want to charge extra for a normal-sized boxed bicycle is that it requires special handling, i.e. can not go on the conveyor. (Although I have had both United and American put my normal-sized bike boxes on the conveyor several times.)
When I got to the counter to check in, the agent asked me what was in the box (something they never would have asked before 9/11). I told her it was a folding bicycle. She wanted to charge me $50 extra. I very firmly told her that I had been assured that there would be no extra charge, and that the bike in its box can be treated as ordinary luggage.
Well, we went round and round on this, but I stuck to my guns. Finally, she went back to talk with her supervisor, and agreed not to charge me.
I would say that if your suitcase does not require any special handling, you would have a good case for not paying excess. I would simply check it in, without saying anything. If they ask what is in it, be honest, but remind them that it doesn't need special handling. Since your case looks like a normal suitcase, they're not likely to haul out the measuring tape and get nit-picky. Also, even in these times, airlines tend not to get technical about weight limits. A few pounds over is usually not enough to cause them to charge (usually, after all, it is a competitive business).
From Richard B on the YAK! Date: Mon, 7 Jul 2003
I fly on AA regularly with my Air Friday. AA's policy expressly allows bicycles that fit in the 62" limit and you will not have problems with the Carlton -- it's close enough. However, they are very strict on the 50 pound limit per piece and you will have to pay an excess charge if you're overweight.
From Ian Scholz on the YAK! Mon, 7 Jul 2003, who makes the Bike Friday TravelTrailer (ian@bikerev.com):
I think that since it is a standard suitcase that they will not even measure it. The bike trailer and case should not be more than about 40 pounds. The trailer weighs about 6.5 pounds. If it does exceed 50 pounds take out your seat and pedals etc. put them in another bag.
From Ward T J via the YAK! Date: Sun, 15 Jun 2003
We took our Pocket Nomads from Wichita to Rochester, NY, last week. In Wichita our baggage disappeared on the belt as soon as we checked it, and when we arrived in Rochester, our bikes had not been opened but our other cases had. We set the combination on the Carltons to 0-0-0 and put a sticker on giving the combination. We use luggage straps.
On our return, Rochester is still hand-checking every bag. We watched as the agent opened the bike cases, read the notice inside ("this is a folded bicycle, etc.," and a big photograph of how the case looks when packed), swabbed the inside of the cases, and closed them back up. He was very careful and didn't move anything inside the case. When he was through I thanked him, told him the bikes were a puzzle to get into the cases, and he said the whole thing looked great.
I just now reassembled the bikes and there was no damage.
I've traveled several times without the bikes this year, and just this once with them, and so far I like the TSA much better than the former airline security people. For one thing, the TSA agents don't care what is in the case as long as it won't hurt anyone, so the airline will never know there's a bike in the case. The TSA agents I've dealt with have been quite friendly and professional; they must be sending them to charm school and I think it's working.
As I packed the bikes I used the quick fold strap, removed from the bike, to strap together the chainstay, seat tube, and top tube, so that if the bike was lifted out, it would not unfold. I thought about using double-sided velcro to strap the handlebars to the folded bike, but decided against it. My thinking was that if they got out of place when the bike was lifted, the straps might keep them from being packed properly. I did remove the derailleur and strapped it loosely to the chainstay. I also strapped the rear legs of the rack together to relieve pressure they were putting on the rear wheel.
One more note on computers. I mounted my computer permanently on the handlebar stem sleeve that the handlebars slip into. I wire-tied the wire onto the stem and front fork. Then I cut the wire between the stem and front fork and put a connector in. It worked well.
We bicycled the Erie Canal tow path for the week, self contained. I'll write that up separately.
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Emailable link to this article: http://www.bikefriday.com/airport