BA and bikes

[rich p]

BA have always been my preferred choice for bike carriage for a number of reasions mainly that they take an item of sporting equipment free and you can prebook months and months in advance.
Following on from Dayvo's post elsewhere it seems that their policy has changed and the weight of the bike is included in your regular baggage allowance of 23 kg.
It makes Easyjet look a bit cheaper maybe.


Each bag over 23kgs (51lbs) and up to and including 32kgs (70lbs) will incur a charge of £30

Sporting equipment should be packed where possible within your free checked and hand baggage allowance - there is no additional allowance. If your sporting equipment causes you to exceed the free baggage allowance, you will have to pay an extra bag fee.

So, if I read this correctly, a bike will now cost £30 each way if you go over 23kg. I hope I've misunderstood!

 

[SavageHoutkop]

From what you've quoted it's not clear. The 32 kg thing is a per bag limit (most airports will not handle a bag if it weighs over 32kg). I think BA is charging £30 if any particular bag is between 23 and 32 kgs.

It does not mean that the bike will cost £30 if you are over your total limit of (??) 23kgs. You'll need to find the 'extra bag fee' in the last line, which is not necessarily £30.

 

[Dayvo]

From what you've quoted it's not clear. The 32 kg thing is a per bag limit (most airports will not handle a bag if it weighs over 32kg). I think BA is charging £30 if any particular bag is between 23 and 32 kgs.

It does not mean that the bike will cost £30 if you are over your total limit of (??) 23kgs. You'll need to find the 'extra bag fee' in the last line, which is not necessarily £30.

I have just booked a return from Heathrow to Sydney, via Frankfurt (with BA) and Taipai (for the rest of the journey) and have been warned by the travel agent (Trailfinders) that although I am allowed 20 kg baggage (and seven kg handbaggage), my bike and bike bag almost total that. For EVERY kg over the 20 kg limit, I'll have to pay a surplus of £40! And I have about 15-18 kg!

Fukk 'em! I'll buy a new bike in Sydney instead!

 

[HJ]

The rules have only recently changed and they vary depending on where you are going, as always it is best to check at source what the rules are, see here for checked bags and here for sporting equipment. The baggage allowances are still among the most generous available...

 

[samid]

FWIW - I flew with BA last May/June (Toronto-London-Edinburgh and back), and was not charged for my boxed bike either way. I'm not sure though how much it weighed.

 

[rich p]

The rules have only recently changed and they vary depending on where you are going, as always it is best to check at source what the rules are, see here for checked bags and here for sporting equipment. The baggage allowances are still among the most generous available...

I did! That's where the quotes are from.

The point is in interpreting them. It appears to be either £30 or £35 for an extra bag or going over the 23kg.

 

[Nigeyy]

Was it just a regular cardboard bike box? (i.e. a box you can get from a bike shop that was used to pack a bike)

After reviewing the web site carefully just over a year ago (flew from Boston to London then), it seemed that BA had changed its policy and was only allowing purpose hard shell bike boxes or a bike bag. I got a bike bag but to be honest would much have preferred just using a cardboard box like I've done previously....

I haven't checked out the BA web site, but I'm sure given the economic climate for airlines they've either rethought or will be rethinking their baggage policies. Shame really, as I always used BA since they had good bike baggage policies (no charges for a bike and it counted for a piece of luggage). I know recently I heard on the news that BA would start charging for seat allocations -though that could be just on this side of the Atlantic. A big mistake is you ask me.

FWIW - I flew with BA last May/June (Toronto-London-Edinburgh and back), and was not charged for my boxed bike either way. I'm not sure though how much it weighed.

 

[Dave Davenport]

I did! That's where the quotes are from.

The point is in interpreting them. It appears to be either £30 or £35 for an extra bag or going over the 23kg.

Looks like £28 (each way/on-line/europe) for a bike to me. They were bound to bring a charge in I suppose.

 

[Oneleggedtoad]

What a bunch of Gangsters!! I checked and checked their web site about costs of taking my bike out to Thailand next month, before buying my ticket. It seems almost as soon as I hit the return key on my ticket purchase they changed the rules.
Its still not clear what I'm going to be charged either. Sure I'm going to be hit with a £40/£32 on line charge for an additional bag but its not clear if I'm going to be hit a 2nd time if the 2 bags exceed 23KG. I could get a bike out there for a little more than a hundred quid that'll last a month, might just do that.

 

[Nigeyy]

I've found dealing with BA to be pretty good. However, airlines are notorious for randomly applying rules in apparently random fashion. If you do decide to take your bike, I'd recommend the following:

i. turn up early and check in that bike early.
ii. engage in pleasant conversation before you get to the bike
iii. have a plan of what to do and what you are willing to accept beforehand. E.g. have a printout of the rules as they applied when you bought the ticket, be prepared to ask for a supervisor if you have no luck, call beforehand (this is where you can be a bit devious and keep calling until you get the answer you like -then you can truly reference that conversation and the rep you talked with), and of course, be prepared to either have a friend take the bike back or accept you may have to pay more....

I'll bet there are more people on this site who have good tips as well.

Actually, I thought I read on the conditions of the ticket that rules and regs apply at the time of the ticket purchase or something like that (e.g. they can't just change some of the rules on you).

Good luck!

What a bunch of Gangsters!! I checked and checked their web site about costs of taking my bike out to Thailand next month, before buying my ticket. It seems almost as soon as I hit the return key on my ticket purchase they changed the rules.
Its still not clear what I'm going to be charged either. Sure I'm going to be hit with a £40/£32 on line charge for an additional bag but its not clear if I'm going to be hit a 2nd time if the 2 bags exceed 23KG. I could get a bike out there for a little more than a hundred quid that'll last a month, might just do that.

 

[samid]

Was it just a regular cardboard bike box? (i.e. a box you can get from a bike shop that was used to pack a bike)

It was just a regular cardboard bike box. (In fact, two boxes, one inside the other - reused twice already, and I'm planning to use the same box(es) again next spring - when I'm again planning to go to Scotland.)