Bikes on Thomson flights - plastic bag OK?

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robjh

Legendary Member
Hi
has anyone taken a bike on a Thomson (Thomsonfly) flight recently?

Their conditions of carriage say it just has to be 'wrapped in plastic or cardboard', and on the phone they have confirmed that, but experience has taught me that airport staff can sometimes sing from a different hymnsheet.

Has anyone done this lately with the bike just in plastic, or should I box it just in case the check-in staff are being 'difficult'? I'm going from Gatwick North terminal.

By 'plastic bag' I mean the CTC clear poly bag.

thanks for any info
 

zizou

Veteran
I have no idea on their policy but even if it was allowed i wouldnt recommend checking in a bike and only protecting it in a plastic bag.

Maybe i'm just too cautious but frankly the best case scenario i see is that the bag won't puncture or tear so will at least keep all the broken bits together in one place!
 

rich p

ridiculous old lush
Location
Brighton
No idea Rob, but you could box it on the way out for safety's sake, and use the plastic bag on the return leg when it's not so crucial. have a good trip mate:thumbsup:
 
I have no idea on their policy but even if it was allowed i wouldnt recommend checking in a bike and only protecting it in a plastic bag.

Maybe i'm just too cautious but frankly the best case scenario i see is that the bag won't puncture or tear so will at least keep all the broken bits together in one place!
You'd think so, but CTC feel differently
http://www.ctc.org.uk/cyclists-library/bikes-public-transport/bikes-air
When bikes fly naked, they paradoxically seem to suffer no more damage than when they go covered – usually less. We guess that’s because baggage handlers really are human, and don’t deliberately kick in the wheels etc! But a bike in a bag or box is just a package: that can be dropped, thrown, shoved and kicked into place just like any other bag or box. To prevent damage in that case you need a really hard case, that will only be big enough for a racing or mountain-bike and yet be heavy enough to make quite a dent in your luggage allowance.
 
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Deleted member 26715

Guest
Seems logical, it the bike is 'naked' it can be wheeled around the baggage area, if they are bagged/wrapped then they need to be carried & hence the ability to be dropped. No experience of this, just I did work a few years having to deal with carriers sending our goods out & I suspect baggage handlers have the same mentality

Alan...
 
Bikes by plane in most cases get handled quite safely, but during the time I worked at Gatwick I also saw some really bad handling. If the plane is of the type that Luggage is loaded into pods before being loaded into the hold, then there should be no problems, the problems is the smaller planes where luggage is hand balled directly into the Hold, 737's and 757's and 320's then bikes in Cardboard boxes can end up under all the luggage if loaded first, Bikes in Poly bags fair better as it can be seen to be a cycle and in my opinion a naked bike with its peddles removed and and handle bars turned get handled with much more care. in most case bikes in pods are in the main laid on top of the luggage or if a few bikes they often get a Pod to themselves, naked bikes and poly bikes in the main get secured upright to the head wall of the hold in the smaller planes.
 
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robjh

robjh

Legendary Member
Thanks for all the thoughts, I know all the pros and cons of plastic-only packing and that's my preferred way to go but just wondered if anyone had direct experience of Thomson. Whatever the published policy says, you can still end up at check-in facing some ill-informed nobber who thinks differently.
In any case the box I would use is only a cardboard one from a LBS so wouldn't offer much protection - but at least it sounds like I could take it on the underground as it's less than 2m long, which was one of my concerns about boxing.
 
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robjh

robjh

Legendary Member
No idea Rob, but you could box it on the way out for safety's sake, and use the plastic bag on the return leg when it's not so crucial. have a good trip mate:thumbsup:

Cheers Rich, I'll do my very best. It's a last-minute plan to make the most of being laid off from work until the year's end to save them money - I'm off to Agadir with the big beast touring bike on Monday at an ungodly hour.
 

steveindenmark

Legendary Member
I have shipped our bike to Italy several times with Ryanair in plastic bags without any ill effects.

However, as dumb as this sounds I have never thought of doing what Rich suggested and flying them down in boxes and back in bags. I always think boxes are a pain because there is never anywhere to leave them safe at the airport.

Thanks for that suggestion Rich.

Steve
 
Location
London
With regard to the cardboard box method, aren't they a complete pig to get to the airport/move around with unless you are arriving by car?

I've never figured this out - apologies if I'm being dumb.
 

Lee_M

Guru
Why not hire a proper bike box?

Bikeboxalan charges £40 for a weeks hire, which seems money well spent to me to ensure your bike survives
 

Alberto

Active Member
Location
London
I have travelled with different bikes by plane over the years (mostly BA, Iberia, Easyjet and Ryanair), and never experienced any problems. I've always done it with cardboard boxes, with plenty of padding in them. There's plenty of good advice on the web about how to pack them properly. No experience with CTC bags though.

The good thing about cardboard boxes is that you can stuff them with other items up to the weight limit. I normally put in sleeping bags, mats and other bulky and soft stuff, to act as cushions. That way, if you travel light, you can avoid paying for additional baggage.
 
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robjh

robjh

Legendary Member
As always when this topic comes up, plenty of interesting discussions about the pros and cons of boxing vs bagging or anything else, but I just wanted to know whether Thomson would be as good as their word at the airport when I turn up with just the plastic wrapping.

After some thought I'm going to stick to the plastic bag method, as no other packaging is really that portable getting to or from the airport, and it's always been OK for me in the past (apart from getting refused boarding once by BA, but that's really another story). I have Thomson's conditions of carriage printed out though just in case......
 

Simon_m

Guru
I used a plastic CTC on a BA plane and it was fine. I wrapped up all the important bits as best I could, check pics:
http://webm8transamerica.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/packing.html

Before I left I had emailed and rang BA to find out if the bag would be ok, they said yes. At the aiport things were a mixture like you say. One guy, who would be the guy taking it to the plane, said no way! It has to go in a box,1) for insurance and 2) becuase the last bike he say like that, ended up bent beyound recognition. In the end it was fine:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uW0jhLeL_Cg/T7b2IearS5I/AAAAAAAAAKk/vz4MJnN5VLU/s1600/IMG_2462.jpg
IMG_2462.jpg

I was able to watch it being loaded onto the plane, the guys handled it gently and had a good look at it. On the way back though, it had to be put in a cardboard box, blooming yanks. Of course you know about taking the pedals off, handlebars sidways, seat down. There was a lot of talk about letting down the tires on this and other forums, however no one asked or checked. Hope this helps
 
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robjh

robjh

Legendary Member
Just an update on the Thomson situation. I turned up at Gatwick on Monday morning with my bike in the CTC bag and they were as good as their word, no problems at all. The bike arrived at Agadir unscathed and I'm now sitting in an internet café in Morocco writing this. And for £15 return for a bike, Thomson now count as one of my favourite airlines.
 
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