Bromptons on flights

[steveindenmark]

Can you bag a Brompton up and take it on a flight as hold baggage as opposed to a bike.

The reason I ask is that I travel light and I could take a bag on as hand luggage as use a Brompton as hold luggage. It would be cheaper than declaring it as a bike.

 

[Fab Foodie]

YES.
I do it regularly now using a Polaris Eva Bike Pod:
http://brilliantbikes.co.uk/trailers/1811-polaris-brompton-bike-carry-pod.html

I just check it into the hold. With My S6L with Son, cycleshoes, hat and waterproof it comes in around 20 and a bit-ish Kgs. And additional Luggage strap to stop the teleacopic handle being used to carry it.
So far so good! Copenhagen, France, Dusseldorf, Zurich.


Good info here from Trikeman:
https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/p...avel-experience-thoughts.174929/#post-3582789

 

[steveindenmark]

Thanks for that FF.

The problem would be what to do with the case, once I reached my destination.

All the bikes I fly with at the moment are home made bags made from sail cloth. [I am a sail maker]. Up to now I have been fortunate.

 

[TheDoctor]

Dimpa bag from IKEA. Dirt cheap, and folds up. For flying, I might be tempted to use a sacrificial layer of cardboard. Brommie in the hold, T-bag as hand luggage. Sorted.

 

[CopperBrompton]

You are very much braver than me, TheDoctor! I know people who have done it and gotten away with it, but I would be spending the whole flight with visions of getting a crushed bike at the other end.

 

[TheDoctor]

Oh, I've not done it. But if Steve is happy to fly a bike in a sail cloth bag, then a Dimpa is pretty close. And pretty cheap.

 

[steveindenmark]

I've done it lots of times all over Europe without any mishaps. The good thing with spinnaker cloth is that it is quite slippery and difficult to sling around once a bike is in it.

 

[StuartG]

I have the B+W case. I declare it as a bike with Ryanair AFAIR it is cheaper and, more importantly, its a 30Kg instead of a marginal 20Kg allowance - easily exceeded by all the other stuff I squeeze between the spokes

 

[roundthebendbromcycle]

I think I read somewhere that Andrew Ritchie designer of the brompton ......(5 seconds pause for feelings of awesomeness) ....just used to put bits of foam taped in key areas for flying, the theory being, if the luggage handlers saw it was a bike they wouldn't thrown it.
I like the spinnaker cloth bag idea Steve, however do you sew the stuff? Walking Foot?