Flying with Bikes to Paris from Boston

  • Thread starter Stanley N. Lapi
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Stanley N. Lapi

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Does any participants in this newsgroup have recent experience flying on Air France with their
bikes? We'll be flying from Boston to Paris and back. We'll be packing our bikes in Trico hard-sided
sports cases. Any extra fees? Other hassles?

Thanks, Stan
 
For some time I've been collecting information on user experiences taking bikes on planes, trains,
buses, boats, etc. There's lots of stuff on rentals, folding bikes, boxing, airlines, and railroads
around the world and how to ride in/out of about 120 airports.

Check it at http://www.BikeAccess.net

Stanley N. Lapidus wrote:
> Does any participants in this newsgroup have recent experience flying on Air France with their
> bikes? We'll be flying from Boston to Paris and back. We'll be packing our bikes in Trico
> hard-sided sports cases. Any extra fees? Other hassles?
>
> Thanks, Stan
 
> Does any participants in this newsgroup have recent experience flying on
Air
> France with their bikes? We'll be flying from Boston to Paris and back. We'll be packing our bikes
> in Trico hard-sided sports cases. Any extra
fees?
> Other hassles?

Stan: I haven't flown with my bike on Air France, but flew United from SFO to CDG (Paris) and, even
though my case is rather large (the biggest that Trial3sports makes), I wasn't charged in either
direction.

One word of advice- if you haven't flown out of CDG before, you need to allow lots of extra time.
The place is a disaster, with queues that go every which-way, and a rather haphazard system of
inspecting bike boxes right there on the floor of the first (security) check-in area. They'll let
most breeze through, and then randomly decide to tear one apart, bit by bit by bit (or so it seems).
If you're going to stuff your bike clothing in there, I'd suggest you might want to wash it first,
as watching your personal stuff get close scrutiny becomes the primary entertainment for those in
the terminal.

Entering France is rarely an issue, by the way... I wouldn't expect any delays there (unless they
haven't finished painting one of the passport inspection locations, which they normally only do
during the busiest times of the year).

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com
 
We flew SFO- CDG on Air France exactly this time last year with a coupled tandem packed in two
softsided S&S suitcases. No problems either direction. No one wanted to see our marvelous packing
job, our clean or dirty shorts and jerseys, or our bike, which, admittedly, didn't look much like a
bike when you take it apart.

Oh well.

Cathy

"Stanley N. Lapidus" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:zSb7b.291390$cF.90858@rwcrnsc53...
> Does any participants in this newsgroup have recent experience flying on
Air
> France with their bikes? We'll be flying from Boston to Paris and back. We'll be packing our bikes
> in Trico hard-sided sports cases. Any extra
fees?
> Other hassles?
>
> Thanks, Stan
 
> We flew SFO- CDG on Air France exactly this time last year with a coupled tandem packed in two
> softsided S&S suitcases. No problems either direction. No one wanted to see our marvelous packing
> job, our clean or dirty shorts and jerseys, or our bike, which, admittedly, didn't look much like
> a bike when you take it apart.

Cathy: But what qualifies as the more bizarre experience... traveling between terminals through the
hall of neon lights at Chicago O'Hare, or up through one of those tubes in the middle of CDG before
you can go down to your destination?

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com
 
We flew from Ohio to Spokane, WA in August, and from Ohio to Madrid, Spain via Newark this
September. We have S and S coupled bikes which fit in airline sized cases.

Here are some tips:

1. You have to anticipate that in the US, Homeland Security will open the case for inspection.
Therefor, pack your bike as simply as possible, and don't put a lot of junk in the case. You
want to make it possible for them to view the contents without unpacking the case. Also, you
want to make it easy for them to close the case.

2. I put an 8 1/2 by 11 typed notice in the cases advising them that it was a precision bicycle
carefully packed, that it should not be forced to close, and that if they had problems to
page me or call me on my cell phone, and I also listed my flight information.

3. On the Madrid trip, I also put a cable tie through the lock hasp so I could tell if the
cases had been opened -- they were outbound. The cases were not inspected home bound, nor
during our interanl Iberia flight.

4. Generally speaking, subject to change, your bike in an oversize case will fly across the
Atlantic as your second piece of luggage at no extra charge -- provided you are within the
weight allowances -- Note that 100 pounds appears to be the maximum, but I try to keep the
cases as light as possible to avoid the cases being thrown around as much. Check with Air
France as to size and weight limitations.

Stanley N. Lapidus wrote:

> Does any participants in this newsgroup have recent experience flying on Air France with their
> bikes? We'll be flying from Boston to Paris and back. We'll be packing our bikes in Trico
> hard-sided sports cases. Any extra fees? Other hassles?
>
> Thanks, Stan
>
>

--
Cheers! OliverS When replying personally, remove "_removespam_"

"When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race." HG Wells
 
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