Flying with a frame

[cudfather]

hullo

I'm living in the middle east at the mo, and during a quick 7 day visit to the uk I've just bought a frame (which I wont go on about on here because it's not retro) and I want to take it back with me.

I don't want to put it in the hold because I'm really worried about it being lobbed around by the ground staff, so I was wondering if any of you have managed to take a frame on the plane with you as hand luggage?

I'm asking this just before I call BA themselves to ask them what their rules are, but it would be handy to know if anyone on here has had any experiences with taking precious items on planes.

Cheers.

 

[Russell]

Given that you're not allowed to take more than 100ml of toothpaste on a plane anymore, I think the chances of being allowed to carry on a selection of metal tubing is slim.

FWIW, I brought a frame home from a trip to Switzerland a couple of years ago. Whether it survives the ground crew treatment or not is really up to how you wrap it.

You need to put a spacer in between the rear drop-outs so that the rear triangle cannot be crushed, apart from that be liberal with the bubble wrap or if you can get hold of it, foam pipe insulation around every tube.

 

[LeeDevelopment]

I'd be sorely tempted to FedEx or DHL the frame 'home' instead.

 

[cudfather]

Hmm, to be honest, I don't really want to risk letting it out of my sight so it's got to go on the plane with me or I store it at my parents till I move home.

The last place I'll let it go is in the hold of an aeroplane. I might do dhl though.

 

[kaiser]

How much traveling do you do? You could buy a bike box/case, pricey but will protect the frame.

 

[cudfather]

Decent bike boxes are about £500 I think. I'll look into it

 

[grahame]

Decent bike boxes are about £500 I think. I'll look into it

I've had one of these (actually the same model, but under the Scicon brand) for about 8 years and, I'd guess, about 40 flights. It's looking a little battered at the moment, but is still solid and I've never had a bike damamged in it.

It's £123.31 - good value in my opinion.

 

[kaiser]

Decent bike boxes are about £500 I think. I'll look into it

I've had one of these (actually the same model, but under the Scicon brand) for about 8 years and, I'd guess, about 40 flights. It's looking a little battered at the moment, but is still solid and I've never had a bike damamged in it.

It's £123.31 - good value in my opinion.

thats the one I have too(though rebranded), recommended takes my tri bike and a ton of kit.

 

[cudfather]

Just for the record, I successfully flew the frame with BA back to Qatar today.

I'd got a box for a child's bike from Halfords, painstakingly put bubble wrap around every individual tube, put a spacer in the rear of the frame, and padded the whole box with pillows. I then sealed the box with duck tape. I checked to see if anything moved around and it seemed to me that the frame was securely held in place.

The chap at check in put fragile tags all over it and then sent it down the belt. Anyway, when I got the box back in Qatar, it was immaculate. It looked like they really did look after it! I'm very impressed/pleased with BA.

It was a gamble and it paid off this time, but I'm getting one of those bike boxes for the summer when I take it back to the UK.