Airplane travel with bicycles - Page 10 - Cycling Mob: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking and More

01-14-2005, 07:38 AM

"Dominic Sansom" wrote ...
>
> Deflate tubes as some cargo holds are not always pressurised and a loud
> BANG as your tyres burst may not go down well at 32,000ft.
>
> (apologies if this has already been mentioned)
>
>
> --
> Dominic Sansom

Is that myth still going around? The airline I checked with told me this was
not necessary.

Suppose the cargo hold is completely unpressurized. That would be equivalent
to overinflating your tires by 15 psi (atmospheric pressure at sea level). A
15 psi difference is not going to cause your tyres (or your tires) to burst
unless your tires are so threadbare that they are on the verge of bursting
already.
--
mark

01-14-2005, 07:54 AM

"Steven M. Scharf" wrote ...
> For decades, the airlines did not charge for bicycles on overseas trips,
> not sure if this is still the case, last time I brought a bike on an
> overseas flight was about three years ago, and there was no charge.
>
> The airlines are now even charging for individual suitcases that are
> over the 50 pound limit, even if your total baggage weight is under the
> limit. On a recent trip I was careful to keep each suitcase under 50
> pounds by juggling items between the two (this was two suitcases for
> four people, not two for me).

Different airlines have different policies. Last May British Airways did not
charge to take my unboxed bike, just counted it as one of my two pieces of
unboxed baggage, waived the size restrictions, and took very good care of
the bike on both legs of the journey. Apparently they don't charge for
bikes on trips to and from North America, but do charge on certain other
routes. The US airlines that I contacted while planning this trip all
insisted that the bike be boxed and charged a large fee.

I'm told by people in the aviation business that very heavy individual
pieces of baggage make balancing the aircraft difficult, slowing down the
loading process and increasing the labor cost involved in getting a flight
off the ground, to say nothing of potentially delaying the flight. There are
airlines that flatly refuse to take pieces of checked baggage that weigh
more than 70 lbs, since they don't want their employees to get hurt hauling
heavy objects around.
--
mark

01-14-2005, 07:54 AM

"Steven M. Scharf" wrote ...
> For decades, the airlines did not charge for bicycles on overseas trips,
> not sure if this is still the case, last time I brought a bike on an
> overseas flight was about three years ago, and there was no charge.
>
> The airlines are now even charging for individual suitcases that are
> over the 50 pound limit, even if your total baggage weight is under the
> limit. On a recent trip I was careful to keep each suitcase under 50
> pounds by juggling items between the two (this was two suitcases for
> four people, not two for me).

Different airlines have different policies. Last May British Airways did not
charge to take my unboxed bike, just counted it as one of my two pieces of
unboxed baggage, waived the size restrictions, and took very good care of
the bike on both legs of the journey. Apparently they don't charge for
bikes on trips to and from North America, but do charge on certain other
routes. The US airlines that I contacted while planning this trip all
insisted that the bike be boxed and charged a large fee.

I'm told by people in the aviation business that very heavy individual
pieces of baggage make balancing the aircraft difficult, slowing down the
loading process and increasing the labor cost involved in getting a flight
off the ground, to say nothing of potentially delaying the flight. There are
airlines that flatly refuse to take pieces of checked baggage that weigh
more than 70 lbs, since they don't want their employees to get hurt hauling
heavy objects around.
--
mark

01-14-2005, 07:54 AM

"Steven M. Scharf" wrote ...
> For decades, the airlines did not charge for bicycles on overseas trips,
> not sure if this is still the case, last time I brought a bike on an
> overseas flight was about three years ago, and there was no charge.
>
> The airlines are now even charging for individual suitcases that are
> over the 50 pound limit, even if your total baggage weight is under the
> limit. On a recent trip I was careful to keep each suitcase under 50
> pounds by juggling items between the two (this was two suitcases for
> four people, not two for me).

Different airlines have different policies. Last May British Airways did not
charge to take my unboxed bike, just counted it as one of my two pieces of
unboxed baggage, waived the size restrictions, and took very good care of
the bike on both legs of the journey. Apparently they don't charge for
bikes on trips to and from North America, but do charge on certain other
routes. The US airlines that I contacted while planning this trip all
insisted that the bike be boxed and charged a large fee.

I'm told by people in the aviation business that very heavy individual
pieces of baggage make balancing the aircraft difficult, slowing down the
loading process and increasing the labor cost involved in getting a flight
off the ground, to say nothing of potentially delaying the flight. There are
airlines that flatly refuse to take pieces of checked baggage that weigh
more than 70 lbs, since they don't want their employees to get hurt hauling
heavy objects around.
--
mark

01-15-2005, 06:25 PM

> Deflate tubes as some cargo holds are not always pressurised and a loud
> BANG as your tyres burst may not go down well at 32,000ft.

Most aircraft baggage compartments are pressurized to nearly the same
altitude as the passenger cabin -- around 8,000 feet MSL. This is because
the aircraft carry lots of baggage that is sensitive to altitude -- animals,
for example. Bike tires don't blow at those altitudes. Last summer, when I
flew with my bike from the US to Europe and back, the tires did fine without
deflating them.

On the other hand, deflating them a bit certainly can't cause harm ....

01-15-2005, 06:25 PM

> Deflate tubes as some cargo holds are not always pressurised and a loud
> BANG as your tyres burst may not go down well at 32,000ft.

Most aircraft baggage compartments are pressurized to nearly the same
altitude as the passenger cabin -- around 8,000 feet MSL. This is because
the aircraft carry lots of baggage that is sensitive to altitude -- animals,
for example. Bike tires don't blow at those altitudes. Last summer, when I
flew with my bike from the US to Europe and back, the tires did fine without
deflating them.

On the other hand, deflating them a bit certainly can't cause harm ....

01-15-2005, 06:25 PM

> Deflate tubes as some cargo holds are not always pressurised and a loud
> BANG as your tyres burst may not go down well at 32,000ft.

Most aircraft baggage compartments are pressurized to nearly the same
altitude as the passenger cabin -- around 8,000 feet MSL. This is because
the aircraft carry lots of baggage that is sensitive to altitude -- animals,
for example. Bike tires don't blow at those altitudes. Last summer, when I
flew with my bike from the US to Europe and back, the tires did fine without
deflating them.

On the other hand, deflating them a bit certainly can't cause harm ....

01-15-2005, 08:54 PM

Mark Weiss Wrote:
> > Deflate tubes as some cargo holds are not always pressurised and
> loud
> > BANG as your tyres burst may not go down well at 32,000ft.
>
> Most aircraft baggage compartments are pressurized to nearly the same
> altitude as the passenger cabin -- around 8,000 feet MSL. This i
> because
> the aircraft carry lots of baggage that is sensitive to altitude -
> animals,
> for example. Bike tires don't blow at those altitudes. Last summer
> when I
> flew with my bike from the US to Europe and back, the tires did fin
> without
> deflating them.
>
> On the other hand, deflating them a bit certainly can't cause harm ....
I had two tubes blow on separate occasions while flying. Both were o
road bikes (never had a problem with lower pressure MTBs) and they wer
inflated over 110psi.

I now make sure I deflate all tubes when I fly

--
Dominic Sanso

01-15-2005, 08:54 PM

Mark Weiss Wrote:
> > Deflate tubes as some cargo holds are not always pressurised and
> loud
> > BANG as your tyres burst may not go down well at 32,000ft.
>
> Most aircraft baggage compartments are pressurized to nearly the same
> altitude as the passenger cabin -- around 8,000 feet MSL. This i
> because
> the aircraft carry lots of baggage that is sensitive to altitude -
> animals,
> for example. Bike tires don't blow at those altitudes. Last summer
> when I
> flew with my bike from the US to Europe and back, the tires did fin
> without
> deflating them.
>
> On the other hand, deflating them a bit certainly can't cause harm ....
I had two tubes blow on separate occasions while flying. Both were o
road bikes (never had a problem with lower pressure MTBs) and they wer
inflated over 110psi.

I now make sure I deflate all tubes when I fly

--
Dominic Sanso

01-15-2005, 08:54 PM

Mark Weiss Wrote:
> > Deflate tubes as some cargo holds are not always pressurised and
> loud
> > BANG as your tyres burst may not go down well at 32,000ft.
>
> Most aircraft baggage compartments are pressurized to nearly the same
> altitude as the passenger cabin -- around 8,000 feet MSL. This i
> because
> the aircraft carry lots of baggage that is sensitive to altitude -
> animals,
> for example. Bike tires don't blow at those altitudes. Last summer
> when I
> flew with my bike from the US to Europe and back, the tires did fin
> without
> deflating them.
>
> On the other hand, deflating them a bit certainly can't cause harm ....
I had two tubes blow on separate occasions while flying. Both were o
road bikes (never had a problem with lower pressure MTBs) and they wer
inflated over 110psi.

I now make sure I deflate all tubes when I fly

--
Dominic Sanso