I’ve been a frequent flyer with the bike over the last few years. I try to limit my air miles, but sometimes a flight is the only reasonable way to get from A to B.

It can be relatively pain-free exercise with the right preparation beforehand, so if you plan to fly with your own bike and gear on your next trip then I hope these notes help.

My experience is mainly one-way trips using a cardboard bike box rather than a hardshell bike box, but some of the prep is still relevant and I’ve included a section on hardshell bike boxes too where life might be a little easier for you.

Airline bike policies

Not all airlines are equal in terms of bike or sports equipment policies. Some are clear and concise, some require digging and a good attention span, and a minority are vague or non-existent.

In past searches I’ve found a few independent websites that have compiled a list of different airline bike policies. I found this very useful until I noticed that some of the list was either outdated or incorrect when I double checked with the airline.

If I do use third-party resources I’ll double check direct with the airline as it’s best to get this information direct from the carrier itself rather than rely on third-party information.

Finding the bike policy

I’ll normally just google something simple like ‘Air Asia bike policy’ or ‘Air Asia sports equipment’ and the top few results are usually from the airline’s website.

I prefer using a search engine as I’m looking for specific pages on the airline’s website to look through myself rather than an AI summary of it which might draw the information from other sources.

If I don’t get any search results from the airline that’s not a good indicator. I’ll then go on the website and scroll through their baggage policy or FAQs and look for the Sports Equipment section.

If there isn’t a Bicycle or Sports Equipment policy then I will tend to avoid and go with another airline. If there aren’t any alternatives then it would be a matter of emailing the airline directly and clarifying the next few sections.

Reading the bike policy

From the airlines I’ve used or at least researched, most follow the same format in terms of information and requirements for bikes:

• A sports equipment policy with a dedicated bike section
• Whether or not the bike can be included as part of checked baggage allowance (piece and/or weight)
• Clear fees for adding a bike if not part of the allowance
• Any other fees such as airport handling fees
• Maximum dimensions of the bike box (T=L+W+H)
• Maximum weight of the bike box
• Whether the box can only contain a bike (and not other gear like bags or clothes)

With this information, it’s then just a case of understanding whether it’s bike friendly and factoring it into my planning and price comparisons.

Bike friendly or not

My broad definition of a bike friendly airline is:

1. Having a clear and unambiguous bike policy
2. Dimensions accommodating a standard-ish ‘rear-wheel-on/front-wheel-off’ cardboard bike box of ~ 255cm total dimensions (T255=L150+W25+H80) – though box sizes do vary so refer to later section on cardboard bike boxes
3. Clearly listed and reasonable fees

The goal is to be confident that I know what the total cost is, and that the bike will make it onto the plane with no surprises at check-in.

I am willing to pay a bit more (within reason) to go with an airline that has a clearer policy, and lets me add the bike during booking, but I don’t always have the choice.

For me the risk of going with a carrier that either doesn’t have a policy or isn’t clear on these areas is having to fork out a few hundred £$€ on additional, oversized or cargo baggage at check-in, or worse, the bike being rejected.

I have found that where an airline has a bike friendly policy, their maximum dimensions are ~ 290cm total dimensions (L+W+H), sometimes with a restriction on the length of 165cm, giving enough leeway for varying box sizes.

Common size restriction

Dimensions are definitely the most important area to look out for, as policies can direct to other pages where the dimensions are held rather than explicitly listing them.

The most common reason I experience for discounting an airline is because their maximum dimensions are too limiting, despite allowing bikes and the rest of the policy being favourable.

Often this is set at ~ 200cm total dimensions (L+W+H) which is too small for a standard cardboard bike box. This might be possible with a hardshell bike box depending on its dimensions.

I found this was common in SE Asia on the budget airlines including Air Asia and VietJet which excluded me from the cheaper flights.

I’ve come across some airlines that limit it even further than this, by saying the bike box should follow the general guidelines for checked baggage which is often ~ 160cm total dimensions.

I find that bigger national carriers are generally bike friendly, and are more likely to count a bike towards your checked baggage allowance.

The popular European budget airlines like easyjet, Ryanair or Vueling are also bike friendly and make it very easy to add a bike during booking (for a reasonable fee).

In SE Asia Scoot is a good low-cost option (routing via Singapore), as is Batik Air.

Whether it’s enforced

The big caveat to my research is that I’ve never tried to fly with the airlines I’ve excluded, and so I don’t know how tightly their policies are enforced.

Flying with Batik Air recently from Taipei to Kuala Lumpur, our bike boxes were slightly wider (32cm) than their maximum width (25cm). We took the risk and didn’t encounter any problems – nothing was measured.

The weight of my box with all my gear was over my purchased baggage allowance (but within the maximum bike box weight), and I wasn’t charged anything extra. They also didn’t charge an airport handing fee which was mentioned on their bike policy.

Contrast this with Peach Airlines from Osaka to Taipei, everything was measured, including the wheels we had to box separately as the bike boxes were too small. Despite this, we had no issues with Peach and they were easy to take the bike with.

From the flights I’ve taken I find it’s hit-and-miss with what gets checked and how strict the airline is, mixed with a bit of luck on the day. It also depends on how much risk you are willing to take.

Direct or indirect flights

Other than reducing the amount of admin having to research multiple carriers, I prefer taking direct flights to reduce the possibility of issues with each airline, or other risks such as the bike not making my transfer – even if I do.

This happened to me with a short Lufthansa-Lufthansa connection, where my bike didn’t make it onto the connection. Fortunately it was returning from a trip, and they delivered the bike to me the next day at home.

Piece method

This is the most common method around the UK and Europe where you have a piece/bag limit rather than a total weight limit (split up between any number of bags) for checked baggage.

The price quoted for a adding a bike box to your booking can be per leg of the journey – even if it’s with the same carrier – so it is important to factor this in when comparing prices and check with the airline.

This can make the price of a direct flight a bit more competitive in comparison as you’ll only pay the one fee. An exception to this would be where the bike is allowed within your checked baggage allowance.

Weight method

Where the baggage allowance is done by weight – as I found was common around SE Asia – and where the bike can be included within this allowance, this price consideration doesn’t apply.

An example of this is Scoot (Singapore) which I found to be a good option around SE Asia/Australia despite some of their flights being indirect.

Summary

Whichever method the airline does, I will do a dummy reservation or check-out with whoever I’m looking to book with to confirm the final price.

Booking direct with the carrier

Although I start on Skyscanner or Google Flights for an easy overview of the airlines servicing the route and the base pricing, I always book direct with the carrier direct for extra comfort and less complication when booking and also if something goes wrong. This applies to indirect flights with different carriers.

When I’ve considered going through an online travel agent or third party (as the base fare is sometimes cheaper), I found the luggage prices tend to be higher, and don’t include the option to add a bike during booking, meaning an email before booking for added faff.

For me there is also that small risk of a miscommunication or misunderstanding of the airline’s bike policy through the agent, so if you do use an agent I would recommend checking the policy of the carrier directly and also notifying everyone of the bike.

Insurance

I have worldwide bike insurance which includes cover for damage or loss in transit. This insurance covers the full value of the bike, as well as most accessories.

I also have separate bike touring travel insurance covering the normal things you’d expect on travel insurance – including lost, damaged or delayed baggage – but not up to the value of the bike or kit.

From quotes I’ve received in the past, if you have a valuable bike and/or kit, it’s more economical to take out bike insurance rather than insuring the value of the bike on the travel insurance.

I am not certain on how the crossover between policies and the airline works in practice when it comes to claiming in the event of loss or damage on the flight, but my understanding is the more specific insurance will take priority, though this is untested.

Whereas some airlines ask me to declare the value of my bike for their insurance purposes (which is comforting), I’ve also have some ask me to sign an insurance waiver for any damage or loss to the bike in transit.

I feel it’s better to have insurance in place – whether bike or travel insurance – but that said, I’m not clear on how signing a waiver with the airline affects a claim on my insurance.

Collecting a bike box

Most bike shops will have a spare bike box or two destined for recycling. It does completely depend on the city you start or finish in, and whether they are a big cycling city.

I find branded shops with showrooms, like Giant, Trek or Specialized, are safe bets as they seem to have weekly deliveries of new bikes (and so bike boxes).

Then, I’ll normally message or call a few to see if they have any boxes available, or when they will. It’s best to contact in advance otherwise the box will have already gone or been collected for recycling.

If the city is a popular cycling spot for tourists, you might be competing with other cyclists for a box so it’s best not to leave it too late to sort out.

In Tbilisi, Georgia, the time between us reserving and collecting the boxes, the shop owner had 3 other cyclists asking for the same boxes, which he was kind enough to hold back for us.

Some places will offer boxes for free, whereas others will charge a nominal amount – say up to £$€10 – which is also normal and I personally don’t have a problem with.

It is often a case of ‘beggars can’t be choosers’ when it comes to the number or size of the box you can get. The next section covers the various sizes of cardboard bike boxes.

I had one instance in Agadir, Morocco where we were only able to get hold of one flimsy box – leaving us to build a second from DIY store boxes which wasn’t ideal but did the trick.

Lastly, when picking up a box, I’ll ask the shop for any spare padding, bubble wrap, fork supports or any other bike packaging for packing mine. Otherwise, a DIY store will do the trick.

Different bike boxes

As I mention above, I mainly use the cardboard bike box to fly with as I generally do one-way trips. There are a few main types which I’ll cover here.

Cardboard bike box

The cardboard bike boxes come in various sizes – I have rarely picked up two the same size. If it’s too big you can always make it smaller, but too small and you’ll need to think outside of the box..

When collecting a box I’ll say what kind of bike I have (eg. large gravel bike) and that I’m looking for a rear-wheel-on/front-wheel-off box for flying.

The perfect size box for my large (56cm) gravel bike is ~ 255cm total dimension (L150xW25xH80), which I would call a standard size, but they come in myriad sizes bigger and smaller than this.

This size requires the front wheel to come off and allows the rear wheel to stay on giving the frame, rear mech and chainrings some protection. It is wide enough to allow the front wheel to be placed alongside of the bike without stretching the cardboard too much.

Any shorter than L140cm means my rear wheel has to come off too which I don’t like as the frame is less secure and there is more risk of damage to both the frame and the chainrings as everything is floating around a bit more.

It also means the box needs to be wider that normal – say 30cm – to accommodate both wheels alongside the frame, but generally the boxes are proportionate, and so it is unlikely you’ll find a short but wide box that is readily available.

In Osaka, Japan we were only able to get hold of two road bike boxes T233=L130xW23xH80, meaning both wheels had to come off, but as the box was too slim we could only fit 1 wheel in each bike box.

We managed to got hold of two wheel boxes and taped them together as one, and the airline (Peach) accepted this as part of our checked baggage allowance without additional fees.

Most boxes I’ve come across have been sturdy double-walled cardboard. This is important for protection, and you’ll want a box that holds its shape.

You can get both-wheel-on boxes which are convenient and safer to pack, but are also gigantic and unlikely to be accepted by many airlines or fit in any taxis.

In Agadir, Morocco we collected a box from Decathlon which although was double-walled, was very flimsy when it was packed. The box ripped and had a lot of cuts, and came open in transit with the bike and its contents hanging out of the box at collection.

Hardshell bike box

When I first travelled with my bike abroad on holiday, I bought a hardshell musical instrument-style bike box from ProBikeKit. These things are pretty expensive (you can also rent them) but do have practical benefits over cardboard bike boxes.

The obvious requirement for a nice reusable box like this is that you’re likely flying into and out of the same airport, and have somewhere to store the box in the meantime. Most of my trips these days are one-way, and so they are impractical for me.

The benefits of a hardshell bike box are:

• they are super strong and will withstand greater impact than a cardboard box especially when it comes to axles or other things that can poke through
• some have wheels which comes handy once you’re out of the airport. You’re still limited if you have other luggage but it’s certainly less limiting than a huge cardboard box
• the dimensions are more practical for travelling and they will fit better in buses, trains and taxis, and the dimensions may satisfy some of the more restrictive airline bike policies

Some of the downsides that stick in my mind were:

• the hardshell boxes themselves are quite heavy and leave less weight allowance for bike bags and gear. I remember my skinny road bike packed with my riding clothes and some accessories almost hitting the 23kg limit on one trip
• the box I had didn’t leave much room for other bits, and there was a knack to packing it. I wonder how well my gravel bike would have fit in the box without some head scratching (or perhaps a gravel/MTB specific box)

Softshell bike bag

The soft shell bike bags offer another alternative, but I haven’t personally tried these. For me there is still the requirement that you are going to and from the same place unless you plan on carrying it with you or posting it when you arrive.

Having seen how cardboard bike boxes have turned up at various baggage drops, with dents, holes and parts poking through, I’m not sure I would wish to try a bag style container as there is little protection if you consider the bike being thrown around.

My friend used to use a bike bag to fly around, but on one occasion one of her forks was completely shattered and required replacing. This was very unlucky, and no container is immune to the unforeseen, but I feel the risk is greater with a softshell style bag.

Combining or separating gear

I prefer to separate my gear into another cardboard box, but there are pro’s and con’s either way.

For separating

I tend to separate my gear primarily because some bike policies (easyJet comes to mind) will only allow your bike in the box, and not all your bike packing/touring gear in there too.

I find this often isn’t policed at check-in (I don’t know whether they scan it backstage), but there is always a risk that it needs to be opened up for whatever reason.

I once had my bike box spot checked (box open, contents out) in Vancouver airport on my return to the UK, where fortunately I had separated my kit.

Another consideration is the weight limit of the bike box (which varies anywhere from 20-30kg) and other baggage allowances.

With the bike alone being 10kg, and the box itself around 4kg, there isn’t always enough allowance for the rest of my kit, especially for a longer tour.

Pair this with a strict airline and it might cost more if you go over. That said, for shorter trips the weight limit is less of an issue.

For me the price of extra baggage is somewhat worth the peace of mind that nothing will be rejected and that I won’t be charged higher fees at check-in.

Taking a separate box means I have more allowance to play with, and means I’m not lugging around much through security or on the flight but this is personal preference.

For combining

One benefit for combining the gear is not having to pay extra for the additional baggage. This completely depends on the airline and their baggage policies for what the cost might be – sometimes this can be quite substantial.

I have maxed out my allowances to last few hundred grams before to save money on additional baggage, but this involved some scales, a spreadsheet (which I still use today) and too much time on my hands.

Possibly the biggest downside (and it is quite a big one) I’ve experienced of having a separate box with my stuff in, is that you are quite literally stuck without a trolly or a vehicle.

It is impossible to carry a bike box and anything else that isn’t a rucksack or shoulder bag (even this is awkward). This is ok if you can take taxis or a bus from door to airport (which I’ve found is nearly always possible), but any walking or trains in between is not practical.

In Osaka, Japan a taxi to the airport was £150+ so we opted to take the train instead. This involved a taxi to the train station, and then employing a sort of relay system moving the boxes 30m at a time, 250m from taxi up to the platform, through a very busy station.

This kind of scenario is where combining the stuff makes a bit more sense, but doesn’t necessarily eliminate the issue. I guess it depends on how much gear you are travelling with, and what type of bags you have.

My friend seems to [smugly] manage very well with her two big Ortlieb touring bags with convenient shoulder straps, normally opting to carry one as hand luggage and the other as checked baggage or in with the bike.

My bikepacking gear on the other hand is rarely as practical or portable as this, and when it comes to flying or transporting around with my stuff, I’m often left pondering my choice of setup.

Packing the bike

There are plenty of videos on YouTube on how to pack a bike box, whether it’s a cardboard one or a proper bike box. Here’s a good video I found at the time of posting which broadly follows how I would normally do this for a cardboard bike box.

When packing, imagine your bike box being thrown around and on to the plane and pack out accordingly. Also imagine it passing through the airport conveyor belts flat on its side.

Deflate tyres

Most airlines will ask you to deflate the tyres in case they pop with the change in air pressure in the hold. I don’t do it all the way – enough so they are still seated and can absorb a little impact without damaging the rims.

Remove pedals

This one not difficult to forget as you likely wouldn’t get the bike in the box without removing them.

Tip: my pedals have an allen/hex on the spindle which I only hand tighten with my multitool so that I can easily undo them with the same multitool without the need of a pedal spanner. If you do tighten them with a spanner you’ll find them very hard to remove them without a spanner.

Drop or remove seatpost

Depending on the height of the bike box the seat post will need to be dropped or removed entirely. I find it’s better if you can drop it rather than remove entirely, as it acts as a good wedge on the top of the box to limit the bike moving around.

Remove the front wheel

For a standard bike box this means taking the front wheel off and putting it down one side of the box as the video above and the picture below shows it.

If you have some, I find it’s good to put a piece of cardboard either side of the wheel to stop it rubbing on the frame or the axle piercing the bike box.

Protect the forks and axle

For me this is one of the most important areas to protect as around the axle area on the forks will take a lot of impact was your moving the box around.

I leave the axle in (not very tight) to keep the forks together and pad out the forks/axle with bubble wrap. If you managed to get fork/axle supports from the bike shop then use these.

Twist or remove handlebars

You’ll need to either twist or remove the handlebars. I tend to remove the stem from the steerer with the bars attached, and then carry spacers with me for transit to protect the steerer tube.

Watch out for where the brake levers rest. They’re fairly strong but I’ve had them poke through the box before when collecting it from baggage drop.

To prevent the front brake pads moving together if the brake lever is accidentally depressed, I travel with a disk spacer, or if you don’t have one then wedge some cardboard between the pads to achieve the same.

Protect the frame

It’s good to wrap up the frame and any other important parts to protect the paint, especially any possible rubbing points – a day or so of being lugged around can leave some nasty scratches, abrasions or even dents. I have an unpainted metal frame so I tend to skip this part unless I can see an obvious contact point.

I find electrical tape is better for anything touching the frame as it’s strong but doesn’t leave as much residue as gaffer tape does.

Rear derailleur

On recent trips I’ve opted to remove my rear derailleur as it sits close to the box wall and one wrong impact could damage it. Regardless of whether you’re cable or electric this is easy enough to do.

I remove my eTap entirely and pack it in a parts box or take it in hand luggage, but if you have cables you can tape it to the seat stay.

Parts box

I’ll normally pack all the bits I’ve removed into a smaller box so that they’re not all loose. This generally includes my shoes, rear derailleur, pedals, chain, Wahoo mount.

If I’m separating my gear into a separate box for the flight, I’ll still have a parts box that I pack within that box.

Frame bag

I tend to leave my frame bag on the bike regardless of whether I’m separating my gear. I find it’s an efficient use of space that even when packed with stuff like tools and camping bits won’t put the bike box over the weight limit.

Other bags and gear

If I’m combing my gear in with the bike, I’ll try and wedge my stuff between the bike and the box so that things aren’t loose and moving around as this is when things get damaged.

I avoid putting bags or tents or similar near the chainrings or the cassette as they will likely rip or puncture. This is where I prefer to pack this stuff in a separate cardboard box to avoid this happening.

Special items

Naturally I pack any knives, stoves, tools or camping kit in checked baggage to avoid the risk of it being taken away from me at security. I normally put these things in my frame bag.

Camping gas is a firm no on any flight, regardless of checked or cabin baggage. CO2 is a grey area and I find it hit and miss whether it’s taken from me or not. In any event it needs to go in cabin luggage.

Sometimes the airline will allow you to take CO2 (up to a limit of 2 or 3 canisters per person), but the airport won’t and so it will be taken from me at security.

Sometimes the airport security will check the airline’s policy to see whether they accept them, so if the airline accepts it, I normally bookmark the webpage just in case I need to show it.

Tape up

I will use a liberal amount of strong tape – gaffer tape/duck tape – to seal the box and also to patch up any rips and strengthen any weak points, like where the axle sits – if it is resting on the box wall, it will poke through.

I normally take the roll of tape with me to the airport, just in case I need to open anything up because I’ve forgotten to deflate the tyres, or I’ve left my CO2 canisters in there…

Notes on tools

It’s worth a double check to make sure you’ve got the right heads and bits as this will save a trip to a bike shop on the other side.

As a rule I dismantle the bike with only the tools I plan to take with me for tour. My bike (and I would think most bikes) doesn’t require any big or heavy duty tools for this level of dismantling and reassembly, but then again I do make sure not to over tighten anything (like pedals) when I reassemble.

If you need special or heavy duty tools during the pack down that you don’t plan to take with you, consider whether you can put it back together on the other side or plan to swing by a bike shop when you’re there.

The other side

What I do on the other side depends on whether I’ve sorted accommodation or not, and how close the airport is to where I’m staying.

If I haven’t booked anything, once I’m through customs I’ll head outside the lobby and start building the bike back up. This is when it’s nice to take a flight that arrives in the day, giving you time to build and start cycling in daylight.

That said I’ve arrived in Corfu, Greece after midnight, and have done the same. We managed to find a nice wild camp near the airport to catch a few hours sleep before setting off the next day.

When building the bike at the airport, I find a quiet place to do it, and ask staff where I can discard the empty box rather than leaving it lying around. Most of the time I’m happily shown a back area to leave it.

I’ve never had a problem before, but consider whether you can cycle on the roads out of the airport (and that they’re not motorways/expressways). Otherwise, it’s easy enough to get a big cab at an airport that will take you some or all of the way to where you’re going.

A quick mention on taxis, buses and trains

I’ve found that travelling with the bike on trains and buses is a mixed bag depending on the country and probably deserves its own post later down the line.

I always prefer to take a taxi as it is easier and less faff, and in a city this can be done easily through Uber or Bolt or whatever the local app is. I will go for the biggest taxi possible, but sometimes it can take a few attempts to get one that can fit a bike box (or two).

In Tainan and Taoyuan, Taiwan I found the size of the XL taxis on the various apps were not always big enough. Once ordered, it took a few taxis to come and cancel until one came that was big enough to fit the bikes (but not 2 people..)

This is never normally an issue leaving an airport as there are always big van-style taxis than you can arrange on the concourse.

If you’re relying on a bus or train to get to or from the airport it’s worth checking directly that they’ll accept it, and at least having a taxi backup option.

If it’s in a box ready to fly, most coaches will take these, though certainly in the UK they don’t guarantee carriage if the bus is full of normal luggage, regardless of whether you’ve paid/reserved in advance.

I have only taken a boxed bike on one train in Osaka, Japan and there was no issue at all. It was a local direct tube-style train (Osaka Loop Line) which serviced the airport, and we went to the front to minimise getting in the way of anyone.

Summary

I learn something new every time, and I’ll update these notes every now and then for anything novel I encounter.

I find that if the prep and homework are done, and the big areas are covered off, any obstacles that arise on the day are generally minor and easily surmountable.

I hope this post helps in some way or another, whether it’s the first or tenth time you’re flying. Leave a comment if you have a question or want to add an experience of your own.