looking for recent experiences of flying with bike to Bangkok from London

i,m planning a trip which i fly with bike to Thailand (nov). I think I now have an idea of allowance dimensions regarding checked baggage.
# I have never stripped down my Thorn Raven bike to minimal size which may be required?
# Anyone got any recommendations of airlines through experience?
# p.s as an aside~ i really just want to fly to Thailand(on a one way,knowing i,d be wise to have an exit tkt) and have an open ended trip perhaps getting to Aus,indo.s e Asia,and back through Europe going around or possibly flying over countries in conflict. Any THOUGHTS. ta..

Try SriLankan Airlines. Last spring I flew on the airline with my boxed bicycle one-way from Bangkok to Rome at a very good fare. The airline allowed 30kg; I was a bit over that but no problem or charge. The only downside was a long layover in Sri Lanka, but the fare was half what Thai charged for a non-stop.

It's best to have a Thai visa when flying one-way to Thailand.

I also plan to fly to Thailand in November for a bicycle ride. Maybe we will meet!

Bill
www.arizonahandbook.com</a>

Heh, I'm planning on hitting Hanoi in late October then heading south, maybe see the pair of you on the road!

I've limited experience of flying with a bike in SE Asia, however I flew with a boxed bike in SE Asia with Airasia with no problems: think I paid some excess. I also took the bike from Bangkok to London with Gulf Air with no problems, once again boxed, under the 30kg weight limit they give so no excess. Unfortunately as yet I've no experience of flying out of the UK (cycled there last time) but airline policies are set worldwide so what applies for Bangkok would apply for the UK.

I'm currently looking at flying with Qatar Airways or Singapore Air.

Qatar have a 30kg baggage allowance from September and your bike can go as part of it if it's boxed. Link to baggage policy
Singapore have a 20kg baggage allowance with a special bike policy where if you go over the 20kg they "only" charge 6kg of excess for up to 15kg of bike. Baggage policy . If I can get my weight down to 20kg + 7kg for the carry on I'll probably go with Singapore as I'm booking a return for next May and it appears they allow one free change of date.

Boxing a bike: pedals off, handle bars at right angles (i.e along the frame), some airlines want you to deflate the tyres.

Cycling back to Europe? Go for it.

Thanks for taking the time to offer some words. A good base for some further research thanks again the pair of you and lets see what happens, I shall be on and off the Thorntree whilst away so perhaps we,ll catch up out there somewhere.
happy days......

Emirates every time i fly east with the bike. 30k and pretty easy going with that limit as well, great airline for a cyclist.

On a side note i was very lazy last time i flew into Bangkok, i took my boxed bike to velothailand bike shop in a taxi and got them to put the bike together whilst i found a room nearby. Worked really well and i will do that again next time.

I often fly to Bkk or somewhere else in SE Asia from UK and always fly Emirates. Good price and as said above good with bikes - 30kgs and as many bags as you like.

You may find a cheap one way ticket, but generally they are about 2/3rds of return, so maybe think your return plan through. Check bike policy before buying ticket with other airlines as you can get badly stung with some.

As Bill says, if going to Bkk one way or with a return of more than a month you will need a visa or you will be refused at UK airport check in (the actual Thai immigration is no problem). Hull consulate (google it) is good for visa, cost about £30 for 2 month. If you don't want to stay that long and have one way ticket, your best bet may be to buy cheapo onward ticket from Bkk, eg AirAsia to Kuala Lumpur, then just bin the ticket.

Forget max bag size - airlines accept bike boxes, get from your local bike shop, who can also advise on packing your bike.

I can confirm the comments on Emirates. Some years ago, my partner flew from Frankfurt to Bangkok with his bike. Friendly & helpful at the desk. The bike was in a large box with only the handle bar and pedals turned. Front wheel stayed on. Everything went smooth.

If flying with Lufthansa (only possible if you go via Germany) you can wheel your bike to the counter and hand it over. They take care of everything (apparently they have special places on their planes for 5 bikes). The price tag for this service is 100 EUR for a long-haul flight).

BTW: Bike policies differ from airline to airline and a lot of them don't really want to know about cyclists.

Hope you have a great and safe trip with lots of tailwind and no punctures.

HappyNaga

Re One way ticket

We've flown many times on one ways (or rather the return part of the ticket), as we lived in the region, my partner from London (LHR), I'm usually from Germany. There is no problem with Thai and Emirates, albeit reading the small print on the immigration policy, you need a roundtrip ticket. Once you checked in it is ok. No need to worry at the other end. Thai immigration might ask you, at what hotel you'll stay. Just put down a name on the form (Sheraton or Viengtai or any other name will do, they don't check this). Last done a year ago.

I did have a bad experience with Garuda about 8 or 9 years back in Gatwick. They refused to let me on the flight and I had to buy an onward ticket (which I gave back again).

HappyNaga