Bicycle to Paris
You advised a listener on Aug. 21 to look into separate shipment for
his bike in going to Paris [via Air France]. This may not be
necessary. Many non-US airlines are reasonable about bikes and treat
them well, in contrast to our domestic airlines who demand $50 per
flight, no matter how packaged (compare that to golf clubs or skis
that fly free) and then bang the bikes around anyway.
I have flown to
Paris and to London with bikes several times. Baggage handlers were
happy to accept bikes without boxes, which are not really needed,
since all one has to do is secure the handlebars so they don't swing.
On one trip the bike was accepted complete with its touring bags,
which protected both the bike and adjacent luggage, and made my task
of reassembly much simpler at the other end. Domestic airlines have a
bit of catching up to do, though no real incentive to do so.
Meanwhile, your caller may have been as well off to just take his
bike to the airport and ask Air France to take it aboard. He might
want to cover the derailleur, remove the pedals, and reduce tire
pressures, also to secure the handlebars in the midline. That will
make the bike easy to handle. To protect its finish, he can buy a
bag, as you suggested, from about $200 up.
Ed
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