How is best to pack my Brompton bike?

Have a question? Ask our expert Simon Calder

Airlines aren’t keen on passengers taking folding cycles as hand luggage

Q I have a Brompton folding bike, and I understand that you have one too. I’m looking to fly with easyJet from Bristol to France with the bike. I wondered if this should be booked in as normal luggage, or as sports equipment which is more expensive. I spoke to the agents at easyJet who told me to book it in as sports equipment. But if I put it in a suitcase then surely they wouldn’t know? What is your advice?

Sonny B

A A folding bicycle is an ideal travelling companion, and in my experience the Brompton is the best. It weighs about 12kg and collapses down to the size of a large piece of cabin baggage (though I can confirm airlines don’t like them being brought as hand luggage). When you touch down at your destination, you can explore cities or countryside at the ideal pace.

But my experience suggests you will need to take some care to avoid annoying extra charges. On your behalf, I made a test booking from Bristol to Toulouse – gateway to the French Pyrenees, and great cycling territory – for May 2019. The basic one-way fare was just £30. A 15kg piece of baggage adds £16. But if you take a bicycle it costs £45, almost three times as much. And these prices are doubled for the round trip. So it is worth trying to get your bike on board as normal baggage.

I don’t recommend a suitcase, because then you will be stuck with it during your stay; also, the extra weight could push the total beyond 15kg. You can get a fabric bag for the Brompton, but this has two problems. The first is that it doesn’t provide much protection; I have found corners and components damaged after flights. It also means that staff will note that it is a bike and may decide to charge you accordingly – as they are entitled to do.

Unlike “proper” bikes, the Brompton’s compact folded shape lends itself to being packed into a stout cardboard box. Along with a few accessories it still comes in at under 15kg. Your bike dealer may even provide you with an empty box actually used by Brompton for deliveries.

Check-in staff are entitled to ask you what is in the box, and if you are challenged about the contents you will, of course, need to tell the truth. At this stage they may decide to charge you a bicycle fee; both easyJet and American Airlines have done so to me, though after some discussion the latter refunded the fee.

One other issue: on the basis that you won’t want to cycle around France with a big cardboard box, you will need to source something suitable for the return flight.

Every day our travel correspondent Simon Calder tackles a reader’s question. Just email yours to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder