Bike on Ryanair

transylman

Has anyone used Ryanair to transport their bikes? I am considering using them for a trip to a training camp in the new year. The wording on the weight limit is a bit vague though. Its not clear if they allow 20kg or 30kg. Also when I made the booking up as far as payment I was only being charged 50 euro to carry the bike both ways, when I had thought it was 50 each way. Is this an error on their part or mine or a new price?

07Lapierre

Ryan air charge €50 each way and the weight limit is 30kg.

http://www.ryanair.com/ie/terms-and-conditions/regulations-checkedbaggage/


"Sporting or musical equipment including but not limited to large fishing rods, golf clubs, bikes* (bikes have a weight limit of 30 kilos),

* Bicycles - MUST be contained in a protective box or bag in order to be accepted for travel."

boege

Used Ryanair for two bikes on Dublin to Bordeaux last July. Cost was €100 for both ways so maybe check your booking. Weight limit was about 30kg so pack well but note they do weigh it at both ends.

Watch out for the weighing at both ends as in our case at Bordeaux we were in the low fare terminal and had to bring it over to main teminal to be weighed. As we had limited time at checkin this made for an interest dash though two terminals with two bike boxes. Would have been interesting to have had the heart monitor on:D

07Lapierre

boege wrote: »

Used Ryanair for two bikes on Dublin to Bordeaux last July. Cost was €100 for both ways so maybe check your booking. Weight limit was about 30kg so pack well but note they do weigh it at both ends.

Watch out for the weighing at both ends as in our case at Bordeaux we were in the low fare terminal and had to bring it over to main teminal to be weighed. As we had limited time at checkin this made for an interest dash though two terminals with two bike boxes. Would have been interesting to have had the heart monitor on:D

You were charged €100 each way? Was that €50 per bike?

transylman

07Lapierre wrote: »

Ryan air charge €50 each way and the weight limit is 30kg.

http://www.ryanair.com/ie/terms-and-conditions/regulations-checkedbaggage/


"Sporting or musical equipment including but not limited to large fishing rods, golf clubs, bikes* (bikes have a weight limit of 30 kilos),

* Bicycles - MUST be contained in a protective box or bag in order to be accepted for travel."

Just went through the booking process again and it is still charging 50 euro for both ways. It has large sports item listed under services for both the outbound and the inbound so don't think it is a mistake on my part. Decent price for carrying bike if correct.

Eamonnator

I'm flying Ryanair on Thursday, with my bike. I was charged 50 Euro each way.

boege

07Lapierre wrote: »

You were charged €100 each way? Was that €50 per bike?

Open to interpretation I agree, apologies

€100 per bike out and back or €50 per leg per bike.

Eamonnator

transylman wrote: »

Just went through the booking process again and it is still charging 50 euro for both ways. It has large sports item listed under services for both the outbound and the inbound so don't think it is a mistake on my part. Decent price for carrying bike if correct.

I would be very careful, dealing with Ryanair. They charge 50 Euro per trip per bike. Triple check the price, if you turn up with a bike, that hasn't been paid for, you will be penalised.

Grassey

Eamonnator wrote: »

I would be very careful, dealing with Ryanair. They charge 50 Euro per trip per bike. Triple check the price, if you turn up with a bike, that hasn't been paid for, you will be penalised.

Also on your return to Dublin, they tend to fire the bike bag/box onto the normal luggagge belt, so positions yourself near the entry flap, or be prepare for bikes falling off and hitting people on the first bend!

nak

Grassey wrote: »

Also on your return to Dublin, they tend to fire the bike bag/box onto the normal luggagge belt, so positions yourself near the entry flap, or be prepare for bikes falling off and hitting people on the first bend!

My bike box has always been wheeled out the door at the oversize area in T1. Oversize belt in T2, took ages the last time, was the last person in the luggage reclaim.

Grassey

nak wrote: »

My bike box has always been wheeled out the door at the oversize area in T1. Oversize belt in T2, took ages the last time, was the last person in the luggage reclaim.

I flew in last week to T1 and was expecting it to be wheeled in as oversize. Ended up in a dash around the belt to catch the hard case as it fell off onto some bodies foot! Followed closely by the second bike in the middle of all the regular luggage.

ryan_sherlock

Flew 100+ times with RyanAir - not had any major issues. It is just a pain in the butt getting to/from the airport with the bag - that is my major hassle.

I'm trying these guys tomorrow for a change: https://www.sendmybag.ie/ Basically a delivery company for your luggage.

abc_xyz

I saw a sale on Ryanair a couple of days ago where sports equipment was half price (it advertises gold clubs as half price and in the small text it says all sports equipment). Sounds like you got that without realising it.

As for travelling with a bike with them - I read the limit as 30kg from their T&C. Travelled with them with a bike a couple of times and didn't have any issues at all and the case was certainly over 20kg one of the times.

abc_xyz

I saw a sale on Ryanair a couple of days ago where sports equipment was half price (it advertised golf clubs as half price and in the small text it says all sports equipment). Sounds like you got that without realising it.

As for travelling with a bike with them - I read the limit as 30kg from their T&C. Travelled with them with a bike a couple of times and didn't have any issues at all and the case was certainly over 20kg one of the times.

nak

Grassey wrote: »

I flew in last week to T1 and was expecting it to be wheeled in as oversize. Ended up in a dash around the belt to catch the hard case as it fell off onto some bodies foot! Followed closely by the second bike in the middle of all the regular luggage.

That's terrible. Safety shoes on from now for all passengers at baggage claim

slow

Ryanair are great. (Can't believe I just said that). 30kg which can include your clothing if you pack it in with the bike. Book it online, pay the price. Bingo.

Contrast that with Aer Lingus, who have left bikes on the tarmac due to their 6 bikes maximum policy on some routes. You have to do the following:

1. Check the flight details of the planes you wish to catch.
2. Ring Aer Lingus to find out if there's space in the hold on both legs of the flight.
3. Book the flight online.
4. Ring them again with your booking reference to book the bike on your ticket.

You can book surfboards, fishing equipment, golf clubs, even snowboards online. Not bicycles though. The whole process of booking a bike on a return flight took me 2.5 hours last month. A friend was kept on hold for longer. It took him 4 hours. I know of another guy who didn't make the preliminary phone call and arrived home without his bike as they wouldn't make room for it on the return flight. And a prominent Irish international had his bike left on the tarmac in Dublin Airport this summer en route to a race when there were 6 bikes already found to be in the hold.

For once, Ryanair comes out smelling of roses...

Seaswimmer

slow wrote: »

Ryanair are great. (Can't believe I just said that). 30kg which can include your clothing if you pack it in with the bike. Book it online, pay the price. Bingo.

Contrast that with Aer Lingus, who have left bikes on the tarmac due to their 6 bikes maximum policy on some routes. You have to do the following:

1. Check the flight details of the planes you wish to catch.
2. Ring Aer Lingus to find out if there's space in the hold on both legs of the flight.
3. Book the flight online.
4. Ring them again with your booking reference to book the bike on your ticket.

You can book surfboards, fishing equipment, golf clubs, even snowboards online. Not bicycles though. The whole process of booking a bike on a return flight took me 2.5 hours last month. A friend was kept on hold for longer. It took him 4 hours. I know of another guy who didn't make the preliminary phone call and arrived home without his bike as they wouldn't make room for it on the return flight. And a prominent Irish international had his bike left on the tarmac in Dublin Airport this summer en route to a race when there were 6 bikes already found to be in the hold.

For once, Ryanair comes out smelling of roses...

and don't forget the sneaky Aer Lingus admin fee. Cost €40 per bike on Aer Lingus but when you ring to book a bike an admin fee of €14 euro gets added on per bike per return trip..

07Lapierre

Seaswimmer wrote: »

and don't forget the sneaky Aer Lingus admin fee. Cost €40 per bike on Aer Lingus but when you ring to book a bike an admin fee of €14 euro gets added on per bike per return trip..

Also.... Once u ring them to book your bike in... Your booking is no longer considered an online booking, which means you cannot Check in online. You have to wait until u get to the airport.

Seaswimmer

07Lapierre wrote: »

Also.... Once u ring them to book your bike in... Your booking is no longer considered an online booking, which means you cannot Check in online. You have to wait until u get to the airport.

From memory you can check in and print boarding passes but you still need to go to the check in desk to get a ticket/sticker and weigh the bike before you bring it to oversize luggage.

So I suppose you are correct in that you still need to interact with a "check in desk/person"

C3PO

For all the reasons above - unless I'm racing the mountain bike I always hire these days. Just so much less hassle and usually only marginally more expensive!

rab!dmonkey

I've done one or two return trips with Ryanair and found them fine. It's better than trying to deal with Aer Lingus's punitive weight limits. I've been caught over the limit with AL, but never with Ryanair. Note that you'll only get hit with extra charges at the check in desk; the guys at oversize baggage don't care so long as it's under 32 kg, which is the absolute limit for all baggage.

07Lapierre

Seaswimmer wrote: »

From memory you can check in and print boarding passes but you still need to go to the check in desk to get a ticket/sticker and weigh the bike before you bring it to oversize luggage.

So I suppose you are correct in that you still need to interact with a "check in desk/person"

No you cant even print your boarding pass until you get to the airport. I travelled last July with Aer Lingus. When I tried to check-in online..their website gives a rather nod descript error. When I rang Aer Lingus they advised me that I had to wait until i got to the airport. At the airport, I had to print the boarding pass at one of the machines in the departures Hall. I then has to check-in at the checkin desk.

Compare that to Ryanair..with Ryanair you can book your bike via the website..checkin on the website and then once you get to the airport, you just go the the bag drop area... much more user friendly (and cheaper)

07Lapierre

C3PO wrote: »

For all the reasons above - unless I'm racing the mountain bike I always hire these days. Just so much less hassle and usually only marginally more expensive!

its only hassle with Aer lingus...Ryanair are fine.

Wishbone Ash

rab!dmonkey wrote: »

I've done one or two return trips with Ryanair and found them fine. It's better than trying to deal with Aer Lingus's punitive weight limits. I've been caught over the limit with AL, but never with Ryanair. Note that you'll only get hit with extra charges at the check in desk; the guys at oversize baggage don't care so long as it's under 32 kg, which is the absolute limit for all baggage.

I flown many times with both airlines and would prefer Ryanair as it's less complicated. I've been over the weight limit several times with AL but never had to pay any excess charges. Often the check-in staff don't weigh the bike and just check it on and label it. The oversize lads weigh it on the scanner but, as it's already checked in, they don't seem to care.

(I've also been caught with that AL bike limit which is a nuisance if travelling with a group and having to leave on another flight hours before or after everyone else.)

Seaswimmer

07Lapierre wrote: »

No you cant even print your boarding pass until you get to the airport. I travelled last July with Aer Lingus. When I tried to check-in online..their website gives a rather nod descript error. When I rang Aer Lingus they advised me that I had to wait until i got to the airport. At the airport, I had to print the boarding pass at one of the machines in the departures Hall. I then has to check-in at the checkin desk.

Compare that to Ryanair..with Ryanair you can book your bike via the website..checkin on the website and then once you get to the airport, you just go the the bag drop area... much more user friendly (and cheaper)

Thanks for the heads up.. I am going to Malaga on Friday fortnight with bike and Aer Lingus so at least I know in advance now..

transylman

abc_xyz wrote: »

I saw a sale on Ryanair a couple of days ago where sports equipment was half price (it advertises gold clubs as half price and in the small text it says all sports equipment). Sounds like you got that without realising it.

As for travelling with a bike with them - I read the limit as 30kg from their T&C. Travelled with them with a bike a couple of times and didn't have any issues at all and the case was certainly over 20kg one of the times.

Right you are, thanks for that.

http://corporate.ryanair.com/news/news/141002-half-price-golf-bags-with-ryanair/?market=en

Offer running until Monday for travel dates up to end of March.

Oryx

I did have to pay for an overweight box on ryanair twice. Once its over 20kg theres a risk. The max limit they will carry is 30kg. Mostly they dont check but don't depend on it.

Aerlingus are terrible to use when bringing a bike, awkward booking, 15kg limit (and yes I did have to pay)and very rough baggage handlers - any time I've returned through T2 my luggage is battered.

blobbie

And AL are a disaster when the AL flight is a leg of a multi-leg flight that is part of another airlines ticket.

For example a ticket booked with "ACME" Airline with 2 legs, Dub -> LHR and then LHR -> Whereever.

The DUB -> LHR is operated by AL under codeshare/partner airline agreement with ACME Airlines. As you don't have an AL booking/reference number they won't allow you to reserve one of the bike slots. The best I managed to get our of AL (after a number of phone calls) was that only x of 6 bike spaces are booked on the flight so I should be ok but they would not guarantee a place until check in.

I also tried getting "ACME" airlines to confirm that my bike was guaranteed to be taken on the AL flight. They could only confirm that as they had a codeshare/partner agreement with AL, AL would honour the luggage agreement between the 2 airlines.

A right PITA heading away. Wasn't ar$ed about the return legs as the bike was bound to show up sometime or other but I needed it to be where I was going as I had only 1 night before I was hitting the road on the bike.

As it transpired, I managed to get it on the AL DUB -> LHR flight but they managed to misplace the bike in LHR so a 3h connection wasn't enough for it to make the connecting flight. However I lucked out as the airline I was flying with had a later flight to my destination and I had them on the case before I departed LHR as I normally ask the boarding staff to confirm my bags are loaded as I am boarding any connecting flights.


RE AL weight, it was 23kg for bike box in Aug 14

07Lapierre

I wonder what airline Dan Martin uses?

http://www.stickybottle.com/latest-news/dan-martins-garmin-sharp-squad-arrive-at-tour-of-beijing-without-their-bikes/

spyderski

ryan_sherlock wrote: »

Flew 100+ times with RyanAir - not had any major issues. It is just a pain in the butt getting to/from the airport with the bag - that is my major hassle.

I'm trying these guys tomorrow for a change: https://www.sendmybag.ie/ Basically a delivery company for your luggage.

Let us know how you you get on with them, especially regarding dimensional weight for bikes.....

Grassey

nak wrote: »

That's terrible. Safety shoes on from now for all passengers at baggage claim

And hi-vis and helmets! Can't forget that now, its for their own safety, Surely they can see that it's in their best interests?