Cheapest airline for carrying bikes??

[horizon]

Agree . I did check some luggage in as well but still thought it was a bargain to lug me, 4 panniers and all my camping equipment over to the Sun. I know it was cheaper, quicker and more convenient than the bike express and / or a ferry down to Bilbao / Santander.

That's a different argument. Of course it's unnaturally and brilliantly cheap simply to fly at all - 35,000 feet up above the clouds etc etc. The last time I took my bike with camping equipment it was still a bargain (much cheaper than it was in 1986, 2001 etc). But when it costs more for the bike than it does for you (my last flight) then I don't think it churlish to be a bit sniffy about it. .

I don't understand that, you need to get to the destination, and so does your bike, the total cost is all that matters not the individual price. Paying more for my bike than myself with Ryanair was cheaper than the paying less with another carrier.

I agree. We are only talking about perception here. It is not only amazingly cheap to take the whole shooting match and you only have to look at the various packages to get the best overall deal. However there is a slight rub: the bike price is a marginal add-on and its high price relative to the person only cost is a bit gutting. On the trip I just did, the bike was an option, not a necessity - it wasn't a cycling holiday. The additional cost was definitely a strong disincentive and the extra £54 was saved by not taking the bike.

I know we are splitting hairs here but I am trying to show why the OP might feel it is a high price when in reality it's all a bargain.

[ossie]

Agree . I did check some luggage in as well but still thought it was a bargain to lug me, 4 panniers and all my camping equipment over to the Sun. I know it was cheaper, quicker and more convenient than the bike express and / or a ferry down to Bilbao / Santander.

That's a different argument. Of course it's unnaturally and brilliantly cheap simply to fly at all - 35,000 feet up above the clouds etc etc. The last time I took my bike with camping equipment it was still a bargain (much cheaper than it was in 1986, 2001 etc). But when it costs more for the bike than it does for you (my last flight) then I don't think it churlish to be a bit sniffy about it. Otherwise I will insist on having my bike in the seat next to me.

I think it was £7 for me and £40 for the bike. However, I didnt need to be be man handled through a security scanner and onto the plane and off the other end in the same fashion. I walked it. ( a bike box is a seriously large bit of kit )

That aside, I was building my bike in the sun 22 hours hours before I would have stepped off the ferry or 16 hours before I would have stepped off a coach, so in my view it was a cheaper and more convenient way to travel with my bike!

[horizon]

Like I said above, it's mostly perception. Ticket prices are flexible but luggage and bike prices are not, so you get some very strange pricings - as you did! I think the airlines are canny enough to know that cyclists are a captive audience and they are never going to lower prices for them. It could even be that we have had it too good for too long so things were bound to change. I don't remember having to pay for my bike at all in 1986 and, as you say, they are not insignificant bits of luggage.

[ossie]

Like I said above, it's mostly perception. Ticket prices are flexible but luggage and bike prices are not, so you get some very strange pricings - as you did! I think the airlines are canny enough to know that cyclists are a captive audience and they are never going to lower prices for them. It could even be that we have had it too good for too long so things were bound to change. I don't remember having to pay for my bike at all in 1986 and, as you say, they are not insignificant bits of luggage.

I believe it was the same price for a canoe! As you say captive audience. To be fair, I live near a channel port and could cycle to the sun but also live near an airport so have the choice.

[gordy]

Just to put a few real numbers into the thread... I've booked a Ryanair flight this morning, from Gdansk back to Birmingham.
The price is as follows (converted from Zloty and rounded)

Fare: £32
Taxes: £26
20kg bag: £34
Bike: £48

Total: £140

I note that the weight limit on a Ryanair bike bag is 30kg. You can, indeed, take a canoe for the same price. There were four seats left on the plane at that price this morning and fifteen available bike spaces.

I was supposed to be flying home from Kaliningrad... but SAS have changed their schedule and I'd be stuck in Copenhagen. They only ever promised to take the bike on a standby basis, anyway, so I was quite relieved to cancel. Getting home via Air Berlin would have cost two or three times as much as Ryanair, so I'll ride 100 miles to Gdansk and fly home direct. Despite the Ryanair website being intensely irritating, I'm content with the (total) price and the plan.