I’m taking my bike to Malaga next weekend and flying with Thomson. The website says that they will only take bikes in a box/bag and there must not be anything else in with it ie: clothing. Could I sneak my pads/helmet/tools and shoes in the bike bag too? I don’t want to fork out the £44 extra for an additional hold bag if I can help it really, but have no experience of flying with Thomson to see what they’re like about this sort of thing. Don’t think any other airline I’ve used has checked or even given a monkeys whats in the bag as long as its not over the weight limit! I’m travelling light so all my clothes that I won’t be wearing will be in my 5kg hand luggage allowance ie: riding shorts, some socks/undergarments and t shirts

If it were me I’d bung it in and not say anything. I really don’t think the airline will check any scanning will be done by security and they won’t care what you paid so long as you’ve nothing dodgy in there.

The only downside I can see to this would be if something was lost in transit you’d have no redress as you said that there was nothing to be lost in the first place.

Yes I have flown with them to Menorca, and I did put tools in the bike bag and protected the bike by wrapping it in clothing.

They’re pretty relaxed and nice to deal with IME.

cheers for replies – it sounds like they’re pretty relaxed about this which is what i like to hear! 🙂

Yep, I flew with Thomson from East Mids to Geneva in 2011. I didn’t bother with a bag in the hold, decided on hand luggage and packed my bike (an Orange Five at the time) in a CRC bike bag with additional kit (shoes, backpack, some clothes, etc, etc).

They refused to take my bike bag as it weighed 9kg more than there sports equipment/bike allowance. Which if I remember rightly was 12kg. So they wanted me to pay £12 per kilo over the limit. In total £108 extra.

This is while I’m stood at the check in desk. In the end they compromised and let me pay £25 each way (£50) for a bag in the hold (even though I didn’t have one) to balance out the weight allowance (12kg bike plus 10kg bag). The girls on the counter were nice about it but I wasn’t too happy with paying extra and perhaps Thomson should have been clearer about weight restrictions for sports equipment/bikes. Perhaps now they are. I’m not sure.

I’ll certainly be more careful when I book flights again this year.

I had to book the bike in beforehand of course. The fee was quite reasonable though, £50 return or less IIRC.

I was flying as part of a package hol btw

I’m also flying with thompsons in may and taking a bike, so far I have been unable to get anyone at thompsons to tell me what the weight limit is for a bike bag. Any one have any idea.

From the thompson website (could always ask the weight limit when phoning to book the bike on):

Can I take golf clubs or other sports equipment, such as a surf board, bicycle, or skis, on the flight?
You can take sports equipment on your flight with us, providing you contact us on on 0871 231 4787 (calls cost 10p per minute plus network extras) and pre-book the carriage of these items. Space in our aircraft is limited, so if you do not pre-book carriage, we may refuse carriage of these items.

Charges for round trips can be seen below:

For Bicycles
Short & Mid haul – £30 return
Long haul – £60 return

Important information… Please note that if you are travelling on a package holiday booked through Thomson (flying with the Thomson Airways airline), then you must book carriage of your sports equipment 2 – 3 months before departure. Please also check your confirmation email or ticket reference – if your flight reference number is all digits (no letters), you will also be required to pre-book your sports equipment 2 – 3 months prior to departure.
We recommend that you insure your sports equipment for its replacement value. Please make sure your sports equipment is securely packed – we recommend that zipper type compartments are padlocked. If you are taking a bicycle, we recommend the use of a bicycle bag with padding for added protection. Handlebars must be turned inwards, pedals removed, tyres deflated and the bicycle must be wrapped in plastic or cardboard.

I flew with Thomson from MAN to La Plama Dec 2012. They were good; better than Air France or Easy Jet. I saw no mention of not putting other things in when I’d checked before booking. Took a soft bike bag stuffed with tools & clothes up to the limit of 23kg (+ a bit!). They didn’t ask or look inside & X ray scanner not fussed. All for £30 return.
Outwards they did weight all the luggage carefully, inc hand bags. Not much bothered at La Plama

I have seen that wrangler but trying to get a max weight for the bike bag seems to be beyond their capabilities 😯

To slow posting thanks mrelectric

Although I booked mine online as an addition to my flight there seemed to be no weight info. They informed me when checking the bag in at the desk that is was 12kg.

ok seems like differing experiences. i’ve booked my bike on for £30 return but the guy on the phone said there was no weight limit! will try tomorrow and see if i can get a firm answer

there will definately be a 32kg weight limit.

As always – airport kilos aren’t as big as real kilos.

Just off the phone to Thomson who have confirmed that the bike allowance is 23kg. If your bike bag weighs more you can book additional weight at the rates on the website up to 4 days before departure, otherwise it’s the ridiculously expensive excess baggage charges at the check in desk on the day with maximum weight of 32kg