I want to make a quick dash to Italy in January for a race that a friend is organising. The only flights that suit are with Flybe. They will take bikes for £28 each way, but you can't book and pay for bike in advance – you have to confirm there is space in the hold when you get to the airport.

I know Ryanair etc have the same caveat of bike only goes if there is room, but Flybe uses smaller planes so not sure how likely it is that bike will get bumped (not a lot of use going to a race without a bike….)

I'm going to ring them for a chat, but has anyone had direct experience of using them? (think the plane is an Embraer with about 100 seats so not too tiny)