BA are now asking that if you are taking a bike that you phone ahead, 72 hours in advance.

https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/information/baggage-essentials/sporting-goods-and-musical-instruments

You can take non-motorised bicycles of up to 190cm (75in) in length as part of your checked baggage allowance, provided:

You let us know by calling our contact centre at least 72 hours or more before your flight to tell us that you are bringing your bike with you, no matter what cabin you are travelling in.

I’ve just called them (with less than 24 hours to go) and they were fine about it, but it would make sense not to just rely on rocking up and hoping for the best.

It’s even more of a farce than it appears. I hit this issue for the first time late last year, flying from the US with a bike. I saw that notice, so called about two months before the flight to let them know. I was told I need to call the airport the day before the flight, to let them know. And BA’s helpline couldn’t provide a phone number for who at the airport I had to call.

Isn’t the fact that you paid extra to take a bike on s flight a pretty reliable indicator that you will most likely, you know, Erm, take a bike on the flight?

Isn’t the fact that you paid extra to take a bike on s flight a pretty reliable indicator that you will most likely, you know, Erm, take a bike on the flight?

No, because with BA you don’t. It just counts as a bag.

Took mine at Heathrow T5 couple years back and they couldn’t get it on the weighing belt and bloke just shrugged said it was okay. I was also worrying about 23kg limit but he insisted it was 32kg for bikes, despite what it says on their web site.

Packed off to the oversize and job done without being weighed.

Recent thing I’ve learned is T5 at least with ski stuff, head for the far left and the special assistance check-in area. There’s a desk for oversize check-in and they’re more clued up and seem less fussy plus the oversize drop off is right there.

Anyway, looking at the updated advice it doesn’t mention weight limit now other than your normal checked bag limit being 23kg for economy. Seems they want to check the potential weight up front.

They do have bit more explanation as to why here

You let us know by calling our contact centre at least 72 hours or more before your flight to tell us that you are bringing your bike with you, no matter what cabin you are travelling in. We also need to know how big its container is and, if possible, how much it weighs so we can tell our baggage team. This is especially important if you are travelling to a cycling event or with a group of cyclists. We have limited hold space on our smaller aircraft so, by letting us know, it will be more likely that your bike will travel on your flight with you, although this is not guaranteed.

Your bike is packed in a protective bicycle cover/box that is no larger than 190 x 95 x 65cm (75 x 37.5 x 25.5in) to reduce the risk of damage. This can be a heavy-duty polythene bike bag, padded case or hard shell. If in a non-rigid bag, please make sure the handlebars are fixed sideways, and the pedals are removed or fixed inwards, so they don’t stick out. It is also sensible to reduce tyre pressures. Clothes or other personal items should not be packed with your bike in your bike bag/box.

Interesting about not putting clothes in. They say the opposite for ski bags. Chuck it all in!

Though if there’s a chance the bike is going to end up on a cargo flight then perhaps good advice not to stick other stuff in. Besides I would struggle to keep it under 23kg with clothes in there too.

Bike ending up on cargo flight and/or turning up days later or not turning up at all is why I prefer driving. If it’s practical.

Flying out of Gatwick in September With Ba got charged extra for the bike as it was over 23kg. We were told as long it’s not over 32kg its a fixed cost of £65 each way.

Flying home from States they could not care and charged us nothing.

We had phoned about a week ahead but again no one was bothered.

May have helped the bike was the only checked in bag each of us had.