biaddiction

Anyone actually brought your Brompton for your international flight and storage inside the overhead bin? Thanks! Picture would be great!!! Maybe you need to take out saddle?

2_i 

I did it on domestic flights as a try and do not want to repeat it. You dangle a heavy object with sharp protruding edges above passenger heads, at times at the edge of your reach. The risks are far above what it is worth.

Winfried

Does any international airline still allow this?

Because of security, you might also be refused boarding at the airport, even if the airline itself doesn't mind (happened to someone I know).

Free option: Call a Brompton store some time before leaving, and ask them to save a box for you.

linberl

Is it free if it's in a box? Don't you have to pay to send it as cargo, in which case I'd think a padded suitcase would be better?

3speedslow

Good question! Eager to read what the community knows. A Brompton is heading my way!

Winfried

Check with the airline, but if it's within the dimensions for checked baggages, there's no reason for extra charge. That's the point of travelling with a folding bike, especially one as compact as the Brompton.

The good thing about a carton box vs. suitcase, is that it's free, and you can just chuck it when you get there. A suitcase, on the other hand…

2_i 

The issue can be of what to do upon landing, if you plan to continue on Brompton alone. A suitcase can be a problem. It might be possible to make a bag compact upon arrival, but then presumably it would not provide a lot of protection. A box can be discarded. I solved the problem on occasions by using a suitcase trailer.

linberl

I had read airlines charge a "bicycle" fee - would that not happen if it was in a Brompton box? I guess I thought that was why people used suitcases - to "disguise" the bike.

tcs

Even as compact as the Brompton fold is, it's still seriously bigger than the official carry-on dimensions of every airline I'm aware of.

The cats @ Brompton Mafia carry-on their Bs on Southwest Airline domestic USA flights using the latest generation interiors of their Boeing 737 aircraft.
Brompton 23 x 22 x 10.6
SWA carry-on 24 x 16 x 10
They say this particular airline is cool with 'too big' carry-ons.

pics @ https://bromptonmafia.com/

2_i 

Not true. Within several packing options Brompton comes at just about 62 inches of linear dimension. I have routinely traveled with Brompton in checked luggage in the Delta-KLM network. About a year ago Delta dropped the bike surcharge, but I could not figure out whether this was true for other airlines in their alliance. In any case, I was able to check in a full size bike at a Delta counter without any extra fees, even oversize.

tcs

I know the practice of Brompton fans is to defend any perceived slight to the bike to the death, but...

I said 'carry-on' baggage. You're talking about 'checked' baggage.

2_i 

You are right about the nature of the luggage - my mistake. However, when you slight people, they may stop responding to your posts.

Winfried

Just wrap the box, and say it's a wheelchair.

Worked for me occasionally :-p

Pinigis 

I prefer the term “personal mobility device”. It seems to baffle them.

biker101

I have put the Brompton cardboard box into a bag, and checked it in as normal luggage on several occasions. See
mybikesite.org/#Packing

sslonkosky

I have one of these but haven’t used it yet. Even though it’s slightly oversized, Yan says that if you push in the corners, it looks smaller. He says in over a hundred flights he’s never been charged an oversized fee.
https://www.downtube.com/downtube-fo...soft-suitcase/

Tourist in MSN

If the airline allows the bike as a carryon based on size and weight, perhaps if you had one of these to put the bike in to keep things clean and avoid damaging the bike and damaging things the bike contacts when you get onto and off the plane.
https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/dimpa-s...lear-10056770/

There was mention above of Southwest Air, it has been my experience that since they have up to two free checked bags, there are a lot less passengers trying to carry everything they own onto a Southwest Air flight, thus there may be more room in Southwest overheads than on other airlines.

blakcloud

It really depends on the airline. You would never get a Brompton as carry on luggage onto an Air Canada flight. Questionable sized bags are measured at the gate for International flights.

For checked in baggage it does not matter if your folded bike is less than 62", Air Canada sees a bike as a bike and charges accordingly. Not fair but it is their airline.

AC as instituted a new measuring device where no hands touch the luggage but is scanned for allowable sizes. Even B & W cases don't make the grade.

When in doubt call the airline that you will be traveling with. If they have documentation, print it and bring it to the check in desk.

Last, I have been on enough rough flights where overhead bins have been emptied to know if a bike came down it would not be a pretty sight. This is one of the reasons that the instructions of "put heavier items in front of you and lighter items in the bin above are given during the briefing instructions that we all listen to when getting ready to take off, right?

Tourist in MSN

Maybe things have changed, but my S&S coupled bike was in a 26 X 26 X 10 inch case in June and July 2019 when I flew Air Canada from Ohare to Halifax NS, with layovers on both directions. The black case on the cart was the bike case.



I am certain that they knew I had a bike, as I do not trust my helmet with baggage handlers, I carried my helmet outside my bags in the airport, which includes going through ticketing. And my carryon was a rear pannier and my personal item was a front pannier, carried those in the airport too.

Barchettaman

There’s a cheap IKEA bag that fits the Brompton. I think it’s called a Dimpa.

maybe worth considering as a more reusable option than the cardboard box.

Geepig

Very nice - and you could also add some thick corrugated cardboard on either side if required for a specific journey.

Winfried

I wouldn't recommend it when flying, as it offers no protection. Do you trust airport personnel with luggage?

I use the Dimpa to travel on trains/busses, but a cardboard box is a better option when flying — bike boxes are thrown away by LBS anyway.

3speedslow

If you use some of the foam mat squares and cut them down to size it would increase the protection( but not impact) benefit.

DavidMasse

For my next flight to Vancouver post Covid, I’m thinking of either using a Dimpa bag cushioned by a self inflating camping mattress (wrap the bike in the deflated mattress, place it in the Dimpa, open the mattress air valve so it expands to protect the bike) or a 29” Delsey suitcase plus some cheap cushioning.

Schwinnsta

The Brompton fits the Dimpa bag almost perfectly. I don't think your mattress will be able to expand enough to provide much additional protection. I think thin but rigid sheets would be better. The Delsey cases look to be the wrong shape to fit a Brompton.