Oooh, I love the feeling of packing my bags and my bike to travel to an international race. In my last few trips to Europe, Vietnam and Bahrain I loved every moment of the journey. I’ve been hitting my bucket list goals with each race. The amazing coastlines, self-reflection, and cultural diversity have increased my craving to travel more. Whilst I do these trips with my bike, it becomes increasingly important to plan better and keep it stress-free. These trips are expensive and small mistakes can deplete significant resources. Before getting on this guide, I’d suggest reading part 1 for some basics of Bike bags and logistics. In this blog, I shall touch upon my learnings about travelling internationally with bikes.
Let's start with an invaluable experience from our last Europe trip..
We had an interesting experience during our travel from Bangalore to Finland. We opted for Vistara Airlines from Bangalore to Delhi and FinAir from Delhi to Finland. We confronted a major issue in the airport as Vistara policies for bike bags are different from FinAir policies. We had paid 100 Euros each side for the FinAir segment but Vistara had no option to pre-book sports equipment. As we landed at the Airport, they mentioned they could waive the bike bag handling charges(Rs 1500) but we had to pay for the additional baggage. That was an astounding 35000 Rs per side. After a long discussion, they chose to charge a flat fee of 100$ per side. On a fun note, our flight charges were lower than that. One negotiation we made was to have them check in our luggage. This means we could directly collect it in Finland. While coming back from Finland, there was no option to Through check-in. We had to collect the bike bags in Delhi and drop them at Vistara counters for check-in. Our Bike Bags never arrived on the same flight and were delivered after 3 days in Bangalore. It did help save Bike Bag charges for the Vistara segment.
Do airline policies vary?
Yes! The airline policies in domestic travel are significantly different from International Airlines.
The major difference is that - In most International Airlines, the cost of ‘oversized luggage’ includes a pre-specified weight included. For example, Oman Air charges Rs 15000 for ‘sports equipment’ weighing up to 32kgs. In this scenario, the check-in luggage and sports equipment are weighed separately and an extra allowance is provided for sports equipment.
Okay! That’s enough information. Let’s dive right into some insights we gained over our international travels.
BOOM here you go…
Opt for a direct flight or a single airline travel. Multi-airline travel can be challenging concerning Bike bag policies. For Bahrain, we travelled from Bangalore to Bahrain with a layover in Oman with Oman Air. Both the segments were with the same airline. It's just significantly more convenient if this option is available.
Try to get the bike bag ‘through checked in’ if you have a connecting flight. Through check in means the bags don't need to be rechecked in at the layover airport. A few airlines do not allow that. Bags need to be rechecked during the layover period. In such scenarios, opt for a layover time of> 3 hours. At Delhi airport, Immigration takes a long time. Therefore, a sufficient layover time is essential to reach the boarding gate on time after immigration and recheck-in.
Opt for longer layover time if your bike bags cannot be through checked-in. When you’re re-entering India, the customs check happens at the first airport you land in India. Therefore in most scenarios, an International Airline will not allow ‘through checkin’ if the layover is at another Indian airport. For example, if you’re flying from Dubai to Chennai with a layover in Mumbai, the customs check happens in Mumbai. So all the bags must be passed through customs and re-checked in. This isn't a big issue with regular check-in bags as they arrive quickly on the conveyor belts. Bike bags are usually delayed as they are manually transferred from flights to the oversized section of the airport. The layover time becomes critical to ensure you make it to the next flight stress-free. Opt for a layover time >3 hours.
Expect delays and long queues at the airport if you are travelling back from a World Championship race or a race with a massive list of participants. Bike bags also tend to be delayed due to the sheer volume to be handled at the host city’s airport.
Check for comlimentary bike transfers with partner airlines. A few Middle Eastern airline carriers can be more economical as they don’t charge additionally for bike bags especially if they are race partners. For example, Qatar Airways.
What if you experience Bike Issues Post-Landing: What's the Plan?
Bike service facilities can be found at the Ironman Expo and occasionally at hotels affiliated with the race as official partners. However, they often become overcrowded with lengthy queues in the 1-2 days leading up to the race. If you arrive early and the expo is open, make sure to promptly address any bike issues.
Travelling intercity with Bike Bags
As we arrived in Helsinki from Delhi, we had to make a quick transition to another city in Finland, called Lahti. That's where the Ironman World Championships were being held. The metro was connected to the airport. We took some help from locals to purchase tickets from a ticket machine and the icons next to the trains showed which trains allow bikes. It was simple for us to travel to Lahti. From Lahti station to our hotel, we hired a taxi. It cost us Rs 2000 for 1.5kms (Most taxis were Mercedes!).
Europe is extensively connected by trains and it's easy to carry bikes and travel. In Bahrain, we had pre-informed the hotel to arrange an airport transfer for us. This can be helpful and it's important to give them more specific details about the extra luggage.
Ending thoughts
I loved penning down these thoughts and learnings as much as I loved experiencing incredible race trips. Through these experiences, I've gained valuable insights, and my passion for training, racing, and travel has flourished immensely. Pre-planning and travelling in groups can really help enhance the journeys. If you have any specific questions related to travelling with Bike Bags or training for triathlons, do hit me up. I have opened complimentary consultation slots as I am delighted to aid your triathlon journey. These races and trips have the potential to be transformative, so prepare to meet a better version of yourself! Happy training and Racing <3
With Love,
AJ
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