Hi Rhys, when booking the flight, you'll need to add your bike too. Its approx £60 (x2 if split over two boxes) each way usually. However, I have just booked flights to Pisa with BA and it was more cost effective to go business class for the 2 x 35kg luggage allowance, which covers the bike without extra cost, you just need to tell them you're taking it. Ref the bag, the overall size has to be no bigger than a linear 300cm when the dims are totalled, and max 32kg. We used a cardboard box on our recent tour of Sri Lanka, for the return flight. We'll use the same box for the above too, but dispose of it at Pisa, and cycle home via Rotterdam/Hull. For info, the box was 180cm x 90cm x 20cm, and the tandem does not have couplings, but with wheels removed, it fits fine, weighing in at sub 30kg. The panniers will be packed separately in another box. It all went very smooth with Emirates to Sri Lanka and back. We purchased two bike boxes from Davpak, and made one large one, costing approx £40 for both. Good luck!

Hi Kevin

This is really helpful. We are flying back from Prague with ours. How did you get your boxes to the airport?

Thanks

Dave

Hi Dave, we only had the one box of the size listed above. As the Sri Lanka trip was a return, we drove and parked at the airport, our car just fitted the box in, 3 series estate. to get it from the accomodation to Colombo airport, we just used a local taxi with a seven seater. For Pisa, there will be two couples, two tandems, and its one way. I have the good fortune to arrange an FOC van via work, on a one way basis, that I can drop off at Heathrow. I have looked at other ways of one way transport there, and from Nottingham it works out at approx £350-400 for either a one way van hire or large taxi. With our box being 1800mm long, a standard car is not an option, if you have a split tandem, two smaller boxes, then there will be more options including buses and trains too.