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Travellers' questions that don't fit anywhere else This is an opportunity to ask any question, and post any notice you wish that doesn't fit into one of the other sections.
Photo by George Guille, It's going to be a long 300km... Bolivian Amazon

I haven't been everywhere...
but it's on my list!


Photo by George Guille
It's going to be a long 300km...
Bolivian Amazon



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  #1  
Old 23 Jan 2008
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Crash Helmets on Planes
I'm thinking of doing a fly ride trip to South Africa towards the end of this year. Before all the recent security scares I used to take my lid on the plane with me no problem, but BA (who I have to use) don't seem keen on this any more, although I got the feeling they said no because they weren't sure. It's not the storage space that will be a problem, I'll be flying Club.

Has anyone managed to get their lid on to a plane recently, or if this is not possible can anyone suggest some way of getting it there without the luggage handlers wrecking it?

Cheers

Richard
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Old 23 Jan 2008
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i understand they are looking at lifting the security restrictions for flights out of the uk of only one piece of carry on( including handbag laptop etc)(impossed be security not the airline). It should be a not problem at all?? that i can think of, at worst it would be counted as your "one piece" ??? Maybe ask someone else at the airline and see if the response is different? If you got a helmet bag ( i've seen them on line for 5-6 pounds and carried on like any other bag what would be the problem ???(how would they know) maybe ask the uk aviation security agency if you're allowed.... they're the one who will x-ray it and know what's inside the bag - and in turn would know of any restriction?

best of luck
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Old 23 Jan 2008
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Originally Posted by reggie3cl View Post
I'm thinking of doing a fly ride trip to South Africa towards the end of this year. Before all the recent security scares I used to take my lid on the plane with me no problem, but BA (who I have to use) don't seem keen on this any more, although I got the feeling they said no because they weren't sure. It's not the storage space that will be a problem, I'll be flying Club.

Has anyone managed to get their lid on to a plane recently, or if this is not possible can anyone suggest some way of getting it there without the luggage handlers wrecking it?

Cheers

Richard
You may have picked up on the news recently that it has become pretty complicated; the general advice handed out by the news programmes is to check with both the particular carrier/airline and the particular airport of departure because there are now different rules for each.

We have gone from a national single set of rules to a complexity of individual rules set by both the airport authorities and the airlines.
Why not put it in the hold luggage? - you don't need it in the cabin. That's where all of your knifes and other "offensive" equipment will have to be in any case.
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Old 23 Jan 2008
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It certainly didn't used to be a problem, I think that the airline have decided that a passenger might put on a lid to protect their head when they go bezerk on board...

Richard
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Old 23 Jan 2008
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a helmet is hardly the next hijackers weapon!!!
or maybe they think you've been watching too many episodes of LOST, and are afraid you'll scare all other passangers because they forgot to bring a crash helmet for the take off's and landings!!!
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Old 23 Jan 2008
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No problems putting it (or them as the wife will be coming) in the hold, but they are too big to go in a conventional hard sided suitcase. I'd be interested in alternative ways to get the lids there without getting damaged. Baggage handlers simply do not give a flying wotsit about your property, and there's no guarantee that you lid won't get dropped, squashed or lost on the way- or all three!

Richard

Ah. stop press. Just got off the phone to BA, and they say now not a problem BUT I'd still like to hear from someone who has tried to do this recently because there's no repacking a lid at the airport...
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Old 23 Jan 2008
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Goes to show you eh? ask one person they think "mmmm no... out side of the box... to hard....so... no" ask another more reasonable person and they say yes. I had the same thing when i flew to the states from NZ for a ski trip. I booked with Air Tahiti, then looked at their website to see if they would charge me for the skis.... except for some reason Air Tahiti don't carry alot of skis!!!!!! i called they said no, not possible. i called again and someone asked.." are they any bigger than a surfboard? no? then no problem!"
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Old 23 Jan 2008
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Well good for BA but that still leaves the airport check-in desk and X-ray machine operators who are paid minimum wage on a short term/temporary contract in the height of summer to make things difficult for us.
(No offence to anyone doing the job - just the way it is!!)

ps that's the airport in both directions of course, assuming that you are coming back eventually.
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Old 23 Jan 2008
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Originally Posted by reggie3cl View Post
Ah. stop press. Just got off the phone to BA, and they say now not a problem BUT I'd still like to hear from someone who has tried to do this recently because there's no repacking a lid at the airport...

No recent experience, but maybe try to get BA's response in a written form, i.e. email, so if needed you have something to show them in case you strike troubles at the airport. Phone conversations can easily be denied, but not an answer on paper.
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Old 23 Jan 2008
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I would be interested to know how you get on with this one. British airports are still the most anal despite the recent changes with the hand luggage restrictions but even still this should be ok. I saw some bikers flying in from the US before Christmas. Seemed like an odd time for a bike trip......

My bet for a helmet is that you could wear it on if the jobs worths really went to town on you. - it certainly won't fit in one of those hand luggage assessment frames and there seems a complete absence of sensible thought outside the box (or that frame even!).

Let's just hope nobody designs a helmet bomb - then we'll be stuffed.

Good luck.

Matt
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Old 23 Jan 2008
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Mmm, good point about getting it in writing. As has been pointed out, we in the UK are gradually going back to the two bits of hand luggage rules, so hopefully the screeners will be OK. What you DON'T want to do is let their American colleagues touch your stuff. They really do not care.

Dunno where those guys were going in the States, but I've just got back from So. Cal and Death Valley (how good were those roads?) and the temperatures would be perfect for biking. Pity I was in a sodpot car...

Richard
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Old 23 Jan 2008
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And as for hand luggage dimensions- max width allowed 25cm, my lid 25.2cm...

Richard
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Old 23 Jan 2008
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Nothing a rasp file wouldn't fix! sorry! I've made at least 30 flights in the last few years and i always take a slightly oversized backpack on the plane and have never been asked to size it. There should be no worries.
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Old 23 Jan 2008
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I always ‘carry on’ my helmet as hand luggage when I fly; so does my pillion Ellen (my ‘partner’ in modern parlance terms). I use my tank bag as a carry on holder; Ellen uses her specially made padded container bag, which she bought at the NEC Motorcycle Show a couple of years ago for about 10 quid (USD $19). Any small personal effects that we think we might need ‘in flight’ (e.g. books, mags, toiletries, etc.) we put mainly inside our helmets.

Within the last couple of years I/we have flown and ‘carried on’ our lids (as hand luggage) with the following airline operators:
  • Air New Zealand
  • Virgin Atlantic
  • Air Canada
  • United Airline
  • American Airlines …
… without any problems whatsoever.

In a few weeks’ time – on Sunday March-16 – we are both flying across the pond to the States from LHR with British Airways. Again, we’re not anticipating any trouble with treating our lids as ‘carry-on’ items, which once more will be enclosed in (1) my tank bag; and (b) her helmet holder - as per normal.
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Old 23 Jan 2008
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That's good news, thanks for the info.

Cheers

Richard
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