Yes, You Can Fly with a Trike

Myrtle getting loaded on a plane leaving Australia

I gets lots of questions about how I fly with my trike. I've been doing this for many years and taken my trike all over the world on probably 40 flights without incident. I take Myrtle on the plane as is and no box. I prefer this method because it is easier to get the trike to and from the airport. The trike is also easier for the baggage handlers to carry.

I learned of taking my trike on a plane from Ian Sims, the original owner of Greenspeed. He told me he flies with his trike. In fact, he would usually fly with a tandem trike doing tours with his wife. He didn't use a box and never paid extra fees. We had this conversation after my 1st tour where I rode from Canada to Guatemala and used DHL to get my trike home. The Greenspeed GTO trike had to be broken down in order to box it up and shipping costs were $700 to fly the box to Portland, Oregon. Ouch! I followed Ians advice and on my next tour to New Zealand arrived to the airport with my trike. I was skeptical but Ian was right - they took the trike as is and I wasn't charged a fee. What a relief!

You can watch the video below showing how I get my trike ready for flights with lots of bubblewrap. I always arrive at the airport extra early before the crowds and lines form for my flight. This way I can answer any questions before the check-in people are frazzled.

How I pack my trike for a flight

There are two types of flights to consider: Domestic and International

My only experience with domestic US flights is flying Alaska Airlines. They are terrific about the trike and I have never been questioned about anything. They just take the trike. As is. No problems. Sometimes I'm charged a checked bag fee which can be anything from $25-$50. Often I am not charged. My only other experience flying domestically was my 1st time flying with the trike after my tour in New Zealand and Australia. I flew to Los Angeles and then needed to get a flight to Portland. I got a ticket from Southwest flying out of Burbank Airport. Southwest wouldn't take the trike. They gave no explanation and essentially turned their back and left me standing there with no idea what to do. The ticket counter next door was Alaska Airlines. I rolled my trike over and they got me on a flight which actually arrived earlier to Portland than the Southwest eta. For then on, I always fly Alaska and highly recommend them.

On international flights you are allowed 2 50 lb pieces of luggage. My trike is one piece that weighs 40 lbs and I tie my panniers together to make the other piece that typically weighed about 35 lbs. Well under the weight limits for flying. I have also never been charged extra for flying on an international flight. Again, the international terminals are really wild and it is a good idea to arrive extra early. I have probably had my trike on 30 international flights that have gone smoothly. There have been 2 flights where I had to 'talk' to the check-in person for a long time to convince them I have done this many, many times and the trike doesn't need to be in a box. In these circumstances you need to realize the check-in person is only trying to follow the rules and they just aren't sure what you are checking in. They have never seen a trike before and are thinking it is a bicycle. All bicycles need to be in a box. This makes sense because bicycles are unwieldy. Typically I show a baggage handler how easy the trike is to steer lifting the rear wheel holding it up by the rear rack. I always have the rear wheel locked so when the wheel is on the ground the trike is stationary and won't roll. The baggage handlers are always grateful they don't have to carry the 40 lb awkward trike and happily roll it away.

On all the flights I've been on, I have only had very minor damage. Most of it was my own fault like leaving a mirror attached that got caught on something and broke. This idea of flying your trike unboxed is not without risk. Even though I have had good experiences doing this not everyone does. I do know a guy who called me for advice on how to get his brand new Catrike home to Mexico City from a shop in San Francisco. The trike arrived in Mexico City completely destroyed. Even though the airline bought him a new trike he is probably still very angry with me.

The next issue is more contemporary. What can you do if you have electric assist on your trike? I haven't tried it but I think you can fly your trike with a motor. Unfortunately, you can't fly the battery. Lithium batteries on a plane can't be any bigger than what you find in a laptop computer. There really isn't a good solution for this issue. You can ship a battery ground but this has to be through a certified shipper and from what I've seen it is very expensive. Another solution is to buy batteries at the start of your tour. These batteries cost close to $1000 which is a big expense and then you still have the problem of what to do with the battery at the end of your tour. Of course, at the moment, it is difficult to fly anywhere anyway and we will see if battery rules loosen up in the future. 

My trike is 10 years old and I'm considering doing a tour of Europe, Scandinavia and the UK maybe in a couple of years. I am thinking of buying a new trike with e-assist from HP Velotechnik in Germany. I'll fly to Frankfurt, pick up the trike, tour for how ever long and then return to HP Velotechnik to have them ship the trike with all the other trikes they will send to US dealers. It's an idea I will need to talk over with HP Velotechnik.

I hope this encourages you get your non e-assisted trike on a plane whether for a short visit or longer tour.