Given the choice between a flattened and stored bike box being reconstructed, or putting a bike in a large plastic bag for a return trip, which would (or have) you choose(n)?

I've got the option of doing either this trip. Transport and store the box in a flattened state, to use on return, or just show up at the airport, buy the plastic bag for $15ish, and turn handlebars but otherwise put bike in completely assembled and be done with it. I'm mostly worried about how effective the bottom of bike boxes are once the staples have been pulled and it is just tape holding it together.

Leaning towards bag, just for convenience, and I don't foresee any damage that can't easily be fixed at home anyhow. More touchy about the bikes on the way there.

re stapled boxes, up until recently, I was lucky always to have access to stapled boxes, which I always figured was stronger and certainly easier to not have to shore them up myself.
On the return of my last trip, I only had a flattened box to use, so I bought extra tape and with the help of someone, taped the heck out of the bottom of the box, and when the bike was inside, taped the heck out of the entire box, wrapping tape around and aorund and around the entire box so it would be as strong as it could.
It arrived fine, and you know, I actually think that as there was so much tape all over the place going all around the box in every way possible, it probably was stronger than just a stapled one in case it got caught in the rain while being loaded.

Ive never used a bag, and have misgivings about that, but I do realize that its really down to the individual workers that day, and how they feel about life, the universe and everything--ie if they are in a pissy mood that day, its probably not good for our bikes, in a box or in a bag....

bottom line, if you go the flattened box route, buy at least one big roll of clear tape and go to town on it.

friends who travelled last year with bikes in bags said that when they went to pick their bikes up at a part of the airport, they saw that they had both fallen over and had suitcases kinda piled on or around them.
I dunno, I still think there's a lottery aspect of either way....

I go international out and back with Uhaul mattress bags. I've never had any damage, it's really obvious there's a bike inside, they handle it very nicely.

get a 50' ball of cheap twine at dollar general and make
a simple mesh net around your box. that will hold almost
any box together, and will prevent stuff from falling out in
case of tears.

if you cut a couple pieces of 6" pvc and tie to each
end, the luggage handlers will have something to
grab aholdst of instead of the handholes in the
carton, which often just tear open.

the box in the photo is cobbled together from old
post office shipping boxes. returning from burma,
had already been through three flights and a
month of storage in a mildewy guesthouse attic.

Good tape should hold up to a lot of abuse as long as it adheres to the box well. If you're concerned about the tape, get the reinforced tape with strings inside of it.

This question is what holds me back from flying with my bike. (the return flight) I would like to know more on your experiences.

If a plastic bag is an option go for it. The logistics of getting to the airport with a boxed bike is taken care of, just ride to the airport. Packing usually consist of removing the pedals and turning the handlebars sideways. When you arrive at your destination it's really nice just to put the pedals on, turn your handle bars and go - 5 minutes max.

I've not flown with my bike now for almost 8 years. In the past most airlines would sell you a HUGE box at the baggage check in counter for $10-$15. I'd always use that, pay the oversize fee, throw it away at the destination and ceremoniously ride my loaded bike through the electric doors of the terminal. On the return I'd reverse the procedure and buy a new box. Back then Air Canada provided a huge plastic bag which worked fine. Now their website says a box is required. Most other airlines require a box.

Perhaps the $10 box is now history? Maybe that's the case with discount bike baggage airlines like SW? If available it's the easiest way to bring a bike with minimal disassembly. Pedals off and bars turned... you're good to go. Frame is reinforced by both wheels being installed rather than one removed packed to the side where it might get pressed into the frame. Plenty of extra room for fenders, racks and maybe even a tent strapped on. As stated above by gerryl, the simplicity of the plastic bag is equally good if permitted by your airline. Also makes it easy for the baggage handler as the bike can be carried by the top tube through the bag.

edit: At the start or finish of a trip I'll sometimes visit an airport to confirm the availability of a bike box or bag. It's usually impossible to make a direct phone call to a baggage counter.

Flew home from Spain with the bike in a clear, plastic bag back in '00. No problems despite three flights.

Sounds like the bags are getting enough love to just go with that. They are an option, they are sold at the airport, listed right on the airline's website. Saves me having to transport the box to and from town, too.

My only experience was flying out of Amsterdam, which sells massive bike boxes right at the terminal. Think they were $20 or so, easy to put together, and incredibly sturdy. Big enough you could just roll the bike right in with nothing but turning the handlebars, don't even recall having to take the pedals off.

one important issue to take into consideration is that in real life, sometimes things are not as advertised, ie if you arrive at the airport and Joe-Blow on the phone told you the day before that, "sure, we have boxes/bags" and then you arrive there and no one can find them, well thats a problem.

this is why I personally have taken care of my bike always before arriving at airport. I prefer to cover the situation and be sure of it.
Part of this comes from all kinds of examples in my life of things not being as expected, orders for work, you name it , that have been a big waste of time and inconvenience.

you pays you money, you takes your chances

Yeah, that can be an issue. I mitigated that last time by getting the box the night before leaving (as we were staying in an airport hotel).

This time, I'll probably verify they have them before I leave the airport. Worst case, I go to a home improvement shop and get some plastic sheeting, and make my own. Also gave half a thought to just taking an old mattress one I have, rolling it up, and ziptying it to the underside of my rack so I have it for sure.

The Uhaul mattress bags are packaged real tight, I buy two, one for outgoing, one for coming home. I remove my chain, unscrew the rear derailleur and ziptie it to the stays. I remove the front disc on the way out. Remove pedals, turn bars and hope for the best. I've had more damage from the TSA pulling my bike out of the box and trying to re-insert it. The bag has resulted in zero damage in three international trips.

Plastic bag allows the TSA to see everything without have to unpack the bike.
Baggage handlers see it's a bike, it's not protected, they handle it nicely.
I watch them from my seat, a bagged bike goes in last on top of everything else.

Hmm, haven't gone through TSA, I have taken to flying out of Toronto on my past few trips abroad. They actually have you in the oversize screening area unpacking/repacking everything they want to see.

What size bags do you use? Those are much cheaper than buying at the airport, and as [MENTION=199530]djb[/MENTION] mentioned, it'd be nice to simply have them and not have to worry.

IIRC there's a double/queen size I use. I also take a small roll of clear packing tape and some zip-ties for the return flight. Outbound, I keep a small pair of diagonal cutters/tools packed on an outside pocket of my checked bags with my pedals so I can unpack my bike and set it up in baggage claim.

When I'm packing my bike in the bag, I make sure everything is easy to see, once the TSA starts messing with it all bets are off. They clipped a zip tie on one trip and went through a brand new tyre's sidewall. Dead before the first mile....

I've used a Giant bike bag that I bought for about 15 dollars. It's just a thin but tough cover that has straps to tie things up and most helpfully a shoulder strap so the bike can be easily carried. I wrap the whole bike in a sheet of acoustic foam that they sell at home improvement stores then I slide the bike bag over it. The bag folds up into a little 5"x 4" ball that I carry with me until I fly out, I just buy a new sheet of foam to repack. Not as protective as a box but so far I've haven't had any damage to the bike. In this configuration the bike also fits easily into the back seat of a normal cab. Being able to carry the bike along with my other luggage is a huge plus, I've traveled with a bike in a box and it is a nightmare trying to drag it around to/from airports with my other stuff.

The requirements of the carrier are the big unknown.

Presume the carrier requirements say both methods are suitable.

Last time out of Aberdeen Scotland, I taped together 2 bike boxes, flight to AMS to Connect to the one coming back
to the West Coast of the US.. I had flown into Dublin Ireland , changing planes at LHR.

I hope your presumption does not run in conflict with the airlines actual requirements.

I've done both and given a choice I would opt for a bag. The reason is it is pretty obvious it is a bike.

In a collection of experiences:
- Lufthansa allowed bikes to fly w/o box. I've flown back from Bangalore w/o a box twice and once I tried having the airport guys do the shrink wrap. I've also flown from US to Bangalore on Lufthansa w/o any box.
- Some years ago, flying back from Amsterdam (Air Canada?), choice was a bag. It worked fine.
- Departing from the US, I've often opted with a bike box at the airport. Those are getting a little harder to find. On my most recent flight, Delta in Denver didn't have boxes, so I went to United to buy a box from them. I had a similar experience the flight before that when Alaska Airlines didn't have a box, so I bought from United.
- Returning to the US, probabilities of finding a box at the airport seem sketchier. So flying from Vladivostok, Kuala Lumpur, I went to local bike shop and had them pack things in a bike-shop box. I also did this outbound from US to India one time as well.

Overall, if I have a choice, I actually like using plastic bag or even no bag at all, similar to Lufthansa. I need to pack it so it does well, but it is also obvious that it is a bike. I done quite a few flights over the years just riding to the airport and buying a box there. My impression is fewer airlines/airports with boxes as well as sometime international returns/destinations had led me to also get the bike disassembled more completely and put in a bike shop box.

I assume you are talking about Iceland. Communicate with Mdlthey to see where he left his bike boxes. I left my S&S case in the luggage room at the Reykjavik hostel. They have two or three hostels in Reykjavik, I stayed at the one next to the large campground. Campground there will also store bike boxes.

There was a shuttle bus to and from airport from Reykjavik. I think I had to transfer buses at a bus station, but other than that, minimal hassle using a shuttle. But I think Mdlthey stayed elsewhere that stored his bike boxes.

Yep. Box storage and airline regulations are not an issue. More curious as to how well reconstructed boxes actually worked, but I think at this point, I'm simply going bag route. Less I gotta cart from the airport to the hostel, stash, and then collect and cart back. Not particularly worried about anything on this bike being irreparably damaged that it can't be mended in a home workshop.

I always find it interesting that people spend thousands of dollars on a "bombproof" touring bike, then treat it like it's fine bone china when it comes time to pact for a flight. If your bike can't take a little rough airport handling, it ain't exactly "bombproof".

When it comes to the paint and finish, I concur that a touring bike is supposed to look like it has been somewhere. But airline employees can be pretty rough on things. The engineers that design bikes design them to be strong enough for the purpose. But the purpose is the bike being ridden with a load on it. They do not design bikes to be strong enough for a side load that could taco a wheel, dent the frame, bend a fork, etc.

One person on this board a few years ago was looking out the window at the airport he was at and saw an airline employee was having an angry fit and was kicking his bike box. I think he got a video of part of it.

Years ago, I traveled a lot for work and I worked outdoors with a lot of specialized equipment. I bought a new suitcase. I knew an airline employee that handled luggage and also loaded food onto airliners. I asked him what he thought of that brand and model of suitcase. He said it was terrible. I asked why and he said just a few days earlier when he drove the food truck over a suitcase just like mine, it destroyed it. But a week before that when he drove a tractor over a soft bag with no frame, you could hardly tell that he had driven a vehicle over the bag.

And, in the category of "lessons learned":

Even if you know what the bike shipping requirements are when you book, make sure you know what they are when you leave. With a month to go, I went back to check on some things (since one of our tickets read bikes were a max of 23kg and the other two read 27kg), turns out policies have changed so that boxes are not allowed, and the airport stopped selling bags this spring....