Carrying bicycle via flights in India

Okay so I needed to carry my cycle from Delhi to Pune and that’s when I got some suggestions from my cyclist friends about which airlines to go with. After checking with multiple airlines, these are the responses I got.

Atul, you may check-in it in dismantled form. IndiGo will levy a fee of INR 1200/- (or equivalent in foreign currency) at the airport, for any special baggage checked-in such as a bicycle. For more information, please visit https://t.co/s69KH2fNNc and read clause 10.2. ~Prabh

— IndiGo (@IndiGo6E) June 10, 2019

Next up, Vistara

Dear Mr. Goyal, A flat fee of INR 2000/- (per Check-in Baggage, inclusive of all taxes) is charged if exceeding the permitted dimensions of 158 cms. Thanks, Sahil.

— Vistara (@airvistara) June 11, 2019

And then Air Asia

Hi Atul, kindly use the link below as a guide to your query about your bicycle. Thank you.https://t.co/E64xvZ82Z8

— airasia Super App (@airasia) June 11, 2019

which as per that page, came out to be something like this:

Sport Equipment
15kg	INR 1890
20kg	INR 3190
25kg	INR 5090
30kg	INR 6390
40kg	INR 9390

After starting to loose hope, finally Air India comes to the rescue.

Dear Mr Goyal, Bicycles can be carried as a part of free check-in baggage allowance provided it is carried in a compact bag for a dismantled bicycle or a folding bicycle bag or hard shell bicycle case. The tyres are to be deflated. Kindly refer https://t.co/t5938Z4kC7

— Air India (@airindiain) June 11, 2019

(I also called them up just to be doubly sure)

So as of June 2019, Air India seems like the most cost effective option considering that the flight ticket on AI was only 300 Rs costlier than the cheapest option while it also includes a free meal.

So check the prices, and if AI is not costing more than the cost of carrying cycle with the other airlines, maybe just go with AI for a change? 🙂

Happy cycling!

PS: Thanks to Nupur Singh, Pratyush Thakur, and Gaurav Duggal for their inputs and help.