On this page we attempt to make available the experience of individual bicycle tourists who have travelled with British Midland Airlines (you can share your experiences here).
British Midland Airlines
When the tour was over, I flew out of Nice airport for London via British Midland. My friend and I were going to box our bikes the night before leaving and store them at left-luggage at the airport but found out that because of security, left-luggage was indefinitely closed. BTW, we had to buy boxes from Air France (50F each), as BM does not supply boxes. When my bike arrived at Heathrow, it had been opened by the bottom and left upsidedown untaped. I assume security had a look at it, but the least they could have done was tape it up and right it. The agent at BM gave me tape to redo it. As I was spending a week in London without the bike, I was ecstatic to learn that left-luggage at Heathrow was open. This meant I didn't have to find a way to get my bike into London, which I hear can be a hassle. For 3L a day I left the bike box there. A week later I had to get the box from that terminal to another, via a shuttle bus. The driver of the bus lifted the box on and off the shuttle--a lot more helpful than his French counterparts. Flew home via BA and happy to say that, other than cosmetic frame gouges, the bike is in good shape.
One more thing. With BM, there is only room on each flight for 3 bikes, and it's first come first served.
Robin Reid, July 22, 1996