tmac100

I got no help from the Istanbul call center about this issue.

I want to purchase an electric (pedalling assist) bicycle and bring it from Istanbul to Qatar. But I got a "no-way" comment from the call center lady who did not seem to understand what I was describing. Furthermore, it seems that she was only reading verbatum from the TK "small print" about baggage restrictions.

The bicycle has internal-non removable Lithium-ion batteries that are about 500 Watt hours.

TK restricted baggage on the TK website states: wheelchairs and mobility assistance equipment with Lithium-ion batteries can be accepted as checked baggage.

The bike batteries cannot be separated so that issue is not relevant.

Bicycles can be checked in. No reference at all to electric bicycles.

When the call-center lady said no, it seems she took the easy way out by just saying "No!" And she checked with no supervisor (like BA did - see next sentence).

BA will allow the bike as checked baggage on my AMS-LHR-IST flight. A supervisor confirmen, and BA put a note on that reservation.

What do you believe I should do? Note, this is a TK flight I am concerned about, and emphasize that the batteries are leakproof and non-removable.

max_kolesne

Send them a message using the feedback option on the website. People who review these messages usually have more information

ISTFlyer

Good luck, it would depend on the agent or supervisor on duty at Istanbul when you are checking-in.

Snoozeboy

I'm not a tk expert, but it's widely known among ebikers that airlines do not accept the batteries as they are well over the limit for capacity.

gr8pirate

It’s a really interesting question since the e-bike industry has exploded in recent years (cheap pun not intended) and I’m sure this will pop up more and more in the future.

My guess would be that it’s a blanket “No” from TK even if you’re asking to check in ‘safe’ batteries on your bike.

hfly

Leakproof and non-removable? So what? Are they Lithium Ion and above what any airline will allow? That is the question.

tmac100

A battery in an ebike can be the SAME as the battery in a wheelchair and an assisted mobility aid. Why is one not allowed while the others are?

Airlines should stop giving us "soup sandwiches" 🤨

ISTFlyer

Unfortunately, TK is not the best carrier to carry special items such as an e-bike.
It's up to you, the most that I could do is if I am available that day and if I'm at IST, I could help store it and you could pick it up on a future date if TK denies transporting your e-bike to Doha.

IMO, in these special cases; it's best to read the airline's policy before purchasing the ticket.

hfly

Something else strange here..........When talking about E-bike's, those sold in Turkey are not generally of very good quality (the Turkish market tends to attract the lower end of the market in these things) and even so, the prices are not very good in comparison to many places, such as THE GULF. While I do not know the prices for such things in Doha, I have looked in the UAE and Oman, and prices were better for equivalent things. So why would you buy such a bike in Turkey and bring it to DOH? Then again, you could go for a better/more expensive model that has a removable battery, but that may still be too big for the cabin.

tmac100

Let me elaborate, and put an END to your wrong assumptions.

FWIW, the bicycle is a Van Moof, and list price in Europe is over 3000 €. Hardly poor quality! Van Moof does not ship to Qatar. I can pick the boxed bike in Amsterdam and fly with it (checked baggage) on BA with a ticket I purchased last month (Bus class going AMS-LHR-IST). BA says no issue with the electric bike. I fly TK in Bus class on the IST-DOH route. I bought the RT ticket in September. Obviously I won't cancel any tickets.

TK is trying to feed me a "soup sandwich" as they allow electric wheelchairs and electrified mobility assistance equipment as checked baggage (all with the SAME batteries as in the Van Moof bike), but not ebikes. What nonsense!

max_kolesne

so basically, you bought a ticket without checking the official policy and without making sure that you can take your bike with you. And then, you start getting angry because the airline may have a policy that you don’t agree with.

gr8pirate

I can’t blame TK if they stick to the rules, even if they may not make sense: an older electric wheelchair w dingy battery is considered okay when a state-of-the-art ebike battery is not.

OP - I’m sure there’s a reason for your stop in IST, but would Qatar accept your ebike?

hfly

MAybe you should have flown BA to DOH then, or QR? Rather than with TK through IST?!

Snoozeboy

I think your question would be better posted to an ebike forum. They will probably tell you that you have no chance to fly with an ebike battery. This is well known in the ebike community (that I have been part of since buying an ebike 6 months ago).

Either way, they're more likely to be expert on flying with ebike batteries. People here, whilst experts on air travel are unlikely to have encountered the problem you face.

The only solutions that I can see for you are either
- buy a bike with a removable battery and then to ship the battery separately.
- If the battery is unremovable from the bike, to ship the bike.

I think there are more differences than similarities in your electric wheelchair analogy (though my bike does sound a little like a mobility scooter).

hfly

Well I would guess he has, and having seen as I have after I just went and perused the top 10 or so forums they are all in agreement that NO one cannot travel with such a bike/battery - so he is hoping that someone here has a more clever answer. Furthermore, tmac is not the clever person to argue the "but you allow scooters and other mobility devices" and it seems that unless you show up being very old, riding a scooter or are missing a leg or whatever, no airline, especially it seems BA is going to let you on, most airlines say something like , "You can take a mobility scooter battery but only if you’re a passenger “whose mobility is restricted by either a disability, their health or age, or a temporary mobility problem”. So while TK is not as verbose and explanatory, they are not going to allow it, and probably neither is BA

This reminds me of emotional support animals, originally so that certain people who needed their animals could bring them onboard, which then turned into a "everyone can bring everything onboard and save the kennel fee!" and now has been curtailed. It is estimated that there is one fire every ten days on planes due to -ion batteries, and they are mostly small reasonable ones. There is a reason for this, and even if your bike had a removable battery, you could not carry on a battery of this size, which is why some people use stackable removable where each unit is just under the threshold.