Howto: fly with a bike from Aktau to Baku

[Greg]

I've just flown across the Caspian from Aktau to Baku. As the ferry is so irregular, flying is a much better option despite the drag of having to pack/unpack your bike.

Useful points for the record:

Bike boxes: you can get these at Sportmaster in Aktau. There's a bike workshop on the second floor that has lots, the guy happy gave me one for free.

Strong tape to seal your box: I could only find any at this stationery store in the centre of town. Stock up before you go to Sportmaster.

The flight itself: It is a SCAT/Azerbaijan codeshare and at the Aktau end it is operated by SCAT. My economy ticket (booked through Azer) had a 20 kg hold luggage allowance and I had made no specific bike booking but the SCAT staff checked in the 27 kg bike box without charging me any extra.