What's your new luggage strategy?

jkaterenchuk

Like many others I have been using the strategy of packing my CCR into a legal sized carry on bag for all airline travel. I do this for a couple of reasons. Less chance for damage, less chance to get lost and usually my baggage is at the max weight so I save some baggage charges.

This strategy has worked well even given the fact that the carry on weighs about 50 lbs and the limit is alot less than that on all airlines. On my last trip to Asia in December it did not work and my carry-on bag was selected for random weight check. I got whacked with a $125 charge and having to hope and trust in luck that my now checked bag would arrive at the destination and be in one piece. Since then I have been saying on the forum that I believe this occurance of weighing checked bags will become the norm in the future.

With the recent annoucements of fees for the first and all checked bags I am now 100% sure the airlines will start to weigh all carry-on bags except maybe computer cases and purses. People flying will now try to overpack their carry on so that they can avoid some of the new fees and the airlines realize this and need to increase cash. So in my mind they will start checking.

I am not someone that likes to rely on hope and luck as a strategy so I am interested in looking at some proactive solutions to this issue for my future travel either domestically or internationally.

Anyone have any solutions or creative thoughts?

No need to rehash the already posted stuff like over packing pockets, using a golf bag etc.

Thanks, John

tecdivertraining

from my recent travels, book your flights, pay for them, check in, loose your seat due to to CCr gear not being aloud on the plane, collect the air-miles without doing them and save for a future ticket to try all over again.

I share your agony

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Mathew Partridge
Technical Director
Pro-Tech Dive College
www.protechdivers.com
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joe d

My job requires that I do a lot of traveling and 95% of it is with carry on luggage only.

To-date I have never seen a random weight check of carry ons. It certainly makes sense......I just haven't seen it done. I don't do much international travel other then Mexico and because of my preferred status on most of the airlines I use I doubt I'd be selected but I'm curious as to how this is being conducted.

Have the airlines started installing scales at each of the gates or are they doing this at the main ticket counters?

Stewybear

Last time I went to Egypt, I went with a carry-on samsonite bag which was the maximum size allowable and got through check-in and carry-on security checks without issue.

I thought I was on for a winner when I got stopped at the boarding gate by a guy who wanted to check the weight. He did the scientific 'lift with one hand' check and said it was ok. Phew.

Good job he didn't weight it properly cas it was 14Kg

wedivebc

I recently had to take my meg that was in my carry-on and check it because it was too heavy for carry-on (EVA airlines). I was lucky to have checked a smaller backpack so I removed some heavier items from it and put in the meg case and avoided charges. I hate to check my rebreather because I want to be sure it arrives at my destination.

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Cheers,

Dave....

Man is the only animal burdened with the knowledge he will eventually die

jkaterenchuk

I am mostly being proactive here. I believe that we will start seeing more carry on bags (the majority of people always try to pay the least they can)which will result in not enough overhead space and then the airline staff will start complaining that they cannot get flights away ontime because they are having to deal with too many carry-on bags. The operational people will quickly figure out the solution to this issue is to weigh carry on bags at the time of check-in. It would be simple for them to implement this check at the electronic or manned baggage check points since they aready have scales.

I hope I am wrong with this prediction but again who would have guessed a year ago that you would have to pay $15 per leg for your first checked bag.

John

Abbo

Crude oil, at $144/bbl, is double year-ago levels. Singapore jet kero is at $181/bbl: Japan Airlines based its FY08 forecasts on just $110/bbl - they're badly in the red and don't want to talk about it. Airlines are in a world of pain. Since December, 9 companies have ceased flying due to the increase in fuel prices: Maxjet Airways; Big Sky Transportation; Aloha Airlines; ATA Airlines; Skybus Airlines; Eos Airlines; Silverjet PLC; Champion Air; and Air Midwest. A few days back Bloomberg ran a story about US airlines considering weighing the customers as well as the bags. I spilt coffee all over my keyboard and laughed fit to burst, then looked at my missus and decided it perhaps wasn't that funny after all.

In 2 weeks, I'm due to fly to Thailand. If they weigh my bags I'm kippered. I don't mind leaving the missus behind, but Meg goes with me. At the moment I don't have a strategy beyond percussive persuasion - or as Obelix would say "can be bash 'em?"

joe d

I agree with you it's probably inevitable.

barney

It would probably be best to avoid as many variables that will likely screw you - for example try to fly on large carrier airlines (if possible), avoid smaller aircraft if your route offers other flights with larger aircraft, etc. Do what you can to prevent anyone from lifting your carry-on or seeing you strain with your carry-on, revealing how heavy it really is

I also try to fly the same carriers I have status on so you can board first and avoid running out of room for your carry-on, forcing a check-in.
For discussion purposes only : e.g., even if your ticket says boarding zone 7 (last ones to board), if you have an expired medallion/advantage/etc. card and flash it, you can board first with the rest of the status passengers. I have heard this works great

I just got back from Ireland flying with a backpack loaded with a ton of shit (my "camera bag") and my carry-on with Meg. Security in Ireland inspected my Meg quite hard and weren't going to let me on with it, as they weren't sure it really was a rebreather; they said they see rebreathers all the time (YBOD) and they didn't look like mine.

Just a couple thoughts that may help...

__________________
Michael C. Barnette
ASSOCIATION OF UNDERWATER EXPLORERS

jkaterenchuk

Thanks. It works until you have a gate agent that takes there job seriously like the one I had a week ago that caught the expired card since the active status is suppose to show on the boarding pass also to flag just such a trick. But it works sometimes.

John