Will Your Bag Fit?

I've been using the Think Tank Airport Accelerator.  It's a great bag and relatively light - until I pack it.  It fits under seats on commuter flights into Page and other small plane and regional locations.

EJ mentioned charging by weight.  Leave it to a skinny guy to come up with that idea .  I'm fine with it.  Some airlines do charge by weight - St. Barts for example.  I've also seen people make the mistake of carrying bags meeting international limits and then getting stuck with hundreds of dollars in charges for intercontinental or domestic travel.

The key to getting gear loaded is planning in advance.  Don't make connections too tight where you might face delays or boarding late.  Pay extra if needed for early boarding seats.  Be subtle - don't make it obvious you are laboring with a heavy load.  Carry your bag on the shoulder opposite the flight attendant making it harder to see.  Be polite and ask for help if you need it.  Strictly limit your bags - you want your one bag to be carried on - and you don't want a borderline bag to need to be checked.  You can overpack a bag on the way to your seat and pull out items at your seat to make it easier to fit in an overhead or under a seat.

International rules vary a lot.  Some places are very strict with weight.  Know the limits for the places you travel.  If in doubt - ask first.  Be willing to pay, tip, or offer other inducements.  Pleasantly tipping a flight attendant $20 can make a difference in some places.

I have had my carry on camera bag weighed internationally on several occasions.  Traveling to and from New Zealand it is frequently weighed and it has been weighed in Europe a few times.  Keeping it slung over my shoulder reduces the chance of it being weighed.  The limit is generally 7kg, so it is always over weight.  Fortunately, I take out my camera and biggest lens and claim that as a personal item and they let me through.  But I don't take my 500 f/4 when I travel by air for this very reason.

I have also been asked to put my suitcases, carryon and myself on a scale simultaneously when checking in to allow them to calculate the real cost of my travel (i.e. the total weight).  This was on a smaller plane traveling between islands in Fiji.  But I wasn't charged more even though I weighed more than my partner.  

My problem with weighing people is that it is unfair towards men because men weigh more than women.  Furthermore, a man and a woman can pack the same clothes (say one pair of underwear, one pair of jeans, and one t-shirt) and the man's bag will weigh more because his clothes are larger on average.  My tennis shoes weigh more than my partner's tennis shoes because her feet are smaller.  Then again, it costs more to transport that man than that woman?

Maybe if they just made it by weight period.  The price of your ticket is proportional to the total weight of you and all of your luggage.  No early booking discounts or other such nonsense, just charge people what it costs to fly them.  Crazy talk, I know! 

I would love to see an airline stand up and do this, but the non-state sponsored airlines couldn't get away with this.  Here in the US we are such as sensitive bunch of whiners that it will never happen.  Can you imagine the public ruckus when they charged a women extra to board a plane because she was 5 months pregnant?

I believe that charging by weight is fair. More weight costs more for the airline to transport.

I can't imagine how weighing people would be unpopular. "Ma'am, I'm afraid we'll need you to get on the scales in front of everybody because you look way over 200."

The airline PR department would probably commit suicide in mass rather than face the public backlash.

Vivek wrote:Pradeep, I've been using your solution too. It works VERY well with my 600-II and two 1D class bodies, 100-400L and assorted accessories (chargers etc.).

The roller I use is the 39$ one bought from Costco - well made and does NOT wobble. This is made by "Ricardo Beverly Hills". It is the smallest one of this set: http://www.costco.com/Ricardo-Beverly-H ... 70194.html

Mine is black, not blue. At local costco, it was also available by itself. Quite light too. Does need padding of clothing to make sure that there are no impacts etc. but well worth the savings.

YMMV.

Thanks Vivek, will try it out. We go to Costco all the time.

Pradeep

FHFchrish wrote:.................

My problem with weighing people is that it is unfair towards men because men weigh more than women.  Furthermore, a man and a woman can pack the same clothes (say one pair of underwear, one pair of jeans, and one t-shirt) and the man's bag will weigh more because his clothes are larger on average.  My tennis shoes weigh more than my partner's tennis shoes because her feet are smaller.  Then again, it costs more to transport that man than that woman?

Maybe if they just made it by weight period.  The price of your ticket is proportional to the total weight of you and all of your luggage.  No early booking discounts or other such nonsense, just charge people what it costs to fly them.  Crazy talk, I know! 

I would love to see an airline stand up and do this, but the non-state sponsored airlines couldn't get away with this.  Here in the US we are such as sensitive bunch of whiners that it will never happen.  Can you imagine the public ruckus when they charged a women extra to board a plane because she was 5 months pregnant?

They could have separate standards for men and women. 

But this is a serious problem for those who are within the 'normal' range and have to sit next to somebody who is very big. In my line of work I routinely see people who are really big and some are over 400 lbs. That is more than twice my weight. If a person this size is traveling in a plane, it is not unreasonable to ask him/her to pay extra especially since they are also going to be checking in or carrying baggage with them too. 

I have a feeling this will gradually become a practice with airlines as they look for more ways to cut costs - or pass them on to the public. 

Pradeep

Samoa Air already charges by the combined weight of the passenger and luggage. If you goggle "airlines weighing people" you will get 1,310,000 hits! Some of it interesting reading.

Peter