Packing Smart

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Today's recession economy and oil prices forced most airlines to look at ways to cut costs. One places where they focus their attention is baggage allowance. To avoid additional costs, not to mention stress and hassle, you need to learn to pack smart for any vacation.

There are 3 types of baggage that you may encounter in any airline baggage allowance notice: Personal Item, Carry-on, and Checked Baggage. The trick to pack smart is to understand these terms and what should go in each of them.

Personal Item refers to a laptop bag, camera bag, purse...in the case of children a personal item can be a medium to small backpack with toys.

Carry-on luggage is the piece of luggage which will travel with you in the airplane and has weight and size restrictions that MUST not be exceeded.

Checked Baggage is the piece/s of luggage that are checked at the check-in desk and will travel in the cargo area of the plane. While some airlines allow a small free weight for these items others charge a fee. There are also overweight fees that airlines implemented, these fees can be per kg or per item.

So now that we know the terms, what do we pack and where?

In addition to the extra cost of checked baggage there is always the risk of lost, stolen, damaged, delayed baggage that can occur at any point of your travel from check-in to the baggage claim point at your destination. There is a huge misconception that items will only be stolen out of bags in small airports and developing countries...there are thieves is any corner of the world therefor it can happen in any airport even with sophisticated security systems. Any baggage issue runs the risks to ruin your vacation before it even starts. That is why I travel with only carry-ons, but I understand that not everyone may wanna do that.

If you decide to travel with checked luggage here are a few tricks that should avoid some issues and decrease the amount of stress that a delayed or missing bag may create:
High value items such as electronics (even if the battery is dead), jewelry, documents, photo and video equipment should never be placed in the checked baggage. Not only that the airline will not offer any compensation for their loss (notices can be found most often in fine print on airline websites or at the check-in counter) they are also items that can easily be damaged not to mention exactly what a thief may be looking for.
Medication should always be placed in luggage that you may access at anytime (personal item or carry-on). If you carry medication for a condition that may require medication at irregular times ( e.i. allergy) you should have this medication on your person. While you may have your carry-on luggage close by there are times during a flight that you may not be allowed to get up from your seat, therefore your access is limited (take-off, landing, turbulence...)
When deciding what clothing you should pack where you are going and what you are planning on doing will be a huge deciding factor. While everyone likes to look good you may wanna leave home your most expensive dress, suite, or shoes. Packing items that can be combined and create different outfits will not only keep your weight lower but will increase your number of outfits available to you.

In you Carry-on, in addition to your valuables and medication, you should pack a complete change of clothes (including underwear), and bathing suite. Once these above items have been packed you should continue adding until you reach your carry-on baggage weight and size. A trick I learned from a friend is to roll the cloths instead of folding them, not only that they will take less space they will not wrinkle.

Decide on what you will wear in the plane. Wearing your heaviest shoes, and layering your cloths will help you pack lighter and make the transition from a climate to another much easier.



Until next time... Happy Travels

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