Checking Luggage

Seven days on the road . . . no problem fitting everything in a carry-on. I'd carry my golf clubs on the plane if I could.

You ever wait for American to deliver your luggage in Orlando? I swear there's one baggage handler and what he does is take one bag off a plane and drive it to the carousel inside the terminal. After he unloads it, he drives back and gets another piece of luggage. Repeat process for the remaining 200 bags. Saturday night my plane lands at 10:33; it's 11:45 when I finally have both bags and I can head for the car. I've got better things to do than sit around an airport baggage claim for 45 minutes, making chit-chat with all the other nice flyers.

 

Never, ever, under any circumstances, fly into Orlando. Especially between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Even if you have to go to Orlando, and God help you if you do, don't fly there. Fly to Tampa or Jacksonville and drive.

Hell is an overbooked flight to Orlando.

 

And while we're at it, fuck the miserable fucks at the major airlines for cutting the international baggage allowance down to 50 pounds and then telling us it was for safety reasons.

 

I NEVER and I repeat NEVER check my luggage. You're taking your life in your hands if you do. I would bet that those that insist on checking are taking way too many clothes. If I'm traveling for work, I have stuff dry cleaned. If I'm on vacation, I find a laundromat. I'm fairly low maintenance so I have no problems getting everything I need into a zip lock bag. The only problem I have is with perfume and I just go to the department stores and get a bunch of samples.

 

I can be low maintenance (I use less hair product than my boyfriend), but I can't go more than two days with just three ounces of moisturizer.

 

You own three pairs of shoes? I'm impressed!

 

I have a deep hatred of people who refuse to check their bags and spend 10 or 15 minutes trying to get their overstuffed bag in or out of the overhead bins, and keep the rest of us from being able to deplane in a timely manner.

 

A-freakin'-men. Ranks right up there with shitty parents who don't control their kids.

 

Damn straight.

Try flying into Shanghai during the winter. 50lbs for two weeks worth of clothes is NOT enough. I need to layers of pants each day and about three layers of shirts including the jacket. Then, because a formal event is occurring, I need the formal winter jacket and suit. 50lbs is a joke.

 

I recommended these on the last thread, as well. One fits under the seat, the other fits in the bin. On business trips I never check luggage. At least not on the outbound leg. Especially international flights making a connection. I'm very low maintenance, yes, but always travel as light as I can. I did two weeks overseas with these last winter for a story. I'd collected a big box worth of notes in the course of doing the research - tapes, newspapers, press guides, etc. - so had to check the rolling bag on the way home. I always hand carry the research. British Airways lost the bag somewhere at Heathrow on the way home. Because, they said, it was raining. An occurrence for which the British seem strangely unprepared. Took seven days to get it back. When I did, everything in the bag was still wet.

Oh, and I have size 11 feet.

Samsonite 22" Sideroller


Crumpler camera bag.