Flying and suitcase weight

Obviously a good money spinner Gally hence the need for the 4 machines.

I have always fancied challenging those scales and asking to see the calibration certificate.

Don't do long haul anymore but have about 4 a year with Easyjet or Ryanair.
The carry on bag changes all the time. I make sure now that my handbag is in my case.

Having had an aortic dissection, I am not supposed to carry more than 5 kg.
It's lucky I do not want to fly!
My son went to Spain yesterday, and my grandson kept asking if I liked going on aeroplanes. I have a ready-made excuse now for not flying.

Have to ask my son if he does that, Gillybob. He's a trading standards officer and does calibration for other things.

Jen that would be interesting. On Ryanair my bag weighed 19kg and when I returned with BA it was considerably lighter at 17 and not much difference in the contents

Although every airline has its own rules about weight and size, it really is not too complicated, because their sites spell out exactly what you need to know. Easyjet recently reduced the dimensions of carry-on luggage which pleased me, because so often I have been unable to get my little backpack in the overhead locker because of the huge rucksacks, and wheeled suitcases, that others have been allowed to bring on board.
I too find I cannot easily lift more than about 16 kgs and I manage to exist for seven weeks in New Zealand with that amount. It is usually possible to wash your underwear and tops, even in an hotel and I have bought very light panties, nightwear and sandals for my many flights. I take a crocheted hand bag which fits easily into my backpack.

I have flown with Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific to NZ and have not had to handle my hold luggage when transferring at Hong Kong or Singapore.

My sister recently used Easyjet to visit me and made the mistake of putting all her medication in her suitcase. As she had forgotten what it looked like, she assumed it was lost and I spent an hour filling in a form at the airport. When we got to my flat, there was an email saying it had been found, but it was not red and soft, but green and hard! She said she had looked at the red case in the shop but decided to buy the green. Taking a photo of your case seems a good idea. It was delivered the next day by courier, but if it had really been lost she would have had to fly home as she needs her medication every day. She had not brought her prescription with her. We have agreed that foreign travel is not possible for her any more, as I can't afford to fly over to England to accompany her, as I did last year.
She had brought clothes for our river cruise as well as two weeks at my home, so her bag weighed just below 20 kgs, but she simply asks people to help her lift it - there is always some kindly soul willing to help an obviously disabled old woman.

I don't find air travel particularly stressful , just very boring. I always leave 'breakdown, road block' time and usually arrive anything up to two hours before check in time. This is very important if you have to use a motorway to get to the airport - I carry maps in my car, so if the motorway is blocked I can mapread my way to the airport.

On the subject of travelling light, when I went to China a couple of years ago, I had to work around being away for 3 weeks, but also having to heave my luggage on and off trains and boats, as well as at the airports.
I managed to get away with about 12kg of luggage, thanks to my amazing Rohan travel trousers - the original ones which I bought in a sale. They may not be the most fashionable but are they practical, with their many zippered pockets. The best thing was that I chucked them into my bath water every night when I had finished my ablutions, stirred them round for a bit, squeezed out the water and by morning they were dry and ready to go again.

Some short haul flights have a size restriction on hand baggage as well has weight. So a normal sized flight bag, or even a large briefcase sometimes not acceptable. Friend of mine was flying to scotland on business with his boss, who completely lost his cool and tried forcing his briefcase into the measure-your-bag- cage-thing a la Basil Fawlty.
I have come across tight restriction going across to Ireland on Aer Arann ("Ireland's Third most Popular Airline" - i kid you not)
Trick is I find to wear as much as possible. They never say:
"Madame we cannot allow you to board wearing a waterproof, a fleece, a jumper and three vests, with 4 sets of underwear, a kindle and lots of socks stuffed in the pockets "
Once you are on the plane you can divest yourself

I have seen a woman going to a wedding in Prague wearing her wedding hat it was pre 9/11 so it wouldn't have had to go through the scanner