Flying and suitcase weight

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

A Warning!
I went with a friend to Portugal in May. She booked the 2x single flights (with Ryanair) and ticked the box for one bag for the hold for me assuming it was for 20kg. We arrived at the check in desk, the bag weighed 19kg, and we were then told it was too heavy. She had, apparently, missed the (very) small print and ticked the box for 15 kgs not realising that there was an option for either 15 or 20, for which you pay more. As I had some of her stuff in the bag too, it was impossible to offload 4kg so we had to pay - wait for it - £20 per extra kilo = £80 which was almost 2x what we paid for each single flight. That's how Mr O'Whatsisname makes his millions. We had to go to a special pay-machine to pay this amount - there were 4 in a row and Edinburgh is not a big airport. Why would you need 4 machines if you weren't trying make a sly buck out of your customers. Unless it is the only option, I will try never to patronise this airline again. We returned with BA under the auspices of Thomas Cook, and had absolutely no problem with luggage weight, and it was a delight to fly with them - more comfortable, lovely helpful crew, and a much smoother ride all the way!

Some wise words about packing too much...

When you get back from your holiday make two piles.

Pile 1 for the stuff you actually used/have worn
Pile 2 for the stuff you didn't use or wear.

The amount in Pile 1 is what you need to take on our next trip !

just don't let a travel agent hassle you into thinking 2 hours is enough to immigrate to states or australia at first point of entry. 3 is more realistic. Once you are in, then things flow ok with internal flights. ANd have a wee before you get off the plane, because it is a long stand in immigration with no options on toilets sometimes. And don't tell yourself, as I did, there would be plenty of time for a cafe stop
Trailfinders are pretty helpful company to plan complex trips.

Wish I hadn't read that, Jess, with long haul and then further transit flights for next stage, on the horizon. Anxious grimace.

great advice stansgran. You never know when you might have to lug it. e.g. last time i transitted in Sydney - blooming nightmare
Get off plane and join queue with passengers from several Chinese jumbos (slower going through immigration due to language barrier ... )
An hour and a half later, get to front of queue. In baggage hall my carousel has been cleared. Scan huge hall for a lonely RED suitcase (it was a good idea when I bought it - and it paid off at that moment.)
At this point there is less than an hour until connecting flight leaves from other terminal.
Fortunately the biosecurity people trust me and dont x ray bag or inspect boots (more interested in Chinese foodstuffs)
Go to transit desk. Ask 3 huge young Maori men if I can go in front of them.
Get told I cannot check my bag, too late, and have to take it on bus.
Have to lift bag on bus. Bus remain stationary for 20 mins. At other terminal heave bag off bus and run (it has wheels, another good choice) to the far corner of terminal and go to the business class channel. At which point he takes my bag and tells me to run to gate. It is 2 pm and I still havent had any breakfast.
Lessons learned: buy a bag in a lurid colour with wheels, remember you will have to do immigration at your first port of entry if you have an on-going internal flight, don't assume a couple of hours is long enough to transit in places like Sydney and LA (Hong Kong it will be fine, honest) and as Stansgran says... if you can't lift it...

My rule is that if I need help to lift I need to cut down. 16 k is my limit as my DH once cracked a rib just before flying and I had to carry up a flight of stairs in a small hotel wit no porter. I also have to lift my hand luggage above my head unless flying from Leeds where there endless lovely Yorkshire lads who fall over themselves to help.

weight of luggage depends on the airline you fly with and the class, 1st class you get to take more luggage than say economy.
Look on the airline website for hold luggage weight and hand luggage weight.
If say for instance your personal weight is 20 kilo no you cannot add the two together making 40 and put it in one suitcase. This is because the handlers for safety reason would not be allowed to lift it.
If you are taking one case you can only use the weight for one person.
You have an allowance for carry on luggage again this depends on the airline and there is a restriction for size of luggage as carry one.
Make sure you know what you cannot carry in hold and hand luggage, if you have scissors for instance in hand luggage they will be taken from you and disposed of.

Flippin` `eck, I think we`d better stay at home! Thanks everyone, but I`m utterly flummoxed now!

Internal flights in the States allow a crazy amount of hand luggage, to our well trained european eyes.

Nonu is right about the 23 kg weight limit when flying to the States (we usually pack a folded soft bag which we fill and bring back as hand luggage, leaving room for my handbag to slot into it!). Last September when flying from Phoenix to Minneapolis the plane actually couldn't take off as there was so much hand luggage that couldn't be stowed - the stewards kept on offering to put things in the hold, but very few people would take them up on the offer. The plane was 45 mins late leaving and we almost missed our connection in Minneapolis because of it!

Check the weight & size restrictions for each airline every time - & each stage of long haul, not forgetting any internal flights at the end. We got caught out when flying to NZ as though we booked all with Emirates, we had a stop-over and the next flight counted as a new journey & Emirates had booked us on Jetstar who had much lower weight limits. Some airlines allow you to split the weight, others don't. Take a portable weighing device. Easyjet are generous on hand baggage as there is no weight limit. We found backpacks with the exact size limits so when we visit son & family in Germany we cram these with heavy things (like English food!) & things for GS & are just about fit enough to just about manage transfers to & changes on the train to their home.
Easyjet are now insisting that the largest allowed hand luggage be placed in the hold (as yet no charge). Large pockets are essential!

I've just come back on jet2 with two children. I paid for one suitcase which was shared between them. Jet2 used to be very strict with hand luggage, exactly one piece as many people consider a handbag not to be hand luggage and you would see them stuffing a chunky handbag into an already solid walk on case. As we unloaded the car my opposite numberGM unloaded carrier after carrier bag from the boot, a football ,riding kit,2 tennis racquets, several anoraks suitable for the English climate. As I'd travelled light I got a fair bit into the walk on case. The children stuffed their rucksacks and wore their raks(30degrees that day) and tied others round their middles. If I'd thought on they could have strapped the racquets to their feet and claimed it was snowing in England. For any holiday I budget for laundry either time to do laundry as extra days cost money or pay for hotel laundry .

I once took an elderly neighbor and her husband to the airport, and thank goodness I stayed with them to help. She had put all their stuff in one suitcase, which weighed 28kg- and EasyJet said she had to leave stuff with me, or not travel. They were distraught - fortunately there was a shop that sold luggage at the airport, so I run there to buy another case so they could transfer enough in the new one. Due to his medical needs, and the fact they were going to a wedding, they didn't want to part with anything.

It was explained to us that the maximum weight is for health and safety/Union regs for luggage handlers -makes sense, really.

When we travel with EasyJet, we take one suitcase for the 2 of us, and 2 small wheelie cases for shoes, heavy stuff, so we only pay for one luggage fee.

When we fly to the States , the luggage allowance is 23kg, PP , and they are quite strict these days , suppose it has to do with the cost of aviation fuel , so more weight more fuel used .

They say it is to help baggage handlers , I don"t really go along with I am afraid , as when we used to in the earlier days , we were allowed a large case each + a medium sized .

the thing is though I have just learned the Hard way ie being fined , to pack lighter .

Yes, be very aware of bargain deals. My GS visited recently arrived on one airline with 10Kgs hand luggage and then found that on his return flight with another (Thomas Cook), he was only allowed 5Kgs.