Baggage - from departure to arrival

After the tickets have been purchased, and the accomodations and rentals have been made, there is another aspect to travel that is often overlooked: baggage. Baggage regulations can vary greatly, and it is always important to call the individual airlines to verify their particular rules and restrictions, but it is certainly helpful to be armed with details that an airline representative may not get into if you don't ask detailed questions. We'll cover some of these issues so that your airport and airline experience will flow as smoothly as possible, and help ensure a greater chance of your luggage meeting you at the end of your flights.

One of the primary considerations is how much you can bring. This varies wildly, not only depending on different airlines but also the type of aircraft, and destination may affect what you can bring. For example, on some airlines you will pay a fee for transporting a bicycle domestically, and yet on that same airline, the bicycle may be transported for free internationally. Passengers are often left with a frustrating travel experience when they are not aware of possible hidden charges. Carry-on luggage is also subject to non-universal rules, whether it be the number of pieces permitted, to the size and weight of your items, and what types of items you are not allowed to stow in carry-ons.

If you are packing luggage with toileteries, clothes, and other items that would normally fit in a suitcase, you can refer to basic information found on your ticket. There are two very common terms on tickets, 2PC and 20K (rarely 10K). 2PC means that you are allowed to check in two pieces of luggage, normally 70lbs or 32kg per piece. 20K (or another number like 10K for example) is a weight restriction, which means that the total weight of your checked in luggage can not exceed 20kg, or 44lbs. On a paper ticket, you can find this information by looking for a column that is titled ALLOW., ALLOWANCE, or something similar. On the paper ticket, this column is usually located in the last column on the right hand side of the ticket. For ticketless travel, this will appear on one of the documents that the airline emails/faxes/mails to you, and although each airline is different, this information is usually on the page that contains detailed fare information. If not, look through the contract of carriage, or conditions of contract document. Because bringing pets and sports or music equipment is not quite as straightforward, they will be looked at in a later article.

So you are ready to check in - now what? Baggage tags are placed on your checked in luggage in order to tell the luggage handlers (and the airline) where your luggage is supposed to go. Three letter airport codes were introduced to make it easier to send luggage to its rightful destination. This link to airport codes will allow you to look up the airport codes that will be part of your air travel experience, so you can take a quick look at the tag to make sure it is being sent to the correct destination. If you are making connections, or have more than one ticket (for example you have one ticket for Chicago O'Hare, ORD, to London Heathrow, LHR on United Airlines and one for London Heathrow, LHR to Geneva, Switzerland, GVA on British Airways), do mention it at check in so that the airport agent can check your luggage through to your final destination. If you are connecting internationally, ask if you need to pick up your baggage on route, some countries allow baggage to go through, where others require you to pick it up, bring it through customs, and drop it off somewhere else, even when it has been tagged through to your destination. You will be asked security questions at check in, which may include the specific contents. One item that is often confiscated is cooking oil (because of its highly flammable nature), so if you do decide to buy gallons of olive oil in Italy, don't be surprised if it is taken away from you at check in.

Checked in baggage and carry-on items are treated quite differently. Most carry-on regulations allow for a total weight of approximately 22 pounds, or 10 kilos. Sizes for carry-on do vary, but confining the dimensions between 35 and 42 inches when you add up length, width and height should keep you from having to check in something that you wanted to carry on board with you. On commuter aircraft (usually aircraft with 50 seats or less) this can be complicated by smaller over-head bins, and the airline may request that you leave larger carry-on bags just before entering the aircraft. In this scenario, the carry-on will be brought to the aircraft as you are leaving. It is important to note that items like aerosol cans, nail clippers, emory boards, tweezers, scissors, and swiss army knives, will likely be confiscated from carry-on items by airport security.

Knowing what you can bring should help make your air travel time less stressful. Enjoy your flights.

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