Baggage

The newest trend in air travel is paying to have luggage. There is no longer even a one checked-bag allowance. There are fees on all of it.

As a result, almost everybody maxes out what they are allowed to take as carry on.

Helen and I used to travel this way, even when checked bags were free. It means zipping past the baggage area and getting through customs before the crowd hits. It is a huge time saver.

So we are back to carry on. Airlines used to be pretty lax as to what was allowed with you, but that has changed as well. There are getting to be regular checks, and fees for oversized or overweight carry on stuff that make the regular, checked-bag fees look like a bargain.

We are making sure we are within all the parameters.

Item one that you're allowed is your actual carry-on bag. The maximum dimensions are 9 inches by 15.5 by 21.5. These are the Air Canada figures, but other airlines are pretty close. The thing also cannot weigh over 22 pounds.

You are also allowed an additional “personal item”. This can be something like a laptop, purse or camera bag. It must be able to be squeezed to fit 17 inches by 13 by 6 and must be under 10 pounds.

I cheat this a bit by wearing my travel vest, made by SCOTTeVEST. It has 24 pockets, including a big momma that can take both of our iPads.

Even maxed out, it makes for limited carrying capacity. When cruising, formal night is out of the question.

My latest great find is vacuum packing bags. You stuff things in, and then suck all the air out via the bag's built-in valve. The results can be amazing. The biggest single item we took on our last trip was Helen's special pillow. I turned it from a pillow into a pancake. It doesn't even take much suction. For the return trip we had no vacuum, so I just sucked the air out manually, so to speak. It was easy and worked just as well.

The only drawback is that they make a pile of clothes into something that looks like a truck ran over it, and that is as stiff as lumber. The best method is to put the bag inside the suitcase, and pack normally inside the bag. That way when the air is removed everything will conform to the shape of the bag. Using these things I can pack twice as much; remembering to be careful about the weight restrictions.

Getting searched at security or customs could be interesting. The bags would all have to be breached for the search, and then carefully repacked and mouth-sucked back down to size. Quite a show, but it hasn't happened yet.

When we travel next, I'm going to go very minimalist. I like to pick stuff up on vacation, and will need some bag real estate to accept the acquisitions. When we step onto the plane, my only shoes will be the ones on my feet. I'll have a single pair of long pants and one collar shirt. Both of these will also be worn in the air. No electric razor for me, just a disposable. Underwear? Several pairs of old ones, that won't be coming home, if you get my drift.

My goal is that my pair of tiny carry-on cases will be half empty on the initial flight, and will come back filled to capacity with stuff from abroad. Helen's bags will be going maxed out (with a little slop over into mine), so I'll need room for her purchases as well.

Last time, my bigger bag came back with a wee hernia from over stuffing.

Must be careful.