How do you pack? My community service guide for October!

[kpc]

Interesting and close to my heart topic:idea:. I "carry on" only for all domestic and Trans Tasman trips (although did do 9 nights in Paris and Morocco with carry on only but had to arrive at RAK wearing a jumper and winter jacket in 30 degree heat!!).

I see you have packed a pair of shoes in your bag. That is the real killer for me if it is a work trip. My running shoes (for gym) are quite large so I have to wear those and pack my business shoes in my carry on which takes up a lot of space / volume. I try and stuff undies, socks, ties, T shirts, charger etc into the shoes to save space:shock:. But the key Q is how much does your carry on weigh? Mine on average is 10-11kgs!!...which can be a problem on some airlines.

PS service apartments (or even hotel residential wings) with washing machines make travelling with carry on very simple! Otherwise, a few bathtub washes are required for those of us whose laundry tab is not picked up!

 

[globalexplorer]

Something also very close to my heart as I travel overseas every month with carry on only. As mentioned above, shoes are the killer in terms of space and weight but not a deal breaker. My approach to carry on is as follows:

1. LAG's in the small plastic bag (deodorant, shave gel, body wash, shampoo only, nothing more)
2. Use the toothpaste, toothbrush etc supplied in hotel rooms so don't worry about packing these things
3. Non-LAG essentials in another small bag (phone charger, razor for shaving)
4. Wear smart casual (suitable for most meetings) clothes on the plane including good pants, business shirt, RM Williams shoes and suit jacket
5. All I need to pack in my bag is 2 spare business shirts, shorts + tee shirt, socks and jocks, suit pants and business shoes
6. Any books, ipad etc go into laptop bag.

Notes:

1. I use the hotel laundry/dry cleaning every 2nd day to keep recycling the clothes (company pays so happy to do this)
2. Biggest challenge is a trip involving frequent short duration stays in each place (less than 1 day) which makes it near on impossible to get the clothes cleaned at the hotel, especially when you are only physically in the hotel for a few hours
3. Travelling to multiple destinations in the one trip with varying climates also makes things interesting but in that case I would pack the suit jacket and carry a thicker coat with me on the plane which goes straight into the overhead bin.

My best effort was a 2 day trip to Jakarta for meetings and the only luggage I had was my laptop bag, managed to squeeze in the bare essentials.

 

[simongr]

2. Biggest challenge is a trip involving frequent short duration stays in each place (less than 1 day) which makes it near on impossible to get the clothes cleaned at the hotel, especially when you are only physically in the hotel for a few hours
3. Travelling to multiple destinations in the one trip with varying climates also makes things interesting but in that case I would pack the suit jacket and carry a thicker coat with me on the plane which goes straight into the overhead bin.

My best effort was a 2 day trip to Jakarta for meetings and the only luggage I had was my laptop bag, managed to squeeze in the bare essentials.

These are my two biggest issues - especially with trips to the UK and US in quick succession.

I have managed three weeks in HKG, NYC, LON and Cyprus with hand luggage only...

 

[munitalP]

Thank you for your thread munitalP.

For the first time on Sunday, I went carryon only. Reason being, a change of job means I am no longer having to carry items that security would have a fit over.

On top of this, I got fed up waiting at QF carousels waiting for my "priority" baggage to come out. I didn't have a problem with size, weight is mine, 9kg. Not a problem on QF, divide into two bags, one being a back pack, but what to do about DJ, with there one bag and small item. Hopefully they won't weigh my bag.

Oh, I have to wear the highly polished steel caps, which is a pain at security, might be time for a pair of ceramic caps.

I have steel cap office shoes, I tried to buy the ceramic caps in shoes, but couldn't find them. If needing to take shoes or boots - I wear them on the plane, no biggy, just have to remember to take them off before metal detector. I have set the alarm off so many times forgetting about steel caps! LOL

 

[munitalP]

... But the key Q is how much does your carry on weigh? Mine on average is 10-11kgs!!...which can be a problem on some airlines.

...

I will weigh the bag when I get home. I would guess no more than 8-9 kg, interesting point I hadn't considered.

 

[tuapekastar]

Was this only discovered this year as the requirement only came in this year?

Haven't been able to find a link to the story (I'll keep looking) but my understanding (the story is bit murky in the memory now, but I think it's pretty close to the truth) is that the requirement to view aerosol cans to ensure there is a properly fitted lid was in response to an incident on a DJ flight 2 or 3 years ago where an unlidded aerosol can in the overhead lockers leaked, and the resultant odour caused quite a bit of alarm amongst the passengers. I know I've certainly had to remove areosol cans from hand luggage for inspection prior to this year, perhaps even in 2009. I'm also reasonably sure it's an airport-by-airport thing. MEL has certainly done it for a long time, and I think I was asked if I had any in the bag in PER on Monday (I didn't - I travel with a roll-on deodrant when going HLO - saves on weight, space and viewing requirements).

 

[tuapekastar]

Good post munitalP, given me some ideas. I have 9 days coming up in ADL and need to take a bunch of sports attire/shoes as well as casual gear. I want to make it HLO but it will be a real challenge (that I might not rise to ).

Went to PER on the w/end and had a full, but not really stuffed full, if you know what I mean, rollaboard (~20 inch I think) and a laptop bag with a few extras stuck in it. There were some scales in the mailroom at work so I wandered down and to my pleasant surprise they weighed 6.2 and 5.9 kilos respectively so I have a bit of room up my sleeve, particularly since I have the option of a taking a (7" and far lighter) netbook vs. a laptop if I want.

 

[Groundfeeder]

what's the deal with that. I didn't think deodorant was a no go.

The QF site on dangerous goods (remember that one we breeze past when finalising OLCI?) specifies that aerosols are OK in checked bags but not in carry-ons. I ask because this is the first time in many years I'll be doing an overnite and want to carry-on rather than check in my usual weeks worth. I might seal it in a placco bag to show BNE security if asked.

 

[simongr]

Haven't been able to find a link to the story (I'll keep looking) but my understanding (the story is bit murky in the memory now, but I think it's pretty close to the truth) is that the requirement to view aerosol cans to ensure there is a properly fitted lid was in response to an incident on a DJ flight 2 or 3 years ago where an unlidded aerosol can in the overhead lockers leaked, and the resultant odour caused quite a bit of alarm amongst the passengers. I know I've certainly had to remove areosol cans from hand luggage for inspection prior to this year, perhaps even in 2009. I'm also reasonably sure it's an airport-by-airport thing. MEL has certainly done it for a long time, and I think I was asked if I had any in the bag in PER on Monday (I didn't - I travel with a roll-on deodrant when going HLO - saves on weight, space and viewing requirements).

I have only been doing DOM flights regularly since Jan 2009 and the change has certainly come in since then - starting with MEL.

The QF site on dangerous goods (remember that one we breeze past when finalising OLCI?) specifies that aerosols are OK in checked bags but not in carry-ons. I ask because this is the first time in many years I'll be doing an overnite and want to carry-on rather than check in my usual weeks worth. I might seal it in a placco bag to show BNE security if asked.

As long as it has a lid it should be fine - I have done 30 flights with aerosol with no issues apart from the one non-compliant can which did not have a lid.

 

[aliens]

munitalP,


3. Don't you have any decent ties?

Regards,
russ

Thanks Russ gave me a good laugh!

 

[juddles]

Haven't been able to find a link to the story (I'll keep looking) but my understanding (the story is bit murky in the memory now, but I think it's pretty close to the truth) is that the requirement to view aerosol cans to ensure there is a properly fitted lid was in response to an incident on a DJ flight 2 or 3 years ago where an unlidded aerosol can in the overhead lockers leaked, and the resultant odour caused quite a bit of alarm amongst the passengers. I know I've certainly had to remove areosol cans from hand luggage for inspection prior to this year, perhaps even in 2009. I'm also reasonably sure it's an airport-by-airport thing. MEL has certainly done it for a long time, and I think I was asked if I had any in the bag in PER on Monday (I didn't - I travel with a roll-on deodrant when going HLO - saves on weight, space and viewing requirements).

I suspect that passengers in general are much more uptight than they used to be, and the panic caused by leaking cans has become more of an issue. (The cans don't leak because of pressure changes - just that without a good lid they tend to get deployed when people cram their bags into the luggage bins)

 

[munitalP]

Thanks Russ gave me a good laugh!

What is it with my freaking ties! Will someone let me in on the joke?

 

[ginia]

I gather before you pack you are extracting the air from the bags with a vacuum cleaner? If so how do you vacuum seal the bags of clothes when travelling home?

 

[Magoo]

I gather before you pack you are extracting the air from the bags with a vacuum cleaner? If so how do you vacuum seal the bags of clothes when travelling home?

You sit on them!

 

[nlagalle]

I gather before you pack you are extracting the air from the bags with a vacuum cleaner? If so how do you vacuum seal the bags of clothes when travelling home?

You can extract most of the air by rolling the bags up and sealing them while rolled. This will get most of the air out.

 

[munitalP]

I gather before you pack you are extracting the air from the bags with a vacuum cleaner? If so how do you vacuum seal the bags of clothes when travelling home?

See post #5

 

[mel1]

I cannot imagine how this works for women!

 

[simongr]

I cannot imagine how this works for women!

Good point no space for sandwich making utensils.

 

[mel1]

I'm not sure whether to laugh or castigate you for being sexist! (Actually, I was talking about the number of shoes I just HAVE to take!!)

 

[kevrosmith]

Some great ideas here, but yes, someone else asked the most important question: Weight! Most carry-on rollers start at 2kgs, so with a 7kg per item limit (on QF and DJ), that only leaves 5kgs for contents. JQ allows 10kg, which is a bit more generous, and I notice that QF rarely weigh carry-on luggage. And I've sometimes gotten away with 2 bags on DJ (with a one item limit specified) without a blink of any FAs eye (mind you, I attempt to be as discreet as possible: back-pack for laptop and work gear, and then I carry my carry-on in opposite hand to boarding operator, holding it slightly behind me.) I've seen people pushing the 115cm limit and they often look 15kgs! It's always about the weight for me. I'm paranoid that the FA is going to pull me up at the gate and then what...?!