Travelling Domestic w/Perishables

[Mrmaxwell]

Can anyone give some advice/feedback on travelling domestically with perishables?

Work is giving us a huge ham/turkey Xmas hamper and I want to take this home to SYD from MEL. Turkey will be frozen/ham will be cold. Total weight of the hamper will be about 15kgs (5kg ham/2kg turkey + other items).

I want the hamper to be checked as baggage - Virgin advise this can be done as long as the perishable is sealed in a box/esky.

Any actual feedback from someone that has done this? It will be a first for me.

 

[ejb]

I have travelled quite ofter from PER to SYD with Lobsters/Prawns (much cheaper in PER around Xmas time). I pack them in an esky and they have always travelled well packed in well with cooler packs.

ejb

 

[dajop]

Often travel MEL-SIN with assorted frozen meats, cheeses, salami etc (price for same quality in Australia much better for lamb and beef in particular) in a checked cooler bag with some ice bricks. Usually have no problems, only problem I ever found once was a little lazy and I left some frozen meat in original packaging (ie meat trays), and the air in the trays meant it thawed out. Anything tightly packed or vacuum packed has never been a problem. Get's pretty cold in luggage hold of an aircraft at 35,000 feet....

 

[Mrmaxwell]

Get's pretty cold in luggage hold of an aircraft at 35,000 feet....

Yes I'm banking on this fact

Well packed esky and ice packs sounds the way to go.

DJ or QF? I want the esky marked FRAGILE...I'm assuming both airlines will be pretty much the same...

 

[straitman]

Yes I'm banking on this fact

Well packed esky and ice packs sounds the way to go.

DJ or QF? I want the esky marked FRAGILE...I'm assuming both airlines will be pretty much the same...

Soory to rain on the parade but remember a lot of the holds are in fact presurised and heated :!:

 

[ozimax]

I do have a story in the vein of this thread.

Years ago I was travelling with the missus from Auckland to Sydney (as best as I can remember) and unbeknownst (sp) to me, a passenger had put a disposable esky full of frozen fish in the locker above my head. Part way through the trip, some strange smelling water started dripping on my bonce!

My wife complained (numerous times) to the QF flight attendants, but all to no avail. "You'll just have to put up with it sir, nothing we can do, very sorry etcetera..." (The FA was actually quite terse , and should have been sacked, but that is another story!)

Ah, the joys of flying....

 

[Natt]

Not sure if this helps, but maybe if the person buying your hamper talks nicely to the butcher they can vacpac it for you

some of those vacpac bags come pretty big - so I can't see why not

this will help extend its life a bit, and theres no meaty drips

 

[JohnK]

Interesting. I have been commuting SYD-BNE for ~18 months now and I have been bringing all kinds of food with me in my checked luggage during that time. Cooked food, frozen meat and various fresh vegetables. Not once have I sealed it or put it on ice and I have not had any problems so far. Hope I am not doing anything wrong....

 

[serfty]

The cargo holds of Qantas jets are pressurised and heated.

I have transported wine and other liquids in checked luggage, none have come out frozen ... or worse.

With regard to the OP's question; see if you can get one of those foam eskies (big enough for your goods) and pack them in.

Make sure the Ham is as cold as you can get it (not frozen) and the turkey straight out of the freezer before packing. Fill up the gaps with frozen cold packs and otherwise ensure the meat won't rattle around.

Now tape this all up with gaffer tape or similar. Seal the edge and do a few loops around the esky in both direction. You should be fine for 24 hours at least doing this.

 

[dajop]

Fill up the gaps with frozen cold packs and otherwise ensure the meat won't rattle around.

This is the key, when there's been plenty of room for movement (kinetic energy) that's when I've had things thaw out.

Whilst the holds may well be heated, they're not the same as cabin temperatures (maybe on QF they are? - usually quite cold on QF). A number of times I've brought specific drinks (that you can't get in SIN) back and enjoyed a nice cold drink as if it's been in the refrigerator when I got home (packed in regular luggage). Certainly not frozen but certainly not room temperature.

 

[harvyk]

Soory to rain on the parade but remember a lot of the holds are in fact presurised and heated :!:

Sometimes heated... It depend a bit on the cargo that the airline is carrying...