mjnbrown

I'm leaving for Switzerland in 2 weeks and had hoped to bring good chocolates back to friends and family in my carryon baggage. Lucky me, I'm coming back through London Heathrow so I may not be able to have any carryon baggage. Will chocolates melt on the way back to the states if they are in checked luggage?
Thanks,
Martha

Poohgirl

I think your chocolates should be OK. Based on my experiences and those of some friends, be more afraid of hungry baggage inspectors. Seriously.

Best of luck.

Robespierre

The baggage hold is heated and ventilated with cabin air (they're one compartment for all intents and purposes), so in flight won't be a problem. But if it's hot in London and your luggage is left on the ramp during the transfer...

So put it in the middle of lots of layers of clothing to insulate it as well as you can, and hope for the best.

Eloise

I think the chocolates are more likely to freeze than to melt; the cargo holds are not heated and outside temperatures are way below freezing point at cruising altitude.

Robespierre

Eloise, that's wrong. If the holds weren't heated, would any pets survive? How about toiletries or souvenir beverages?

Think.

Eloise

Uh-oh. I think Robespierre might know more than I do about baggage holds...

So at least your chocolates won't freeze...

ira

HI M,

More likely to be squashed or stolen than melted.

Christina

I've only brought expensive chocolates back twice, I think, and both times they were not in good condition. It was the heat, they had melted a little, which doesn't affect them well. I did have them in my carryon, but it was too hot during the long time period between packing that and getting home. This was in summer, of course, and during days when it was around 90 both in Europe and in my place of arrival. They were in the trunk of my car on the way home, and even sitting around the airport and on the plane before it got cool was just too much for them, and probably even the hour or so it took to get off the plane and to my car (waiting around for baggage, the shuttle bus, etc.).

If it's more in the 80s, it probably will be better.

Dukey

Putting them in between layers of insulation isn't going to keep them any cooler, that's for sure.

SeaUrchin

I use this trick: wrap wine or chocolate, ceramics or perfume with socks or underwear and put in a closed shoebox in the middle of your suitcase. In all my years of traveling this is my best solution.

Also I leave a little expanding room in my shampoo and cosmetic bottles to compensate for air compression and expansion. Then I put them in sealed baggies just to make sure.

Ronda

Seaurchin, you will have better luck with your shampoo if you squeeze most of the air out of the bottle and fill them as full as possible. Air expanding not the product is what makes them explode. Course, you need a good cap on them that twists on.

tjenneke

Robespierre, you are completely wrong. Cargo holds are only heated when there is a special reason for it, such as the presence of animals. In most cases, they are not heated at all.
And by the way, it's not the fiorst time that they forget to switch thr hreat on when there are pets on board.

Christina

boy, I got that wrong, I was thinking the question was about in a carryon. Well, either way they may not hold up well -- carryon or in the cargo. Also, I forgot to mention, those bags can be in a lot of heat when sitting out on the tarmac and being moved around the airport -- at least in summer.

If it's not so hot in Switzerland now as in the upper 80s or 90s, I wouldn't worry so much.

SeaUrchin

yes, good point, Ronda!

ellenem

If you send chocolates with liquid centers to the baggage hold, be prepared for a mess. In the unpressurized cabin, they are likely to explode. Well, perhaps not explode, but they will surely crack and ooze. This is also true if you take them to a high altitude on land, so don't go driving in the alps with your chocolate-covered cherries.

111op

I also think that only parts of the cargo area are heated.

Of course my personal experiences are completely unscientific. Years ago, we used to have Grandma fix us our favorite dish, pre-frozen. This usually kept quite well even for flights well over 12 hours.

I was just in Brussels and London over the weekend, and I brought back two boxes of Pierre Marcolini chocolates. These were truffles, and they emerged perfectly fine.

I've brought back chocolates many times in checked luggage.

In my opinion, the cargo area temperature is actually pretty stable for food.

Shanti

I didn't have any problem with bringing back Swiss chocolates in checked luggage this past May. However, it wasn't particularly hot when I flew back.

I had an entire suitcase filled with food & everything tasted great when I got back.

Robespierre

It's my understanding that aircraft cabins are heated and pressurized with turbine bleed air from the engines. The <u>exact</u> same air is ducted to the passenger cabin, cockpit, holds for Unit Load Devices (what you probably call palettes and igloos), and bulk cargo/luggage compartments (where non-containerized material is loaded). If this information is incorrect, I would be interested in a credible source refuting it.

Having the chocolate in a part of a suitcase insulated from the heat of the sun (<i>e.g.</i> wrapped in numerous layers of fabric) would delay its overheating, with luck long enough so it wouldn't melt at all.

mjnbrown

Thanks everyone for your responses. I think I'll try to bring some solid chocolates back in my checked luggage. My plan is to ship presents, souvenirs and some clothing back from my last stop in Lauterbrunnen, so that I have room in my luggage for stuff I don't want to ship, like chocolates.
Thanks again.
Martha

Cicerone

mjnbrown, if you are going to ship things from Switzerland, just some things to bear in mind. I used to live there and shipping, like everything else, is pretty expensive. Go to http://www.swisspost.ch/en/index/uk_...and_int_pk.htm for postal rates. For example, a 10-pound package would cost about US$45 by surface and about US$65 by air. (Shipping by FedEx or DHL would be even more expensive IMO.) You migth want to first compare that to any excess baggage charges for your arline, or determine what you are allowed to check, most airlines allow 2 checked bags in economy and 3 in business class. I would ship by surface if you can wait for the stuff, as that is cheaper than air shipments.

Also note that if you are going to ship gifts and presents these are NOT included in the $800 duty free exemption you get from US Customs when you arrive back into the US. (Go to customs.ustreas.gov for info.) Therefore, there is a good chance you will be asked by US Customs to pay duty on the package when it arrives by mail into the US. To avoid this, you might be better off shipping your clothes back, and this also means you could ship by surface as you probably don't need them right away.

Last time I flew back from Switzerland to the US which was about a year ago, you could still lock your checked luggage, this may have changed recently.

Finally, you can actually ship both Teuscher and Lindt/Springli chocolate directly from the stores, so you don't even have to bring it back yourself. Prices are good. It is cheating a bit, but I have done it for birthdays, etc, and do it now becuase I don't live in Switzerland any more. Go to
http://www.teuscher.com and http://www.spruengli.ch. (IMHO Teuscher is the best chocloate.)

By the way, I always brought back many boxes of chocolates, both hard and soft, and it was always in my checked luggage, in both summer and winter, and never had a meltdown. I would wrap in it plastic just in case you have a longish journey from airport to your home as it may melt down there, the plane ride itself would not concern me.