cindysphinx

My family of five is leaving next week for London and Paris. On past domestic trips, we tend to check our bags, as if one or more were temporarily lost we could easily buy replacement clothing. So far, we've never had a problem.

I've read that British Airways is making a hash of things and losing people's luggage right and left. With the exchange rates, replacing clothing would be expensive, so we have resolved to carry everything on.

I checked their website, and it seems that our wheelies fit their size requirements perfectly.

Is there anything we should keep in mind to avoid being forced to check the bags? Will the give us a hard time if we each have a daybag and the wheelie?

On a typical international flight, will there be room for our bags, do you think? Should we be prepared to knock elderly ladies out of the way to hog the overhead bins?

ira

Hi C,

>Will the give us a hard time if we each have a daybag and the wheelie?<

IIRC, you can bring a carryon and one other piece of personal luggage to London, but only ONE bag out of London.

sandi_travelnut

Just make sure you meet the weight restrictions and you should be ok.

alanRow

BA don't have weight restrictions on hand luggage so all you have to worry about is making the size limits - plus working out how to get one bag into another when leaving the UK

mnapoli

When my daughter and I flew to London on BA in 2005 they had very restrictive weight limits. Bags could not weigh more than 15 lbs., so naturally we couldn't take our suitcases onto the plane (even though they were in accordance with the size limits). Check with BA before your flight.

janisj

Back in 2005 they DID have a weight limit for cabin bags. But that was changed last year and they do not weigh carry ons.

Your only problem is if you are connecting out of the UK - then you are allowed just one item through security. So be sure there is some "squish space" left in your carry on and you can cram your handbag into the carry-on while going through security.

(BTW, there was some talk about dropping the 1-item rule some time in August but not sure if the decision is final)

liquid/gel rules are the same in the States and Europe.

Mimar

Yes, if you plan to carry on, remember that all liquids/gels/deodorants must weigh 3 ounces max and fit in a 1-quart bag.

This was enough for me to check a bag containing, among other things, my special shampoo. My bag was delayed at Heathrow, but arrived that night.

If you have no special needs, you should be able to easily buy replacements in London/Paris. But allow a little time. I had to search out an optician to buy contacts cleaner.

suze

Can you each get by with only a 1 qt. bag for your liquid and gel type toiletries?

As far as the two bags you're probably OK going over, but need to check the 1 bag rule coming back out of Heathrow.

(Maybe you could check the suitcases for the trip home?)

doug_stallings

My suggestion: pack light, and you can do this in one bag each. Limit toiletries, and split up things you "might" need among the five of you. I travel with a small 20-inch wheeled Tumi backpack, and I did 2-1/2 weeks in Asia with that and my daypack and did laundry just once in my hotel in Hong Kong (where they had a cheap coin-op laundry room). If you plan and budget to do some washing along the way (and if you can deal with washing out your own underwear in your room sink), you can pack surprisingly light and still have everything you really need.

I love this site: http://onebagger.squarespace.com/.

And here are some one-bag tips specifically aimed at the needs of women: http://blogher.org/node/22259

Good luck and have a good flight.

cindysphinx

Actually, we plan to check a small wheelie containing liquids (and, erm, snacks). If it gets lost or delayed, no big deal.

This would work, right?

On the way home, we fly from Paris, connect in London, and then fly home. We'll check everything (six pieces for five people). Again, we'll survive if our bags are delayed once we reach home.

Any reason to be concerned about finding room in the overhead compartments? Should we try to be the first on the plane?

Thanks so much, everyone! I'm really sweating the details here . . .

janisj

why do you need to check liquids? You can take enough for a 2 or 3 week trip in the quart baggie. And you get five baggies so it will be even easier.

And the only snacks one usually needs would be for the travelday/flight - so checking them doesn't make much sense IMHO

One of the big benefits of carry-on only is getting through immigration while everyone else is still waiting at the carousel for their luggage. You'd carry on - and then have to wait to pick up liquids/snacks??

Therese

Yes, checking a single small bag with toiletries for everybody is defintely a reasonable option. You probably won't fill it, so consider filling it out with something like a fleece or pillow or even an extra collapsible bag for souvenirs.

I wouldn't worry about sufficient overhead space---fewer people are carrying on these days, and recent flights that I've been on have had ample space.

beaupeep

I just flew from Paris to Boston to visit family and checked a bag full of gifts but carried on my bag with two days of clothing, emergency chili chocolate supply (I live in Switzerland and am addicted), magazines, book. My carryon bag was never weighed, barely looked at. I did not pack any liquids knowing that I could use whatever my sister had or buy what she didn't have and I left it all there - didn't bring it back with me but my carryon coming back was full of stuff my mother wanted me to have. And it weighed a ton! But it was never put on a scale.

Momof3sons

Cindy -

I understand about sweating the details. It seems that in many families one person winds up handling the details for all.

On our recent trip to France, England and Ireland our family of 5 each packed in one wheelie carry on and took an additional personal bag. We had no problem packing enough shampoo, toothpaste, lotion, sunblock, etc. for all in the 5 ziplock baggies for an 18 day trip. We had no problem finding room in the overhead bins for our bags (didn't have to knock anyone out of the way ). Because of the one bag rule in England, we did check our wheelies on the return flight. They made it to our first US arrival city and we walked them through customs, but two bags were delayed one day getting to our home destination due to a plane that was too heavy (the plane was only half full with people - I think they filled the hold with other lost luggage trying to get it returned). As you said, that was no big deal though since we were home and had other clothes to wear.

We loved the convenience of not having to wait for our luggage - just get off the plane and go and would do our best never to check luggage again.

Good luck and enjoy!

rkkwan

Most of BA's trans-Atlantic flights are on the 777. Those have huge bins and plenty room for everybody. I have been on packed 777s many times on international routes and never have any luggage problem.

Now, if it's on an 747 or 767, baggage space will be more limited.

jgg

Our family of 4 has done 3 European trips with just carryons. If the flight is full then there maybe an issue with the overhead bins if you are the last one on the plane - we have seen people have to check their luggage because there was no more room. No need to knock anyone out of the way (LOL!) but we do always try to atleast be the first in our row section to board. If your kids fall into the "travelling with small children" category take advantage of that and do the pre-boarding. Our kids are 11 and 15 so we don't do that.

When you are travelling with 4 or 5 people you can fill up an overhead compartment that is really meant for more seats. We try to do it quickly. Thanks to working out at the gym I can lift them into the overhead compartment, but the kids can't. So, I would practice seeing if you can lift it over your head.

One more tip, put them in the overhead bins wheels first. You can fit more in that way than horizontally.

SloJan2

Ira is right. London will be the issue when you are leaving. You are allowed only one carry on, and they are including purses in that. SO, make sure that your purse fits into your luggage because you will need to consolidate. This is causing huge issues and they ar thinking about changing this rule in the Autunm.

Ackislander

Just for clarification, it may not be BA (British Airways) that is making a hash of Heathrow luggage but BAA (British Airport Authority), which is owned by a Spanish construction company, IIRC. It is certainly BAA that has the one bag rule.

onebagger

If transiting through the UK it's good to have a daybag/pack/briefcase that will fit in your carryon, because (as previously mentioned) there is a strict one bag limit. Weight is not the issue. In my experience, you can't count on finding convenient laundry facilities in most UK hotels, so a sinkwashing plan is necessary. If you wash in room, make sure your clothes are truly quick drying. Because most hotels in the UK are not air-conditioned the humidity level may extend drying times. In other words, a garment that dries quickly in your American home or Holiday Inn may still be damp in a London hotel. Thanks to Doug for his earlier reference to my website - http://onebagger.squarespace.com
I have some laundry, clothing, and packing tips there, and lots of UK travel info too.

alanRow

<<< It is certainly BAA that has the one bag rule. >>>

It applies to all UK airports whether run by BAA or not. It's a government imposed rule.

BTW for folk flying from Stansted the size of your allowed one bag is smaller than at any other UK airport