Medically necessary baggage
 

I will be flying from Boston to Germany and Sweden via Lufthansa and SAS for one month. I plan on checking one bag and have a carry on bag both within size regulations. Since I have sleep apnea, can I also take a bag with my CPAP machine which helps me breathe while I sleep, without having to pay for extra baggage? All answers and suggestions will be appreciated.

From Lufthansa's Conditions of Carriage -

<i>Unchecked Baggage
8.7.
8.7.1.
We may specify maximum dimensions for Baggage which you carry on to the aircraft. If we have not done so, Baggage you carry onto the aircraft must fit under the seat in front of you or in an enclosed storage compartment in the cabin of the aircraft. If your Baggage cannot be stored in this manner, or is of excessive weight, or is considered unsafe for any reason, it must be carried as Checked Baggage.
8.7.2.
Objects not suitable for carriage in the cargo compartment (such as delicate musical instruments), and which do not meet the requirements in 8.7.1. above, will only be accepted for carriage in the cabin compartment if you have given us notice in advance and permission has been granted by us. You may have to pay a separate charge for this service.</i>

Phone them. Shouldn't be a problem.

My parents both have Sleep Apnea and pack their CPAP in their larger bag. If not, can you put it in a slightly larger carry on bag? (might be a bit heavy) It shouldn't be a problem going through security.

I would contact the airlines.

Typically, medical equipment falls outside of carryon restrictions. And you never, ever want to place a CPAP machine in checked baggage! Also, you never want to place it inside another carryon - normally you must notify security you have medical equipment and they look it over separately. (even though they rarely know what it is they are looking at)

Call the airlines.

i checked with my airline for my upcoming trip to Russia and they assured me that my cpap is considered medical equipment for there as it is for other parts of Europe. It is not counted as any part of your luggage--just as wheelchairs, canes etc are not counted

When we flew with Lufthansa several times approx one year ago we were never queried or charged regarding the extra bag we were carrying on board with medical equipment and supplies.

My husband takes his CPAP in his roll-aboard - one of those little ones they came out with several years ago. (Goes through X-ray just like everything else and only one time has anyone wanted to look at it - and never in Europe.) US carriers allow a carry-on and a &quot;personal item&quot; like a lap-top or a woman's purse, and I don't see why a CPAP wouldn't fall into that category, if no other. I may be wrong, but I believe that foreign carriers have to abide by most US regulations when the flight originates here, and the personal item rule may apply. However, when you change to a flight originating in Europe, it might be different. But I doubt you would have a problem with medical equipment in any event.

However, we did have an experience in Germany, with Lufthansa, in fact. We had a flight from Frankfort to Nurnberg on a smaller (but not small) plane. The Lufthansa gate agents decided that there was no more luggage room for about 25 people with the max. size roll-aboard and collected baggage at the gate as we were boarding, including my husband's. We thought it was like a US gate check where you pick it up again as soon as you exit the plane but Lufthansa said no, it would be at baggage claim. No one complained (and my husband does occasionally check the bag with the CPAP because the particular configuration of the bag protects it well). After all, what could go wrong?

What went wrong was that they didn't put the bags on the plane. Furthermore, they had done the same thing earlier and hadn't yet delivered those bags, either. A number of us were on a Danube River cruise and ranged in age from 50+ up, so there were plenty of meds, medical equipment, etc. in those bags left in Frankfort. The cruise rep who met the group had strong words with the Lufthansa people - probably told them half the passengers would be dead by morning and he'd personally deliver the bodies to Lufthansa baggage claim - and the 20 or so on the cruise had their luggage in their cabins 5 hrs. later. (The most annoying thing is that there was plenty of room in the overhead bins and the bins were of sufficient size to hold the confiscated bags. Just an arbitrary decision on the part of the gate agents.)

It ended okay but we will certainly never let an airline force us to check medical equipment or medicine or other absolute essentials again.

I agree with what has been said here of checking with the airline directly, to avoid problems. But just to clarify, Cpap is not &quot;counted&quot; as a carryon in the USA, because it is medical equipment.