Need help with metric system conversion please!
 

As described by a European airline, checked luggage maximum dimensions are 203 cm. Can anyone tell me what this converts to in terms of length x width x depth in incehs (or feet)?
Thank you for helping me through my ignorance.

go to www.onlineconversion.com and type in your information in the appropriate section

Multiply the cms by .4 (.3937 to be exact) and the answer is about 80".

I believe that what they mean with 203 cm or 80 inch, is that Length+Width+Depth should be less than that amount. In that way they give you more flexibility to other shapes than the standard L x W x D.

Example:

A large suitcase, say 40" x 25" x 15" fits in, but imagine you want to take a very long but narrow piece, say 70" x 5" x 5", this would also be allowed, because both have L+D+W=80"

Conversions: go to google, type <b>203 cm in inches</b> and hit Search.

Thank you all. Now I've got it! And I especially appreciate no one slamming me for not knowing this on my own. Thanks!!

It's 80 inches. And the original measurement was probably in inches to begin with, since it's very unlikely that a native user of the metric system would choose 203 cm rather than 200 cm even.

It's the Maximum 20kg (40 lbs) of TOTAL checked luggage per person that has me very worried considering we'll be there 3 1/2 weeks including a land trip as well as a cruise (formal nights)! That is very unrealistic for people on an extended vacation. It may work for those flying within Europe on a long weekend but not traveling from the USA to Europe for close to a month.

Hi T,

20 kg is 44 lbs.

Does that help? :)

((I))

If you have a kg or 2 more and you check in well in advance, they normally won't make any problems or let you pay extra. On top of that you can usually have about 7 kg of carry-on luggage. That adds up to almost 30kg!

I suggest you first figure out just how much you will have to take, then contact the airline and find out what their policies and fees are for excess baggage.

I have looked into this and Helvetic Airlines (Zurich to Rome) has strict requirements of total 20kg per person and 5 kg carry on. The overweight charge is 5 Euro for every 1 kg. overweight. They are a discount airline and according to their email response to me, strictly enforce this weight restriction. My overweight charge may eat up any savings had I flown with Alitalia or Swiss instead.

You would travel with more than 55 pounds? How do you carry it? Or hesitate to pay 25 euro, to go up to 66 pounds?

Lots of steel-toed hiking boots?

Three and a half weeks doesn't require any more clothes than ten days. Do you really want to be carrying around three weeks of dirty laundry at the end?

I once traveled for three months in Europe with a small suitcase (not more than 22 inches). I never looked poorly dressed or yearned for more clothes. I just brought with me quality travel clothes that were well coordinated. I have to admit, I never wore these clothes again. I was sick and tired of them.

This is tricky because we need different clothes for a 2 week cruise than we do for our 2 weeks on land. There are formal nights on our cruise which means tuxedo, dress shoes, gowns. There are also informal nights which require a sportscoat. If it was all land, it would cut our clothing requirements considerably. Also the climate will be much cooler in Northern Europe than it will be when we hit the Med.

I can't imagine packing a black tie ensemble and not having enough weight left from 77 lbs. for everything I could possibly use in a month. You <i>are</i> planning to launder once a week, aren't you?

20 kg in the suitcase
5 kg in the carryon
10 kg on me (sport coat, sweater, trench coat, and camera gear)

Some cruises will allow you to ship your stuff ahead so you don't have to tote around your cruisewear thru the rest of your vacation.

LOL...yes, we will do laundry once a week. One person in this family insist on a different pair of shoes with each outfit. That's all about to change!

One of the raps on the European discount airlines is they allow little luggage, and charge quite a bit for excess baggage.

You might look at using another airline. Or put some of your stuff in a box and use one of the courier services (FedEx, UPS, DHS (I think)) to send it ahead.

Clevelandbrown, I think you mean DHL

Re your formal clothing. I sometimes take very dressy things - once true formal (long gloves etc) because of an event attended by Queen Elizabeth. That trip I was away 3 weeks, 1 in London and 2 out in the country, but still manage in a 22 inch suitcase.

Consider &quot;formal separates&quot;. Long black skirt and different beaded/satin/fancy tops.

Not to change the subject, but I discovered that in addition to converting cm to in and &euro; to $, the Google calculator can do all sorts of other interesting (and useless) conversions.

For example, <b>7 miles per second in furlongs per fortnight, 6837 shekels in rand, 362 rods in km, 3982 f in kelvin</b>

... stuff like that.

It isn't just the European &quot;discount&quot; airlines that limit the weight of checked baggage to 20 K's...the non-dsicounters do so as well.

I can relate to Traveller333's concerns since we just got back from a combination two weeks + on land and then a 9-night cruise through the Med. Fortunately, our cruise was with an affinity group and there were no formal nights.

I'd like to know if this poster is traveling directly to the cruise or stopping off first...there may be more to this question than we are being told.

Love that google feature!

Intrepid1, Yes, we are traveling land first (flying into Switzerland and traveling around this area for a week) then the problem is the flight from Switzerland to Rome (more land travel around Italy for a week) then we will board the ship in Italy. After the cruise we have no problem with the weight restriction the rest of the way home (American Airlines). It's just that middle flight.

We will make it work but my spouse is going to have to cut back on shoes....not the end of the world!

I have friends in the airline industry who manage to bring everything they need for even extended stays of a week or more in one tiny carry-on, so it's certainly possible to bring all that one needs in less than 20 kg (far less). And remember that you can <i>wash</i> clothing abroad.

One inch equals 2.54 centimeters. Accessing baggage requires ingenuity. Economy class checked baggage is limited to two pieces each less than 70 pounds. Cabin baggage is limited to a piece less than 40 pounds. Total 180 pounds! How many are in your party. Make sure you use everyone's allowance.
Yes, there are problems. Once off an international flight local/domestic limits come into play. Consider shipping or mailing first stop used baggage home. Europeans regularly use rail services to forward baggage. You may also be able to use a 'Duty Free' bag to add to cabin baggage capacity. Find out what 'special' items are permitted on your domestic flight. On our last trip we returned (3) with checked baggage weighing a total of 400 pounds plus our cabin limits.

Just curious but why doesn't the US convert to metric ?? It doesn't hurt a bit ! ;)

A failure/lack of commitment on our educational system. Sadly, Americans had a brief and passing interest in looking at the world through the eyeglasses of math and science for about three days after Neil Armstrong landed on the moon.

Instead, 35 years later, we have espousers of &quot;intelligent design&quot;, and those who believe that an ounce of faith is better than a pound of inquiry... and who have no idea what either represents, in grams.

Best wishes, from the land of freedom and innumeracy...

Rex

Hi Marko

&gt;Just curious but why doesn't the US convert to metric ??&lt;

The US is officially on the Metric System. Since 1893 the yard, pound, gallon, etc have been referenced to the meter, kg, liter...

((I))

Continental just announced that they are lowering the free baggage allowance from 2 70 pound pieces to 2 50 pound pieces. I don't know if other airlines will follow suit. Personally, I never take a lot of baggage, since I have to carry it, although it is nice to have plenty of capacity for things we picked up there on the flight home.

Thomas Jefferson wanted us to use the metric but you know, they couldn't let go of that English heritage.

Now that fuel cost has surpassed that of payroll as the airlines' primary expense item, I wouldn't be surprised if we see <u>every</u> airline cut their free baggage allowances.

Not having to carry two or three tons of luggage (40 lbs * 100 passengers = 4,000 lbs) on every flight will save a lot of JET A.

The spot market price of light sweet crude keeps setting price records, with no end in sight. Fasten your seat belts.