flying with carry-on vs checked bags
 

What's the general consensus here on whether to just do carry-on bags or to check some? We have always just done carry-on (even before airlines started charging) to speed things up getting out of the airport and so we wouldn't have any lost bags.

For our upcoming trip we're considering checking a bag or two but we're completely torn. It's a 17 day trip and it would be sooo nice to have an extra bag with a few comforts of home... favorite coffee, Hot Shot machine (instant hot water for tea, oatmeal, etc) enough clothes/boots to keep me warm, umbrella, and we could go ahead and pre-purchase a lot of the things we would have to buy there (toiletries, picnic stuff, etc) .

It's $50 to check one bag round trip, so we're considering upgrading our American Express card to the next level for $40 so all 4 of us would actually be able to check a bag for "free" (plus we'd get 10,000 bonus FF miles).

Our big concern is LOST baggage. We would still carry-on the valuables and things we couldn't do without. Our other concerns are lugging around the extra luggage and having to wait for it rather than a quick airport exit.

Checking bags also has advantages beyond being able to take extra things. For once it would be so nice for us not to have 8 bags that the 4 of us need to go through security with and then on the plane quickly stow and get out of the way.

Just looking for a push one way or the other!

I do both - depending on the circumstances. Fingers crossed, but I haven't had a bag delayed in quite awhile - terrorism concerns have the airlines keeping MUCH better track of our luggage than before.

One of the main considerations for me is how much will I have to deal with my luggage during the trip? If we are taking trains, buses, shuttles, walking a few blocks through town, etc. then I pack light. I am not going to lug around more than I have to - too much hassle. OTOH, if we are getting a car for the whole trip or staying in one place, then it doesn't matter so much - I might bring more stuff.

Quick airport exit is another consideration - do I have any tight connection once I arrive? Am I taking several flights and would have to wait for the luggage several times?

Are you taking a non-stop or direct flight to your destination or do you have to change planes?
We have had trouble with connecting flights so we carry on.

My Continental and American credit cards allow one free bag. Sometimes we check, sometimes we carry on. Sometimes we just use it for golf clubs. I would upgrade your card--sounds like checking yoru bags this trip would make travelling easier.

I hate to pay to check bags so we only fly SW, CO or American.

In the last few years, we have been taking longer vacations (2-3 weeks), so I need more stuff. I usually check my bag which allows me to carry as much liquid and sharp objects as I want. That to me is the biggest deal breaker about carry-ons. Plus I love not having to lug a suitcase, plus purse or computer bag, through security. (Knock on wood), I have never had a delayed or lost bag in the last 30 years. I do factor in the cost of checking luggage into the cost of the ticket, which often makes Southwest a better deal, but not always. I think you have to decide which way will give you more piece of mind: freedom to carry what you want, or less worry about whether your bag will arrive when you do.

"More stuff equals deal breaker"... yes, I would be so much more comfortable knowing I had those extra things with me. If they show up! haha

It is a non-stop flight (free with our Delta SkyMiles!) and then we're renting a mini-van from the airport, so no extra transportation to lug bags around to. We're also going to do small overnight bags in each hotel stop, so won't be lugging all bags in each stop either.

I do carry-on for trips of one to three nights. If longer than that I almost always check luggage - since it's either 1) an extended business trip and I need to take my computer and a lot of materials for meetings and can't carry buiness clothes - or it's a trip of 2 weeks or more - when I want to have fresch clothes without paying a fortune to the hotel, Hotels typically charge more to wash a pair of panties than they cost to begin with - and the idea of wearing hand-washed undies is positively ick!

So, I've traveled with checked luggage well more than 200 times - and have never had anything lost or significantly delayed. (At CDG once it took almost 2 hours for our bags to get to the carousel - but it was the whole plane - I think a pop-up labor slowdown.)

There are several tricks:

1) Make sure the tag they put on the bag is for the correct airport

2) Don;t check in late - which makes it more likely the bag won't make the plane or will be otherwise misplaced

3) Make sure the bag is clearly marked so you can easily pick it off the carousel (put pink ribbons on the handle or similar) and not be picked up by another traveler

And finally, just in case, make sure you have one change of clothes in your carry-on - along with all of your valuables

Less risk with a direct floght of misplaced or delayed luggage. All of our problems related to luggage not making a connection.

Ok, so I saw on Delta's site you can check your luggage online within 24 hrs of the flight and then drop it off curbside. HOW does it get tagged? Do I print something out and wrap around it??

I always check a bag. I keep valuables and irreplaceable items in my carry-on, but I hate going carry-on ONLY. It's just not quite enough stuff for me. I pack light but check thru my 24" roller or duffle. I hate having to drag everything around airports with me, for one thing. And I really like being able to bring a tiny bit more toiletries and cosmetics than fit the 3-1-1 rule plus a couple pair of shoes.

Oh and I do definitely agree with the first post about what you are going to do when you arrive. My post above is when I am going to one place, staying in one hotel the duration of a trip (usually beach vacations).

If I'm going to multiple cities in Europe and moving around a lot on the train, then I stick to a 21-22" roller only.

Trip to a city in winter for more than one week usually means checking a bag for me. I like to take boots and shoes plus layers so need extra luggage space.

For trips up to 2 weeks OR if I'm staying in an apartment with a washing machine then I prefer to take carry on only.

I haven't been on a trip longer than 2 weeks for years!

I have recently made a concerted effort to check in early for flights. 2 hours prior for domestic and 3-4 hours early for international. I don't mind hanging out at the airport and I've found this has paid off if I've checked luggage as my case has come through very quickly.
First bag off the carousel last week!

Our motto is "if it doesn't fit in one standard size roll-aboard and one personal size item (usually a small tote) per person WE DON'T NEED IT". Been that way for every trip we've taken in the past 20 years except three - once when we were traveling to the northeast in the sea of winter and we had to bring extra winter clothes and twice when we went on extended 6 week trips. In those two cases we actually over packed and didn't wear half the clothes we took. We learned our lesson years ago.

Pack light, no need to bring along the kitchen sink!

Carry-on means never waiting for luggage - saves us a bunch of time. Most recent trip involved an international flight, we were one of the first people off the plane, took only two minutes to clear immigration and another one minute to clear customs. My time is valuable to me - you can't pay me enough to check luggage.

With your itinerary it sounds like checking bags is going to make for a more comfortable trip overall. Since you're flying on a nonstop and will have a vehicle, the chances of your bags getting lost are low, and hassles at the destination minimal.

I have never/will never check a bag....

2-4 day trip = carry on. Too much hassle for a short trip if luggage is delayed.

5-10 or more day trip = check. It's worth $25 not to jockey with the bin hogs for overhead space.

I don't check anything I'm not willing to lose. Had luggage delayed a few times but never completely lost. I use the same 22" bag regardless of check/no check. Domestic or international.

I'm not going to kill myself or anyone else to be the first person off the plane and out of the airport.

Horses for courses.

Ditto what RoamsAround said. Our last long trip (three weeks in SE Asia, we took one 20" widebody each, and had our laundry done). We learned our lesson when we took the kids to Europe for a month and each packed a gigantic suitcase. First 6 days, we were in an apartment in London. Found out they would do our laundry for us in the office (for a fee), and realized immediately we should have brought 1/3 of what we brought. Did laundry two more times on that trip - once I did it myself in a laundromat in Paris (that's another story, and a funny one....) and took it to a wash-dry-fold place in Rome (by taxi). That was it - carryon for us. We only violated our policy recently when we went back East for a graduation and wedding and needed lots of different clothes for different events.

My experience is the same as nytravelers. Knock wood, no luggage lost or delayed since 1970, though Air Canada managed to destroy an expensive suitcase, albeit delivering it on time.

I do have things that will not fit in carryons for more than an overnight, but I also appreciate the comforts and amenities. A nice compromise would be to send all those things ahead by UPS or Fedex to your first hotel.

4sharie, the only thing I do not like about your current plan is leaving luggage in the car overnight. We do it in relatively rural areas, but I would never do it in a city.

I will gladly pay extra to check my bag. I HATE schelpping the thing through security and wrestling it into the over head bin. It usually doesn't take more than 10-15 minutes to retrieve it from baggage claim, and I've only had a delayed suitcase ONE time.

I've only had delayed luggage one time, and that was on the way home. It was delivered to my home my taxi the next morning. I was trying to figure out how to make that happen every trip!

If you don't have a connecting flight, the chance of your luggage not showing up is slim. Since this is posted on the US board, I will assume you're flying somewhere in the US. There have been plenty of international carriers that have made me check my carry on size bag. It's always frustrating to have condensed everything into carry on size and then have to check it anyway.

I choose spending a little time waiting for my bag at the luggage carousel, vs
spendingrecious vacation time finding, buying, or doing without the toiletries, umbrella, sandals, and other stuff I didn't have room for in the carry-on.

I'd much rather take the risk to check bags. I haven't had a bag go astray since 1971. Of course, you want to take the good advice above about valuables and colors on luggage.

I thought I'd get an overwhelming response of stories of lost/delayed bags and the headaches that ensued, so I'm encouraged by the majority of you saying to go for it. Our family of 4 has traveled on a few 2 week trips with just carry-ons and have been okay (though the packing/planning/agonizing of what to leave behind is so hard), but this trip is a little more involved.

It's 17 days (so will need more than 3 oz of toiletries!), will have cold weather (so will need layers and boots), and we'll be in lots of rural areas (National Parks are not exactly shopping meccas if we need something!). Not to mention all my camera gear in my carry-on that takes up space.

Sooo, since many of you have knocked on wood, I will join your knocking and check a bag or two (or four, since we can with AmEx).

And SassyCat, we'll try to check in early and try out your theory of first on, first off. :)

Thanks ALL for sharing advice!

Can anyone explain how to tag the bags when checking them in online?

Good luck!

When you check in and include the number of checked bags online you still have to take them to the 'bag drop' where they will be tagged.
It's a separate line to the one where you haven't checked in online..

It can be cheaper to check bags in advance on-line, too.

The extra time you'll spend waiting for 1 or 2 bags is a very small percentage of the 17 days you'll be on vacation. Not even an issue for me.

In fact, since you are renting a minivan, why not have one person go pick that up while the rest of you wait for the luggage? That would eliminate some of the wasted time. But it depends on the rental car location and how easy it is to get back to the airport - it may not save you a lot of time if it's a pain to get back and pick everyone up.

Great idea about splitting up while waiting for the bags and getting the rental, but in Denver the rental cars are offsite but not so sure we'd gain time if DH took the shuttle to Alamo, then came back to get us. Good thinking though!

Do we tip anyone when we drop off the bags??

I always tip anyone who helps with the bags.

I recently flew Southwest to Vegas and was so pleased to be able to check a bag, under 50 lbs for no additional cost. I've done long trips with just a carry on too. If I'm efficient when I pack I can manage with just a carry on for most direct trips. I don't like to schlepp through an airport dragging a suitcase behind me on my way to a connecting flight.

Ever since I managed to go to London for a week in January with only a carry on and my laptop bag which rides on the rolliing carryon so I always have one hand free, I haven't looked back. Carry on is so great. And then I managed to do just the same for my 6 week trip to Russia, Ukraine, and Spain last year. Heck, I need to do laundry every 10 days or so anyway, so it really doesn't matter if I'm traveling 10 days or 5 or 6 times that!

But then admittedly I'm an adventurous traveler. I actually LIKE giving up my usual coffee or toothpaste for a taste of the local stuff, and I love improvising picnics rather than lugging that stuff around. I just don't enjoy trying to make travel "like home' -- if I did it would be much cheaper to just stay home!

3oz. Liquids..I can fit multiple small tubes of a special formula toothpaste and other toilitries in the 1 qt.bag. Just finsihed 6 weeks in Europe and now am traveling domestically, a 3 month trip.
I second Neopatrick's thoughts. Carrying on is so liberating, especially after you land. Makes traveling from place to place so much easier. And passport control is so much faster when you're ahead of those with checked baggage.

Passport control is almost always before the baggage claim areas. That's the one thing I hate about checking my bags. I travel a lot for business and I hate having to carry my laptop bag in the long passport lines (especially Hong Kong). With my carry on, it rides on top of my suitcase.

On occasion I have had luggage issues in/out of my home airport of Orlando. It appears to be more the luggage handlers there than anything. Twice shredded luggage, a couple of times luggage that sat on the tarmac in a pouring rain, and often 30+ minutes waiting for it come come out on the carousel (despite always getting to airports approx. 2 hours in advance).

That being said, I do not hesitate to check luggage when it makes sense - and in your case, that would be what I would do.

When I travel on business, usually I roll on a 21" bag, and my laptop & anything I'd put in a purse is in a backpack. Even a 2-week trip to Denver last October was that way. Using a hotel laundromat or dropping off clothes in a wash-dry-fold place is pretty convenient.

In the fall, we like to trek to a cooler mountainous area for a 2-3 week trip. Then we check luggage, a 21" roller bag each plus a 3rd "share" bag for those boots and bulky items, with plenty of space for souvenirs. The drawback there is deciding what you need from it each day, as you will get tired of lugging it into your hotel if you move from place to place.

If you are checking in online, you normally will use curbside checkin for the bags - you'll tip them, of course. Be mindful that in some airports or airlines, there is an additional surcharge of a couple of dollars a bag - that is NOT their tip, but an additional fee. (Here I am referring to a fee in addition to the checked bag charge, which is substantially higher.)

You can also often go inside and use a kiosk that is just for preticketed passengers to check bags. You enter some simple information, your tags are printed out at a counter, and then you are called up to the counter by a person who has received the bag tag, where they will tag it for you and you can drop it off with them or as directed. Those you do not need to tip.

NeoPatrick, love your thoughts on leaving home at home! What a great way to be adventurous. Part of why we're pre-packing a lot of "home" stuff is for financial reasons... this trip is already outrageous (for us anyway) and we don't want to be stuck paying a fortune for things in rural parks areas.

HappyTrvlr, I've done that too (multiple tubes or bottles)! I've even filled up the kids' quart sized bags with extras of my stuff. As liberating as carry-ons are (which is why we usually don't check bags) I'm already excited about the liberating feeling of not having to micro-manage the liquids as I pack! (not to mention the boots I want to take that DH says I don't need! haha) Also the freedom of not wrestling 8 bags (plus the lunch we always take on the plane) through security, through the plane aisle and then in overhead bins and under seats.

sludick, thanks for the info on checking the bags! I guess we'll have to get to the airport a little earlier than usual to have time to get the bags tagged. (did you get compensated for your shredded and drenched luggage??)

I only do carry on (I teach packing classes and if one of my participants ever caught me at a baggage carousel - I'd have hell to pay :) ). Whether 2 days or 2 months - a 21 inch rollaboard and a reasonable sized hand bag is plenty.

>><i>or doing without the toiletries, umbrella, sandals, and other stuff I didn't have room for in the carry-on</i><<

>><i>for financial reasons... this trip is already outrageous (for us anyway) and we don't want to be stuck paying a fortune for things in rural parks areas.</i><<

I seldom have to do without or buy toiletries on trips. One is not limited to 3oz of anything . . . just that each bottle needs to be 3oz or less. It is surprising how much you can fit in a qt. baggie.

Checking is fine if you want to . . . no argument from me there. It is just that <i>some</i> check so they can take the kitchen sink. All that 'stuff' can weigh you down in more ways than one. If you pack reasonably and don't take a lot of un-needed things, it doesn't much matter whether you use a 21" carry-on or a 24" checked bag.

Yes! I think that's an important point. Checking a bag shouldn't mean all of a sudden you can take the kitchen sink. :)

janisj - I'd sure like to see one of your suitcases; I'll bet you could teach us all plenty!

4sharie - for the shredded luggage, yes. One of them was outbound, so they delivered the remains to my hotel and gave me money for a new suitcaase and some incidentals. The other was inbound, so they paid me (not enough) there at the airport.

For the drenched stuff - no. But there was one gentleman who had checked a musical instrument and was standing next to us as we all watched the downpour in dismay, then saw our dripping belongings loaded on the plane for a long flight. I am sure he raised h@ll. They are supposed to cover the luggage with a tarp on those occasions, but did not.

If you can find them... I did find some washing machine sheets at a WalMart in B.C. once that were wonderful. You threw it in with your wash, then in to the dryer (where it released some softener). No liquids, light and easy to store. I'm all out now, and looking for them without success.

Oh, and I should mention...all of our luggage (the guitar case too) was streaming water as they came out onto the top of the carousel after the trip..

I always check bags for any trip longer than a wekend. I hate schlepping bags around airports more than I hate waiting for luggage.

We had our bags drenched at the aiport in New Orleans earlier this year. Did saw bags for the plane next to us sitting out and hoped that ours were not suffering the same fate. When we collected our bags at our destination, they were sopping. A few things got ruined, but it wasn't terrible. It would have been a real problem if it happened on an outbound flight though because everything in our bags had to be laundered.

Visiting local laundromats is an excellent travel experience. We've picked up some of our best 'local' information there, whether domestic or international.

When you arrive at your destination, you still have to deal with all the stuff that you brought. I'd rather not since that is the bulk of my trip. I haven't been on a trip where three or four bottoms and four or five tops didn't cover the situation. A mix of a a somewhat rain resistant jacket and a polartec jacket can cover almost any temperature.