May 06 2008
Coping With The New Baggage Policies
Now that airlines will be charging extra for your second checked bag, do you pay the extra fee? I’d rather keep the money for a special excursion or other splurge instead. Here are some of our ideas to make the new baggage policy work on your next Hawaii vacation.
1. Travel with a luggage scale.
Now that you’re packing more stuff in one bag, you’ll want to make sure you go right up to, but not over, the 50 pound weight limit. In our recent newsletter we mentioned the one that we use from Magellan’s for $9.95.
2. Use Flat Rate Boxes.
We’ve shipped up to 15 pounds in one of these. If you have extra weight on the return trip, this can be a good deal from the U.S. Postal Service. They have two sizes of flat rate boxes available and two prices: $8.95 and $12.95.
3. Pack light and efficiently.
Use a combination of rolling and folding to get the maximum use of your luggage space. Check to see if your hotel or condo has a guest washer/dryer which can reduce the number of clothes you need to bring.
4. Skip the Luggage Forwarders.
I priced LuggageFree and LuggageForward. The cost for sending a bag to or from Hawaii was far more than the airline’s extra bag fee.
5. Ship Golf Clubs Free.
Count it as your checked bag. Maybe your travel partner will let you share some of his/her space in their luggage? Another option is to pack the clothes you need in your carry-on.
6. Exempt Yourself or Travel With Someone Who Is.
There’s no extra charge for the second bag if you or your travel partner are a premium flyer with the airline. Other exemptions include travelers in First or Business Class and those on an International itinerary.
7. Shop at Wal-Mart or Costco in Hawaii.
You can save weight and space by buying your beach supplies and travel gear once you’re in the islands. When your vacation is over, anything you leave behind can be donated to a thrift store.
Going Forward: I predict that airlines will soon start weighing carry-on bags to make sure they do not exceed the current weight limit of 25 pounds. The overhead bins are getting far too crowded.
If you have any tips on traveling with one bag, please feel free to share them.
>Related Posts:
About the carry-on luggage issue – I think that if you are just vacationing there is no reason to have more than a carry-on size suitcase and your smaller purse/tote bag. I just returned from 17 days in Europe with one carry-on bag and I was CLEAN all the time. This is especially true when traveling to Hawaii, because it is easy to launder your clothes. Also, unless you are taking rocks, it is pretty hard to pack so much into a carry-on bag that it weighs over 25 pounds. A luggage scale would be good though because it is amusing to try to fit yourself and your suitcase on the usual bathroom scale.
One thing, however, that happened to me in London on the way home recently was that the person in the security line who checks your ticket made me put my carry-on (carefully measured for compliance with NWA rules) into one of those metal “boxes” that they have decided is the size for carry-on luggage and it was just a little too large on the wheel end. He made me check my bag. I was upset because it wasn’t locked nor packed for checking. This person didn’t work for NWA, he was a security person for Heathrow. The notorious home of lost bags. I was pretty upset because the 330 plane I was taking home was the same plane that I arrived on and my bag fit then. So no matter how careful you are, there is always a power mad security person who might pounce on you just because he/she can.
Thanks Vicki.
You bring up a very good point. We mentioned the likely future enforcement of the weight limits, but neglected to mention the size limits as well.
Aloha,
Jeff
We live in Europe for work and have to fly quite frequently. Although thankfully many of the 2nd bag fees don’t apply to international flights, when they do I just calculate it into the price of the ticket when I am price comparing.
And I avoid flying through Heathrow like the plague! The AIRPORT won’t allow a 2nd carry-on (like my laptop or my wife’s purse). Not to mention I think each time we have flown through Heathrow they have lost a bag. You think BA would get upset because I don’t image I am the only one who will pay extra NOT to fly through Heathrow.
We have our luggage scales, both home and travel, so we are ready.
Flat rate boxes have been a godsend in shipping things to our family members on Maui.
My wife and I have gone out of our way to retain elite frequent flyer status in at least two programs. Although we don’t fly much over 50,000 miles a year, we split them between Star Alliance and One World carriers, to improve flow through queues and preclude added baggage costs. While I can’t see everyone doing this, a “mileage run” to maintain elite status in at least one program can be more than cost effective in light of the newly imposed fees. If we had a larger presence by one of the two airlines we concentrate on at our local airport, we might choose to try for second tier elite status on a single carrier for the enhanced perquisites like double bonus miles and longer windows to get upgrades.
I believe the last time I flew out of Heathrow, in late April of this year, the single carry-on rule had gone away, since my wife traveled with both a backpack and a purse. I am sure I read a press release from BAA, the airport operator, that this relaxed limit was the case at several of their airports, but not all of them. In spite of that change, I still have no fondness for any of the BAA airports, especially Heathrow, and do all I can to avoid them. Several times I have gone to the extent of flying into Britain, but out of another nation, like Ireland, or Belgium for my return to the States. Even with the hassle of booking an open jaw itinerary and of travel to an airport elsewhere, I am likely to continue doing so in the future.
Fortunately my next transoceanic flight will be to Maui from the mainland. The BAA management could learn much from the far more relaxed mood I’ve felt at all Hawai’ian airports I’ve traversed.
Mahalo
Thanks, Jay. I agree that the Aloha spirit is a great management philosophy to use in all businesses.
Rob
Beat of Hawaii