How to fly only with hand luggage: valuable life hacks from experienced travelers
'13.08.2019'
Source: World
The plane landed, the passengers passed the border control and walked to the baggage carousel in a jib: someone for half an hour to get things and go, finally, to take a shower at the hotel, and someone for half a day to find out how and why the luggage flew to the other side .
Only one passenger received a stamp in the passport and immediately moved to the exit. When others leave the airport, this person will already walk around the city or have dinner in a cozy restaurant. And this person can be you, writes World.
To become them, you only need to pack all your belongings in hand luggage. It is much easier to do than it seems at first glance. Learn how to do it, and save a lot of time, nerves and money.
Every year more and more people travel light. This business travelers, flying on a business trip for a couple of days, and experienced backpackers who know that in the trip they need not so many things. And in traveling tourism travel light for a long time already turned into a new subtype of tourism - ease of travel. And if lightweight professionals are able to travel thousands of miles in total with 5 kg of equipment, an ordinary tourist will surely be able to pack things on 4-7 days in carry-on baggage.
Why travel only with hand luggage?
This is faster - you do not have to be nervous in the queues for baggage check-in or lose time in the baggage carousel, which you could devote to traveling or relaxing after the flight.
It is cheaper - the baggage fees of low-cost airlines can easily double the price of an air ticket. For example, AirBaltic you have to pay € 25-60 for transporting one piece of baggage, Vueling - from 13 €. Multiply 2 for roundtrip flights, or even 3-4, if you are planning several flights, and get the price of a decent hotel room or car rental for a couple of days.
It is safer - your things will not fly away in the opposite direction from you, they will not be dropped by a careless loader and certainly nobody will be able to rummage around in them and steal something. In addition, a person with a large suitcase is more attracted by the annoying taxi drivers and petty crooks.
How not to get into trouble
When packing all things in one backpack or suitcase, you need to know 3 things: the baggage allowance of the chosen airline, the weight and dimensions of your carry-on baggage. Determine inaccurate, “by eye”, weight and dimensions, and you may face a choice: pay for the odds and hand over all documents and valuables into the luggage compartment or throw away some of the things at the airport.
Usually they allow the passenger to take a bag weighing up to 8 or up to 10 kg. Some airlines also allow you to carry a handbag, laptop or purse weighing up to 2 kg for free. In this case, most of the dimensions of carry-on baggage should not exceed 55 × 40 × 20. See These strange numbers actually just guarantee that your carry-on bag will fit under the seat in the front of the plane.
In most cases, no one will pay attention if your carry-on luggage is slightly larger than the required dimensions. But the likelihood that the size of the baggage will be checked is still there. And the cheaper your ticket cost, the higher this probability.
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How many items can fit into the baggage with dimensions 55 × 40 × 20 cm?
Actually - a lot. The 66 × 32 × 22 travel backpack, for example, is enough for a two-week track in the Nepalese Himalayas. And surely it is suitable for a weekly city trip. With the exceeding of the limit in height, everything is simple - you just need not to fill the backpack to the top.
It is even easier with suitcases: the largest manufacturers have long ago established the production of models designed specifically for hand luggage on the plane. The case size 55 × 40 × 20 and the volume of 32 liters is perfect for a short trip.
When choosing between a suitcase and a backpack, remember that airlines limit not only the dimensions of carry-on baggage, but also its total weight. And if a suitable suitcase weighs about 3 kg, then the backpack is no more than 1,5 kg. In other words, the backpack can be folded on the 1,5 kg more things.
Фото: Depositphotos
Suitcase or backpack - what to choose for travel?
Most of us always take more things than we really need. Especially - in short trips. We add some clothes with the thought: "Just in case, all of a sudden I want to put it on." Shampoo and shower gel, we often just take from the bathroom in huge tanks. Well, five pairs of shoes, obviously, are not needed either for 7, or for 14 days, or even for six months traveling.
To properly assemble and not carry extra weight, lay out all the things on the couch and think about each: what to replace it with, how to reduce its weight and whether you can do without it at all. Or use ready-made lists of things for short trips.
What things to pack in your carry-on baggage
Determine the maximum weight. Suppose you are flying the abstract Gobseck Air, which allows you to take only 8 kg of hand luggage on board. Subtract the weight of the backpack and find that things should be no more than 6,7 kg.
Appliances and Chargers
E-book or tablet, a small camera and charging them weigh about a kilogram. You can not take a laptop on a short trip, the phone is in your pocket and is not included in the weight of the baggage. Remains 5,7 kg.
It makes sense to carry chargers to any equipment in hand luggage always, despite the weight. First, so you can use the gadget on board (bans on electronics everywhere are removed, and in new aircraft there are often sockets) or charge it at the airport of transit. Secondly, if your luggage does fly away in an unknown direction, you will not be left without communication with the dead phone in the middle of an unfamiliar city.
Documents
Passport, driver's license, insurance, cash reserves, bank cards, printouts of air tickets and hotel bookings - all this weighs no more than 300 grams. Remains 5,4 kg.
Liquids
International standards allow passengers to carry on hand luggage:
“Liquids, gels and aerosols related to non-hazardous: in containers with a capacity of not more than 100 ml (or equivalent capacity in other volume units), packed in a securely closed transparent plastic bag with a volume of no more than 1 l - one package per passenger.”
In other words: a maximum of 10 tubes of 100 ml each, 20 of 50 ml, and so on. Toothpaste, shower gel, shampoo, deodorant or perfume, fluids for and after shaving, creams and some basic cosmetics - all this can either be bought already in small containers, or pour into them without any problems.
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At the same time, toothpaste, shower gel or soap and base shampoo can be bought anywhere in the world. Or they will be waiting for you in the room, if you stay not in the cheapest hotel. But suppose you want to take everything with you. In this case, the weekly supply will not be heavier than 500. 4,9 kg remains.
There are three key points in the requirement for the packaging of liquids “in a securely closing transparent plastic bag with a volume of no more than 1 l”: “transparent”, “1 l” and “closing”. Forget about the last item and pack the liquid in a regular plastic bag and the security service will force them to throw it away at the airport. This happens infrequently, but quite regularly.
Hairdryer
Whether to carry a hair dryer with you is a very controversial issue. But for the purity of the experiment, assume that it is needed. A simple compact hair dryer weighs about 350-400 g. 4,5 kg remains.
Medications
Most conventional drugs can be carried in hand luggage, and which ones to take with you is an individual matter. In practice, the standard set, which can be useful to the traveler, never attracts the attention of airport security. Take them to the maximum: with the weight of one tablet 40-50 mg, 150 grams - this is a mini-pharmacy. Remains 4,35 kg.
Apparel
- Sweatshirt, hoodie or sweater: 1 subject on average 500 g = 0,5 kg.
- T-shirts / shirts / blouses: 3-4 items on average 250 g each = 1 kg.
- Jeans / pants / trousers: 1 average item for 600 g = 0,60 kg.
- Shorts / skirts / dresses: 1-2 of an item on average 300 g = 0,6 kg.
- Swimsuit / swimming trunks: 1 item average 200 r = 0,2 kg.
- Underwear and socks: for 4 items in 70 and 40 g, respectively = 0,44 kg.
This is an approximate list of clothes, which is enough for a trip on 4-7 days. To it you need to add the things in which you fly: it makes sense to put on the heaviest clothes and shoes on the plane. In any case, this list depends on the season and will be slightly different for each traveler. However, to maintain the total weight of clothing is quite realistic at any time of the year. In total, the total weight of clothing - 3,34 kg. 1,01 remains.
Fly in the winter for a week to bask in warm countries? Then you will need warm clothes on the way to the airport and back. But this does not mean that you need to take a large suitcase and hang around with the sheepskin around the resorts - it is enough to hand over winter clothes and shoes to the airport’s storage room. This service is always paid, but the costs will still be less baggage fees.
Footwear
In a short trip you need a maximum of two pairs of shoes: one is comfortable and one is smart. Moreover, in a comfortable you and so will fly, and smart, most often, you can safely leave at home. For the purity of the experiment, we assume that we take a spare pair of shoes weighing 500 g. Remains 0,51 kg.
Other stuff
In hand luggage there is always a lot of small things: from a toothbrush and lip balm to sunglasses and a favorite teddy bear. Let it all weigh X X more.
This set of items weighs exactly 8 kg. We took a tablet, folded it with excess clothes and liquids, and even for some reason took a hairdryer - and everything fit. But many airlines are allowed to take on board not 8, but 10 kg of hand luggage. Moreover, in fact, the camera and tablet can not be considered in the total weight of things. Airlines do not like to talk about it, but by law you can take into the salon for free a whole lot of things over the established standard of hand luggage. Almost always allowed:
handbag or briefcase; folder for papers; umbrella; cane; bouquet of flowers; outerwear; print media for reading in flight; baby food for the child during the flight; mobile phone; camera; video camera; portable computer; suit in a portfed; baby cradle when transporting a child; crutches, stretchers or a wheelchair when transporting a passenger with limited mobility.
The main thing is that all this can be "safely placed in the cabin of the aircraft," that is, put in the space reserved for hand luggage.
How to be overweight
Understand that you will have a small advantage? Put on clothes with pockets and put the heaviest things (camera, phone, documents) in them. There are even special jackets and vests in which 5-10 kg of clothes and clothes can be folded.
Also, no one will forbid you in front of the front desk to put on an extra piece of clothing and reduce the volume and weight of carry-on baggage. At the gate, these clothes can be removed and folded back.
Remember, at the beginning of the article, we proceeded from the fact that we collect in hand luggage things for a week? So, this is not true! With the same set of things, you can safely go to warm countries for at least six months.
