Packing tips, part 2
Now that you have some ideas for packing without wrinkles, how do you keep your things safe en route? I try to avoid checking bags whenever possible, but sometimes checked luggage is inevitable. Here are some tips to help:
Keep 'em dry
This is an easy one - if you are packing liquids inside your luggage (sunscreen, cosmetics, cologne, whatever...) put them inside a sealed plastic bag to keep them from leaking on your clothes. Don't leave a bunch of extra air in the bags, or they could pop open when your plane reaches a high altitude.
Lock it up
When you check luggage in the US, they require that your bags be unlocked these days - which makes me uncomfortable. There is another way - you can use a "TSA Approved" lock, which allow you to lock your bag but still allows the Transportation Safety Administration to gain access to your bags, since a TSA Approved lock has a special keying mechanism that allows TSA officials to open them. My favorite ones are the locks with a search indicator on them. I picked up a few of these at Target and use them all the time - they have a little dot on them that is green when you lock it, but turns red if your back has been searched. You have to know the combination to reset the dot to green, so it enables you to know when they've searched your bag.
They help in a couple of ways: 1) they prevent casual intrusion into your luggage, and 2) they keep your bags from accidentally coming open if your zipper gets snagged on something.
Know what you have
I've had lots of luggage delays, in which I make a connection and my luggage arrives on a later flight, or other such situations. But what if your luggage is truly lost? How do you know what's gone?
Thankfully, I've only had luggage go missing a couple of times, but it does happen. When it does, you'll be well served to have a list of what's in your bag so you can file a claim if it disappears. A simple list on an index card is sufficient, or you can go into more detail -- even taking a picture of the suitcase before you close it up, if you like.
If you must pack anything of significant value, be careful, pack the items well, lock your bag -- and consider alternatives. For example, you may be better off shipping your items to your destination via an insurable shipping method. This will help protect your precious possessions from damage or loss (and the claims process via the airlines is time-consuming and fraught with technicalities designed to keep them from paying you for anything).
Side note: Once, I lost my bag and didn't get it back for 6 days. I was told by one of the baggage claims folks that your odds of finding your luggage decrease significantly after a few days, because the bag numbers get recycled in their systems. For example, on United (the losemakers in that case), they purportedly go through 1 million bags about every 72 hours, after which your bag number is then assigned to someone else's bag.
Be wary of Chicago
I've only had a few luggage losses or significant delays. All of them have involved Chicago O'Hare Airport. I now avoid connecting through Chicago whenever I can, particularly if I have to check luggage. Also, I've experienced a statistically high number of weather delays and missed connections in Chicago.
Incidentally, Chicago is where my bag went missing for 6 days (it got "scanned" coming off the plane in Chicago but never made it to Montreal where I was going). When I got my bag back, several hundred dollars worth of stuff was missing including some trousers from a suit (I still have the jacket), an electric shaver, some new shoes, and some cologne. I had a list of contents and some photos and eventually got a claim paid for the items, but it was not a fun experience.
More to come
I'll have more in the future, including tips to reduce the number of things you pack to increase your chances of being able to use carry-on luggage instead of checking it.
Related items
Interesting. My wife and I each lost a suitcase within a 1-year period -- on separate flights, and on different airlines, originating in Chicago. The bags were never found. We even joked -- before my wife's bag disappeared -- if we'd ever see it again when we had to drop it off at the bomb screening checkpoint along with dozens of other bags that had been left -- and just walk away with it sitting there. We figure someone helped themselves to some "free" luggage -- no one from the airport seemed to be watching over the bags, and unfortunately we had to go to the gate. Surely, there have got to be statistics for these sorts of things. I wonder how Chicago stacks up.
I *never* check anything of value (I would change my plans if I had to check my laptop) and I travel almost exclusively with carry-on luggage (except as described below). Today's security environment makes that a dicier proposition, but it is still doable -- mostly. Fortunately, I don't take puddle-jumpers, so I always find room on board for my "personal bag" (a soft-sided Eagle Creek briefcase (this model is no longer made) with my laptop inside in an Eagle Creek laptop envelope (this model is no longer made) -- when I take a laptop) and my Eagle Creek Solo Journey convertible bag (this model is also no longer made, which is unfortunate because it has the correct dimensions for carry-on luggage -- it also doesn't have wheels, which means more internal space for its size, but it also means I have to carry it, which gets more inconvenient the older I get).
I read an article once where a senior manager of men's clothing at Macy's, or some upscale place like that, talked about how to fold a business suit and pack it in a suitcase. I cut out the instructions and I've been doing that ever since. It really works, and that article is the only place I've ever seen this "technique" mentioned. Even my best business suit gets packed away in my one carry-on bag. I started my carry-on adventures over a decade ago using the "bundle" method, but I now primarily use an Eagle Creek Pack-It folder for my shirts and pants, the "Macy's" method for my suit coat, and rolling or folding for pretty much everything else. I wear my casual shoes, and my dress shoes ("Is he making it, or faking it?") go in shoe bags in my carry-on bag.
Here's the exception to my "carry-on only" policy: I have a small, cheap rolling suitcase that I bought at Target, or Walmart, or someplace like that, for less than $20. It is the bag I check, and I take it with me on all flights. It is usually empty when I start out -- which always raises eyebrows when I put it on the scale at check-in. When I absolutely must check luggage (like when I buy gifts for my family, or when an unexpected security crisis flares and you can only put some items in checked bags), I put expendable items in this bag (such as t-shirts, underwear, sundries, etc.). That way, if it's lost or stolen, it's an insignificant loss. Sometimes, it comes back empty, too (because I didn't need to use it for "overflow" items -- not because of theft). It just depends on how much stuff I buy along the way. I don't plan on using it, but it's there if I need it. It's small and light when empty, so it's not an inconvenience to take (in fact, until I check it or when I get to my destination, I often use it like a cart for my briefcase). If it were to become an inconvenience, it was cheap enough (and I've used it enough times) that I could just throw it away without feeling like I had lost something valuable.
All of the valuable stuff *always* goes with me in the cabin, or it doesn't go at all. As they say, "Fool me once..."
Here's one of the best sites, IMO, for learning about packing and traveling light (although, I think the author still prefers the bundle method):
http://www.onebag.com/
Posted by: Scott_H | June 18, 2007 at 02:40 AM