A seasoned world traveller should know their way around an airport from check in to the departure lounge. They don't forget to put liquids in zip lock bags or misplace their passports whilst removing coats and belts at security. But sometimes there are problems people cannot avoid. For me, the problem involved luggage.
I'm not sure how I got all the stuff I packed last time I moved (Hence the name of this blog), but only a minor miracle allowed me to fit all my clothes and a few other items into my two large suitcases, a weekend suitcase, and a briefcase. The zippers are now breaking and my heaviest bag is tearing at the edges. But that wasn't the biggest problem.
Trouble faces many airlines nowadays due to high fuel prices, more competition, and ageing air stewardesses who no longer serve as eye candy and will soon be taking out company pensions. So, the fines on passengers are growing in size and number. For a long time I've been a United Silver Elite member which entitles me to some benefits like an extra bag in the cargo hold. This put me under the impression that my card protected me from most fines. Not this year. To keep silver status, one must fly 25,000 miles with United each year. I guess six flights between America and Brazil doesn't cut it these days. Looking into my flight details I learnt my second suitcase would cost an additional $100 and I couldn't leave it in the States; all my cases contained vital stuff. The extra hundred bucks wasn't the worst part though.
I could stomach $100 if it meant I could live in the U.K. comfortably, but then came the penalty for overweight bags. In the old days, airlines considered 80 pounds overweight. Now they consider 50 pounds overweight and my bags were 67.5 lbs and 54 lbs respectively.
"So what's the fine for overweight bags? Fifty dollars each?" I asked the woman checking me in.
"No, it's two hundred dollars per bag." She replied.
"Bugger."
Rather embarrassingly, I phoned the most seasoned travellers I know: my parents. They couldn't do anything, leaving me face a $500 hole in my bank account. Luckily for me the woman promised to let me off one of the bags if I could get it under 52 lbs. Thirty minutes later, another phone call from my parents and several coat hangers later I found myself at the departure gate with a $100 hole in my account. That's the price I paid for moving countries. But your journey could cost more.
So, for those of you travelling by plane in the future I have the following advice:
1) Take the time to discover the policies of airline you are travelling with. Airlines have many sneaky traps for you to fall into, but if you find them, you can work the airlines (and most companies) to your advantage.
2) Pack sensibly for your journey and make sure your bags can take it. Find storage for anything else if you are going away for and extended period. Have all your packing done before you send stuff into storage, you might need to store stuff you were planing to take with you.
3) If you fear your luggage is overweight, put some stuff in a carry-on bag (unless it's liquids or something), they don't check that weight.
4) Only have two carry on bags: one suitcase and one briefcase or handbag (US Airways offers fines in the thousands for something like that).
Don't make these mistakes and you can save a yourself from a lot of trouble.
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