Coming to you this week once again from the Oldsmar, FL Courtyard, I’m back on the road in the first week of the new year. A listener asks about selecting a carry-on bag that meets the conflicting restrictions of airlines. We also talk about the hassle of forgetting things and have a couple of Classic Travel Stories about airplane mechanical difficulties. Here’s a direct link to the podcast file.
Here are the show notes from TravelCommons podcast #28:
- Intro music — Warmth by Makkina
- Recorded in the bathroom of the Oldsmar, FL Courtyard, near Tampa
- Quick down-and-back trip to start the new year
- Still more leisure travelers than business travelers a couple of days after the holidays
- Direct Link to the Ze Frank podcast on airline seatback emergency cards at IT Conversations
- TSA seems to be back on the shoe warpath, now that they can’t strip search people for lethal fingernail clippers
- Bridge Music — Those Shoes by The Eagles
- A listener writes that the airline carry-on restrictions are all over the place
- European airlines seem to focus on weight, while US airlines only care if the bag will fit in the overhead bin
- More important than anything else, pick a black bag
- Bridge Music — Don’t You (Forget About Me) by Simple Minds
- Just can’t get into the travel groove
- Forgot my toiletries kit and had to re-trace my grooming steps in the middle of the Oldsmar CVS so I could remember what I needed
- Bridge Music — Every Picture Tells A Story by Rod Steward
- Classic Travel Stories — Just a couple of mechanical difficulties
- Closing music — Ramblin’ Man by the Allman Brothers Band
- Feedback at comments[at]travelcommons.com, the comment board on podcastalley.com, or right here in the comments section below
- Direct link to the show
6 comments on “Podcast #28 – Controversy of Carry-On; Put Your Head Between Your Knees…”
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Another great show Mark!
Particularly enjoyed the bit about carry-on luggage. I use a black Swiss Army bag as well, it has proven to be quite bulletproof.
Dan
Thanks for the feedback. I switched from an Atlantic bag to the Swiss Army bag this summer and have never looked back. I thought I’d lose something with the shorter bag, but I can pack it a bit fatter, which makes more efficient use of the overhead bin — except for some “height-challenged” bins on old Northwest DC-9s or American 757s.
Thanks,
Mark
I just finished listening to Travel Commons number 28, and for the first time since picking your show up around episode number 17, I am finally motivated to share some thoughts. I am not far away from you, except I have the priviledge of flying out of Milwaukee instead of the worst airport in the country, and you know which one that is.
I work for a software company as a training specialist assisting clients with the implementation of our software. The implementation process for a client takes anywhere from 3 to 9 months and involves at least 6 training trips over that time. We take care to ensure that the same trainer covers as many of those visits to ensure quality control and consistency. Since we are a small company, everyone is based at the main office and we travel nationwide. It has allowed me to visit every corner of our great land, from Florida to Washington, California to New Jersey. In general, my schedule is fixed weeks in advance (almost zero no-notice trips) and the usual tempo is to be out of office 3 to 4 days per week, 3 weeks out of every four. It’s a nice balance.
That said, I have a different take on carryon luggage compared to someone like yourself who does a lot of “down and backs”. My suitcase is the next size up since I can be gone from 2 to 4 days depending on the trip. But with careful planning and knowledge of your destination, it is possible to check your bag and still not get hung up at your destination waiting for it. For example, if I’m flying through Minneapolis with a two hour layover en route to Oklahoma City, a medium sized aiport with the rental lot just outside the door, then I’ll check my bag at departure so that I don’t have to schlep it around MSP knowing in the time it takes to get my rental car keys at arrival the bag will be showing on the carousel. But if that connection was much shorter, and I’m flying an Airbus rather than a DC-9 (overhead bins are larger on Airbuses) and the weather is bad, then I’ll seriously consider carrying it on. Or, if I’m flying a non-stop regional jet from Milwaukee to Houston (IAH) knowing that I can gate check the bag, then I’ll do that, especially because baggage service at IAH is slow and there’s still a 15 minute rental shuttle to deal with. One mistake I will NEVER repeat is checking my bag when I have to switch airlines at Dallas-Fort Worth. Nothing is worse than showing up at your client the next day wearing the rugby shirt and blue jeans you wore the day before. Of course I’ll avoid that itinerary altogether if I can. But on the whole I’ve been lucky. In over 200 flights I’ve taken, I’ve only had to chase my luggage twice, or roughly 1%.
On toiletries, yes, my toiletries bag NEVER leave the suitcase at home. I think there’s a psychological aspect to the toiletries thing, and that falls into the category of taking part of your home with you. But I have no firm data to back that up.
A suggested topic for a future podcast: expenses. I carry a company credit card and the expenses are charged back to the client. I have a meal guideline of $60 a day (fine everywhere except Chicago it seems). In addition, I am alotted discretionary “entertainment” expenses that are not charged to the client. These cover things like movies, sporting events, and magazines. It’s a nice perk. It would be interesting to see what others do.
Finally, a plug for my blog. It’s primarily a photo journal of my travels along with other morsels of my whim and wisdom. You can find it at http://richmanwisco.blogspot.com . I’ve got a link to your show in it as well. Keep up the great work and I look forward to your next episode.
Rich
I wanted to comment about a recent experience with carry on luggage on Southwet Airlines. I live in Tulsa and fly occasionally, I guess I am one of your listeners that used to be the flying road warrior, but now I do most of my travelling by car as my region is only a couple of states. Anyway, I was in my favorite 737 seat in the overwing exit row and ths older woman asked if the seat on the ailse was taken. I said no and she proceeded to try to put her bag in the overhead. Being a gentleman, I tried to assist her, but the flight attendant said “no, she needs to be able to do that herself if she is going to sit in that row” She explained, “you need to be able to lift 50 pounds and the limit for carry ons is 50 pounds, so if you can’t put it up there, you can’t sit there” INteresting, she sat in the row behind and was happy to not be responsible for the exit door. I gladly accepted he responsibility and helped her put her bag in the overhead.
Also, I know the feeling of relief when the plane lands after a horrifying incident… long story short.. back in my real road warrior days, I lived in Phoenix and was coming home when our plane encountered wind shear as we were about to land. If a plane’s wings are normally east and west, they went north and south.. or the plane was on it’s side in the air..with the landing gear down. I looked down and saw the rental cars and thought.. this is it! The pilot raced the engines, pulled up the landing gear and aborted the landing.. he came around and landed it, after some very tense minutes. Very scary and the plane was dead quiet, except for those roaring engines. We landed and the pilots never said a word, never even opened the cockpit doors as we got off. I was just happy to be back on the ground.
Chris in Tulsa
When I listened to this episode, I paid particular attention to what you said about carry-ons,
and as you in North America have the privilege of not worrying about the weight of your bags,
I totally agree with you, that the added weight of the wheel and extendable handle assembly
(found in virtually all rolling bags) is of no relevance there.
That said, I find it somewhat paradoxal if the web sites you mention who advise avoiding rolling bags because
of the weight are based in North America, as here in Europe – the high bastion of luggage weight limit –
everyone and their grandmother uses rolling bags.
Also, when you mention colour, it doesn’t seem to be that much of an issue here in Europe.
Although most people choose a discrete colour (black, dark gray, navy, dark green),
the ones who chose brighter colours, like red, beige, light green, etc.,
are over here many enough to not stand out in the crowd.
I guess there may be a cultural difference in there too.
I myself use a black Samsonite, with rollerblade quality ball-bearing wheels.
This one’s good enough to bring on board and store in the overhead bin, but since 9-11,
airport security won’t to let me through without checking it in, because it’s a bit too big.
Airlines in Europe let you check in objects of any mechanical size/volume,
limited only to what fits through the fuselage’s luggage door, as long as it’s within the weight limits of your fare,
usually 44 lbs on economy class and 66 lbs on business class.
I used to bring my laptop in a matching Samsonite laptop bag,
with a special sleeve sewn onto the back, allowing me to attach it to my rolling bag’s handle.
I found that very practical at first, but nowadays, I’ve replaced that one with a Tumi rucksack, with kevlar plated inner sleeve for the laptop, as I anyway end up checking my roller bag, and the rucksack looks less conspicuous on the streets when carrying the laptop around while spending time at the destination.
Besides, the rucksack is also very easy to stuff into most overhead compartments,
together with, say, winter outdoor garments, be it on an Airbus, a 737, a Fokker, or a Dash.
Also, I’ve decided to follow your advice on noise cancelling headsets,
and ditch my Sennheiser for a Bose pair.
The Sennheisers do a good job of cancelling engine noise, but not screaming kids.
Regarding toiletries: after having to do it by necessity a few times, when traveling abroad I now look forward to checking out the local pharmacies in other countries. Finding a new type of toothpaste in Paris, soap in London, Borotalco powder in Florence, or almost anything in Tokyo, actually provide more lasting memories than you would initially think. The process of shopping and purchasing gets you out into the city and provides at least a glimpse of the culture of your destination. And the new products can sometimes end up being instant favorites.