Everything about your baggage

Air travel comes with its advantages and disadvantages. One of the advantages are comfortable travel, beautiful views, high quality services and amenities.

The disadvantages of air travel are the different restrictions passengers need to follow. One of these restrictions concern your baggage and more specifically what is the amount of baggage you can travel with.

Baggage allowance is one of the common topics air travelers often discuss. And there is a special term called flight baggage. When you are flying frequently, you should know well what are the restrictions concerning the amount of baggage you can bring with you on an airplane. So, if you are a frequent traveler, then this topic will be of interest for you.

What is flight baggage?

Most of you probably know that airplanes most often have less space designed for storing baggage than the other transportation kinds. For this reason airlines have many rules related to baggage allowance and baggage is always screened prior departure time.

So there come the questions: what can I take, where can I store it, what is the right baggage size and weight.

Carry-on luggage

In the sphere of air travel there are two types of baggage-carry-on and checked. Carry-on baggage is also called “hold” or “hand” baggage and also cabin luggage. Each passenger can bring one piece of carry-on baggage with a standard size of 20x40x55 cm.

One of the general rules concerning carry-on luggage is that it must fit into the aircraft  bins that stay above the cabin seats or be placed under the passenger’s seat, if it offers an empty spot for storing baggage. The overhead bin dimensions vary depending on the aircraft and small aircraft can have more limited space for baggage storage.

Placing baggage underneath the seat may take up some of your legroom which is not very large especially on regular economy flights. To save up essential foot room in front of your seat you should try to place as much baggage overhead your seat as possible.

When you begin packing your carry-on baggage or when you are choosing what baggage bag design to buy for your carry-on items, you should be careful when choosing the design of the piece. Airline staff have the role to receive the checked luggage at the passenger’s check-in. After the electronic or hand screening is completed an airport crew will take the luggage and put it in a temporary storage which is inside the airplane’s hold.

Baggage Allowance rules

Baggage limits depend on the airline and the type of flight in general. Now airlines put more strict limitations on baggage weight and size compared to the past.

The weight of the bags is usually checked at the check-in and there are bag sizers placed at the gates. In the case of heavy carry-on bags, you may need to check them too.

But you should know that carry – on bags that are checked are likely to be categorized as extra bags. And traveling with extra bags usually requires a charge.

The FFA for example allows passengers who fly within the USA to bring one piece of carry-on luggage and one bag with a personal  luggage on their flight There are some items that fall in the category of personal baggage. These are briefcases, handbags, daypacks, small backpacks, laptops and laptop bags.

Besides one carry-on bag and one personal item passengers can take with them on board a jacket or a coat, a small bag with food products, a newspaper or magazine, necessary personal devices such as wheelchairs and walkers which the passenger needs.

Check with your airline

One of the first things to do, if you wonder what baggage you can  bring with you on the airplane, is see what are the conditions of your airline. The rules concerning how much baggage you are allowed vary depending on the airline. Check your airline’s official website prior to flight.

Most domestic airlines allow their passengers to bring one carry-on piece of luggage with a size of 45 inches. Most air carriers impose a limit for carry-on luggage of 40 pounds. The baggage measurements also include baggage wheels and handles. The linear dimensions of the baggage are calculated on the basis of the total sum of height, width and length.

If we are talking about international airlines, each airline has different restrictions that concern carry-on luggage. So you should inform yourself about the specific requirements of your airline.

Checked luggage rules

Most air carriers allow passengers to travel with one checked bag and one carry-on bag. The standard maximum weight limit is 50 pounds per checked bag and there is a size restriction as well. The maximum size bag that airlines most commonly allow is 62 linear total inches. The common size bag dimensions passengers need  to follow is 27 x 21 x 14 inches.

Experts recommend you bring baggage with a length of 25-26 inches. This will help you avoid accidental overload which can occur after you fully pack the baggage.

Checked baggage can be opened at the airport and if it has a lock, the inspectors may break  it. If you want to avoid damage to the locks of your baggage or the baggage itself, a good idea is to try TSA approved locks.

One thing you should be careful about is not putting film in your baggage as the screening machines can create permanent damage on the film.

Items like camera, photography equipment and prescription medicines should be always put in the carry-on bag.

Another important thing to know is that you should never place baggage of high value or items that are irreplaceable in your checked luggage. Make sure that you have your personal information written on the tags of your luggage on both the outside and the inside of the luggage and the bags.

Before you start your air travel it’s good to see what luggage options you can use and what travel accessory options you have. They can help you have a smooth, safe and pleasant air travel.

If your flight is overseas, you should keep a copy of your passport with you. And you should also make a copy of your itinerary which needs to include important details such as flight numbers, phone numbers and hotel names.

Airlines are inclined to allow heavy baggage that exceeds the weight limit but only for an additional fee. The fees airlines most often impose are fixed but sometimes these fees can be high.

They mostly depend on the specific baggage limitation policy of each airline. So, to avoid paying unnecessary fees,  you should check what are the exact checked baggage limitations of your airline.

Air companies are strict when it comes to putting limitations on extra luggage. They only make an exception for cases when a passenger must bring a medical device with them and keep it during their flight.

For example the airline can let you bring a second bag, if your medical device is small enough to carry it in the bag. In such cases you may need a proof of need from a doctor or advanced permission.

What type of baggage to an airplane?

Fixed shaped designs should be dimensioned to correspond to the common airline restrictions but you should know that there is a slight difference between the baggage restrictions of different companies.

If you choose to travel with baggage with fixed shapes from quality brands, you need to make sure that its size fits into the airplane overhead bins for baggage. The size of these bins varies depending on the type of the aircraft. Long roll-ons with a length of  22 inches  are a common feature of large aircraft such as Boeing and Airbus.

You should be prepared that many flights are served by turbo-props and regional jets with small overhead bins and small space under the seats in their cabins. The standard European baggage size is 20 inches but a baggage of this size may not fit into the storage bins of most regional jets. Fixed shape baggage isn’t a good option for a bin of this size.

The best option for nearly full bins or bins of small size are soft and partially filled sacks or bags.

There are three basic kinds of baggage:

• Hard-shelled cases- they fully enclose the baggage items and provide them with a high level of protection. These cases are suitable for padded baggage items that can break or crush. They can close either with a clamp or a lock.
• Hard-sided cases –these cases usually have one soft side and they provide a high level of protection for the baggage items. They close with zippers and if you want an extra level of security, you can put a padlock on the zippers.
  The largest types of hard-sided cases offer a better design in comparison to the smaller pieces. Because they have the ability to expand they are suitable also for on-ground transport where the size and the weight of the baggage isn’t as restricted as on airplanes.
• Duffel bags or soft-sided bags-these types of bags are a practical option, if you are not traveling with fine and breakable baggage items. When you have large and heavy duffel or soft-sided bags, they can be equipped with wheels and also hooks and straps for easy handling and carrying.