Hi

We will be flying to Perth via Dubai from Gatwick on Friday using Emirates. Should the laptop go into the hold, with the battery in carry on luggage or should it go with us? I know it may seen a stupid question but we a juggling with the weight and size restriction. If it goes into the hold is it 'safe' (temperature, pressure etc..) It will be in with a load of clothes .

Thanks

Mart

I once did put my laptop in the hold...but it was very much against my better judgment (although it survived fine). It's not so much what might happen during the flight but the way the baggage gets treated between check in and the aircraft, with it often being thrown around a lot and damaged.

It will be in it's case, which is inside a fairly sturdy luggage case, surrounded by clothes and stuff. What I am worried as well though is the battery, is it a good idea to have that seperate and have that in hand luggage, and if so what would security say if I have a battery, but no laptop? Or is the battery safe to put into the hold (not in the laptop though). Its just that what with all the news stories of fires caused by lithium ion batteries I just dont know what to do for the best.

Under the Montreal convention, you are actually not allowed to check items like laptops into the hold. Unfortunately, most people don't realise this until the laptop goes missing and their claim is denied.

I would strongly advise you to check if your airline is governed by the Montreal convention or the Warsaw convention and if you would be covered.

Also there is changing legislation regarding lithium batteries that you may want to check out.

Thats exactly what I was worried about. Can you point me in the right direction please regarding this new legislation?

Mart

Until such a point as your drive is not a hard disk, you carry your laptop on. Even if you have a rare and expensive solid-state drive, you'd need to isolate the thing against shock. I have gotten a laptop to work after its hinge busted in transportf, but it required 8 hours of surgery in a well equipped laboratory.

Don't even think about putting your laptop in your hold baggage. It's far too fragile, and there is a high likelyhood it will be stolen.

I wouldn't be concerned about the Lithium battery restrictions, they're not going to affect the cased battery pack in your laptop.

Take it as carry on. Keep the battery in it. Lock your checked in luggage, don't put anything valuable in it. Make sure you can survive a few days without your checked in luggage in case it gets lost in Dubai.

WHEN it gots lost in Dubai !!!!

There is always an element of risk in Dubai luggage transfers. I have had a BKK-DXB-BHX suitcase go via Entebbe and arrive four days after I did. With most of the Emirates flights parked off stand and if your transit time is less than 2 hours the risk of your luggage not being on the same flight increases.

Last time I did BKK-DXB-BHX the captain delayed departure from DBX for over one hour - waiting for luggage to be loaded. I was happy to see my own suitcase being one of the last to be loaded - thanks for waiting Captain!!

Long experience has taught me not to keep ANYTHING valuable in the checked in luggage - and a change of clothes in the hand baggage.

Thank you to all of you for your input on this. Will have laptop as carry on luggage now.
Now worried about my clothes going missing

I want to buy one carry on luggage bag for me to carry along with me on a one week tour.I want such a bag who has two front pockets, telescoping handle and also must have a overhead bin.

For heavens sake !!

How do you think laptops get exported from China other than in the hold of various aircraft ?

If you can't be bothered to pack it properly, then it is fragile, but that's your fault and not that of the laptop.

Hello Sittoss1930. Your question is valid but not really in this dicussion thread.

If you want to start a discussion about suitable hand luggage, please search the forum first. Also, do check the website of the airline you intend to use - they all list the maximum size of hand luggage that they permit.

Fitting them into the overhead bin is not the problem - if you buy a case that fits the maximum size allowed - then it will fit in the bin.

You are welcome to ask more questions and start a new thread if you want.

I've known bottles of wine and brandy make the trip long haul in a suitacse. However, the reason I keep my lappie with me is that it's more expensive and time consuming to replace it and restore backed up data.

If a suitcase does not arrive anything in it can be bought with a credit card and claimed on insurance. If the bottle of brandy breaks - it's only clothes. My laptop is far more precious than clothes!

I recall on one short haul trip finding my window seat directly over the loading conveyor belt. So I could watch the baggage handlers take the bags off the trucks and out them on the belt. Correction THROW them on the belt. DUMP them on the belt. Why they mistreat your luggage where they can be seen - I do not know. But they get away with it.

I still have, though I travel rarely these days A Travelpro wheel and telescoping handle carry on was my choice. Not even sure it meets modern restrictions. None the less it had a padded front facing compartment for a 15'' laptop and space for several days of clothing. You pay for what you get, they are tough. My larger suitcases took plenty of abuse and I had a few small tares when I was traveling constantly, Travelpro had replaced 2 of them easily from their retail approved stores.

Never put anything in your check in bags that you can't afford to lose.

The last time I bought one, it arrived securely padded in a box approximately 10 times the size of the laptop inside. Good luck checking that in on your next flight.

I think you'll find that was the final shipment from your local reseller (or their local distributor) to your door, infact I can pretty much guarantee you that's what you experienced.

The laptop boxes themselves (no outer packaging, just the basic manufacturer's boxes) are just tied together on pallets for the main bulk shipment !

And no, they are not always sent on container ships (too slow), many manufacturers use UPS and other air freight companies for many of their shipments !

For example, order a custom laptop from the Apple website and that'll be sent to you from China by UPS with no outer packaging to speak of other than a basic unpadded cardboard box to obscure the contents. You can track it all the way, it doesn't get a sniff of a container ship ! Its not just custom Apple stuff either, Apple ship the bulk of their general stock by UPS, especially around launch time for new products. Its not only Apple either, many of the technology manufacturers operate just-in-time manufacturing .... technology changes too quickly and is too expensive to stock in bulk numbers because there are so many competing manufacturers. That's why they tend to do deals with the air freight companies instead.

I bet you've never seen a pallet of laptops in your life !

I'm afraid you're destined to loose this argument. You don't need excessive amounts of packaging to protect a laptop in the hold, just common sense.

I fully agree with the security argument on taking laptops with you .... but the fragile argument ... that's just plain stupid.

Oh-oh, there's a fight brewing between two of PPRuNe's resident experts!