Crew Luggage Basics

[Tray Surfer]

I apologise once again for asking, what will, to most, be a bit basic and maybe stupid.

I am used to commercial flying, where I turn up with my Samsonite and check my bag in with my 25kg allowance. I follow all the rules (at LHR anyway) that passengers follow about liquids and electronics at security and have the same hand baggage allowance etc...

I imagine this varies massively between operators and owners in the private world of flying, but, how does baggage work for your guys and girls?

Apologies again for such a basic question.

Regards,

TS
:)

[Dash8driver1312]

An overnight bag for me is just that-a shoulder bag with the change of skivvies, shirt and toiletries for the night. Even on sets of nightstops, 4 shirts + civvie gear for the downtime doesn't come close to 20 kilos (my company's eco check-in limit), but the view on crew is, you take what you need.

[ksjc]

Just about everyone I fly with uses a roll-aboard and a separate computer bag....even the women. Even so, it's my opinion that the people I fly with carry way too much stuff...why do their bags have to be so heavy? We fly the GLEX with a crew of 3 and there is plenty of room for bags but sometimes I am surprised at the amount of stuff these "professional travelers" feel they need to haul around.

I refuse to buy a bag with wheels...it encourages overpacking and is unnecessary if one knows how to pack efficiently.

I enjoy traveling light and simple. No wheels on my bags, just a medium duffle is plenty big...even with the running shoes which are quite bulky. My packing technique is...lay out everything I think I will need then pack half of it. I can get a week's worth of clothes packed this way and can always wash a few items as necessary. In 25 years of this I have rarely missed anything. My style is certainly out of the norm in the biz-av world but it helps to make the constant in/out of planes/cars/vans/hotels a low stress affair.

Remember, you will be packing and unpacking and moving most days so keep it simple.

[mutt]

how does baggage work for your guys and girls? We have company supplied luggage, so for short trips we use small Delsey bags, for longer duration trips or on larger aircraft we use the suitcases, crews are limited to 2 suitcases each :)

On empty sectors especially from the USA, the 2000 lbs cargo department wight limitation becomes a "target" :) Thats the great thing about a forward galley, it balances out our shopping.

Does anyone use "Luggageworks" trolleys?

Mutt

[Tray Surfer]

I agree ksjc, people pack way too much.

I am away on a trip now, and have my hold bag with me. When I checked it in at LHR yesterday, it weighed 7.9kg. It was less than a quarter full. The main reason I still check a bag is because we still have the liquids restrictions in the UK for crew, so things like my shaving gel, which I can only get in large cans, can't be taken with me onboard. If it could, I would take a small bag on the plane with me. At most outstations, including the US, we can bring whatever we want through, it is just departing the UK which requires hold loading of 100ml or more.

I suppose it has been that was ever since I started flying, and I am just so used to it now, I don't know how common it is to be able to take regular toiletries onboard with you if operating on private aircraft, or if the rules still apply within the UK.

And, I am all too familiar with washing stuff when I am away. My last 9 day SIN/SYD was a classic example... :D

[Tray Surfer]

Thanks mutt...

Does anyone use "Luggageworks" trolleys?

I had never heard of them till about 4 minutes ago... Interesting stuff. Just had a quick look, and they look quite nice. I could quite easily pack for a trip in that, although I might struggle at 9 days... :D

I like that you issue your crew with luggage. We don't where I am now, but I wish we did. I see some right sorry excuses for luggage.

I am a TravelPro person, have been since I started flying. That is for cabin bags. Might continue with that when I make the change.

[FrankR]

The Costco brand rollerboards are a great choice. They are inexpensive, and last forever. As for packing, I try for 50% fill outbound, that leaves plenty of space for knicknacks that I buy on the road. Every month or so, I look at each item I have packed both in my computer bag and in my roller, and ask myself if I have ever used it... If the answer is no, I leave it.

FR

[envoy]

I picked up a soft-skinned rolling Samsonite 5 years ago, (international) cabin size. I found cabin size good for keeping the packing to a minimum, and it also makes it easy to accomplish more efficient arrivals when positioning commercially, rolling past the arriving baggage belt with an air of smugness.

Summer season packing is a no-brainer, and over the years I have come up with a winter pack that allows me to survive even the coldest Mongolian winter. I find shoes and boots to be the biggest space killer - but the biggest waste of space is the fitness gear that I pack for each and every trip...

I am a fan of the roller bag because we tend to go places where there are no FBOs, so bag-dragging through terminals and across tarmacs is a regular event. A lighter, smaller bag makes it easy to drop the bag onto a security screening conveyor, or to toss up into the baggage hold.

I also find it helpful to have a roller with a flat top to allow stacking of catering or other crew bags when there simply aren't enough hands.

The downside with my bag setup is that most travelling purchases end up in separate bags as there is no room to spare.

I am lucky to work with like-minded light travellers - so it is easy to help each other out when getting around.

Happy tray surfing!

[Tray Surfer]

So, does the 100ml liquid rule not apply in private ops? Or is it dependant on where you are?

That is the only reason I check a hard shell bag in to the hold (hard shell as BA won't reimburse part expense of a new bag, if they damage our bag, unless it is a hard shell case...)

[Gulfstreamaviator]

This causes great fun, as we put our carry on thru the entire pax screening process, so the pax see us with boxes of food and liquids go thru the 100ml stop point with 1.5L juices, etc etc.
It does cause complications.

Last week the hostess BIG bag could not fit thru the small scanner...so they just wheeled it past.....Lots of funny looks from pax.

Then elsewhere, we loaded 3,000$ of catering, thru the TSA, and they insisted on scanning each cheese cake......

Good game....

[Tray Surfer]

Ha ha... See, this is what confuses me...! :D

Do they ever say no to catering?

[con-pilot]

As for passengers on corporate/private jets packing too much or taking too many bags, the worse case example I ever knew of was, a couple that took so much baggage with them, it could not all fit in the aircraft.

So they bought another jet just to carry the baggage. It would leave, usually, the day before and then return the day after the couple in the other aircraft.



As for me before I retired, I would always have a garment bag with three days of clothes and a small toilet kit that I kept on the aircraft at all times.

On extended trips, with multiple destinations/RONs I carried separate garment bags for each stop. with enough clothes for each day we would be at. That way I did not have to carry just one big piece of luggage every time we RONed somewhere. The only thing I would transfer from bag to bag were shoes, that were in an outside pocket that could easily transfered.

The only exception to the above was on a three month trip around the world. Then I took one large suitcase and made use of whatever hotel I was staying in laundry/dry cleaning services. That was the only way it could work for such a long trip.

[dirk85]

Having 15 days rotations, where most of the time we never see our home base, I am ashamed to admit I have quite a big baggage, and so have my collegues.
More than once the rotations turn out to be closer to 20/25 days in any case… :hmm:
And not having any laundry allowance does not help either.

[INNflight]

How do you guys pack when you do charter hops with the destinations not determined in advance?

Winter jacket and boots for Kazakhstan, bathing outfit and sandals for the Maldives? :\

[Deep and fast]

When I was Moscow based, my worst case weight was 28 kilos! To be fair it was in the middle of winter and we were routing to the Middle East on a 15 day rotation with no washing allowance.

I think it was heavier on the return, but not sure as it was in the hold.

D and F :8

[g450cpt]

We do a 30 day rotation and pack in a 22 inch soft roller. There is an art to packing it but with enough practice one can get their beach gear and their winter clothes in one bag along with a spare uniform. Granted we have laundry included so it makes it easier.

g450cpt

[Mister Warning]

My best trip so far has seen me take a Stand Up Paddle board with paddle, kite board, 2 kites, harness, pump and scuba gear (ex tank). Managed to squeeze it into the A340 with half a dozen pax.... :D
Needless to say it was a great trip, with every piece of kit used.

[Tray Surfer]

Well Mister Warning... You must have really struggled to find space for all that on the A340... Hardly any luggage space on those I am lead to believe... ;)

[Booglebox]

TS, maybe Mister Warning meant Cessna C340 which is a twin piston... and that makes it quite an achievement :}

[Mister Warning]

Lol Boogle!

[grafity]

Ha ha... See, this is what confuses me...!

Do they ever say no to catering?

I've seen one guy who bought a take-away meal made eat it before he went air side at a hanger facility. :ugh:
I was also made put a cup of coffee through the machine at the same place. Unfortunately it didn't spill.

[Mister Warning]

Did it re-heat the coffee? :ugh: