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Author Topic: Iceland air and bags???  (Read 20739 times)

LA30

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Iceland air and bags???
« on: July 03, 2007, 10:17:41 am »

I know that some of you have been to Iceland and some are going.  Iceland air's carry on restrictions are very limiting.  I am worried about the weight restrictions and medium format gear.  I plan on taking H2, digi back, 35mm, 50mm, 80mm, 120mm (canon 5d maybe) and laptop and batteries...This all weighs WAY more than 13 pounds.  I don't really want to check my camera gear....  Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Ken
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Lisa Nikodym

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Iceland air and bags???
« Reply #1 on: July 03, 2007, 11:25:28 am »

I don't have any direct suggestions, but if I were in that situation I would call or email Iceland Air, explain the situation, and ask them what they would suggest doing.  They might conceivably have some special policy that addresses the situation.

Lisa
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davidh4976

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Iceland air and bags???
« Reply #2 on: July 03, 2007, 08:56:21 pm »

My experience on Icelandair: I was using the Think Tank Security bag for attempted carry-on. The Security rolling bag is 14x9x22. It didn't make any difference how much it weighed. The airline ticket counter agent said it was physically too big for carry-on and made me check it. I took out as much as I could and put it into a smaller, spare collapsible carry-on I had, but my Canon 500mm had to be checked. Argh! (It arrived, no problem.)

You might want to try Michael's trick with using a photovest.  you should be able to find his note by searching the forum/site.

David
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LA30

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Iceland air and bags???
« Reply #3 on: July 03, 2007, 10:16:52 pm »

Dear David...

That stinks as 45" is the total allowed size...  The photo vest is cool But I am not sure that I want to wear an H2 and 4 lenses :^)  I might just drive to the airport with my backpack in the next few days and talk to an agent......

I will let you know how it goes.

Thanks!

Ken
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Stephen Starkman

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Iceland air and bags???
« Reply #4 on: July 03, 2007, 11:31:31 pm »

Ken,
Let us know. I'm flying out to Reykjavik via Icelandair July 16 from Halifax and have to rationalize the contents of my kit shortly too.

Stephen
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LA30

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Iceland air and bags???
« Reply #5 on: July 03, 2007, 11:38:40 pm »

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Ken,
Let us know. I'm flying out to Reykjavik via Icelandair July 16 from Halifax and have to rationalize the contents of my kit shortly too.

Stephen
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=126333\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]



I leave Saturday 7th and return 17th pm.  I will let you know what happends when I land so you can pack...

ken
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mauricio

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Iceland air and bags???
« Reply #6 on: July 04, 2007, 10:22:46 am »

I just came back from Iceland and if my experience is their usual way to do things, weight wont be a problem. They didn't check the bag weight. You must use a bag inside their maximum size though...I had no problems since my rolling case is well inside.
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Mauricio Matos
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LA30

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Iceland air and bags???
« Reply #7 on: July 06, 2007, 04:51:20 pm »

Update....kinda..

I drove to Logan (I was in boston and I wanted to flush $3 down the big dig toilet  ) so I ran into Iceland air terminal E.  No one was there yet but Air France was happy to help.  They told me that Iceland Air didn't have one of those metal size checkers for carry on baggage and they they tell passengers to use Air Frances' frame.  So my Tamrac Backpack just fits, we shall see what happends Saturday night.  I am taking an extra bag (over the 2 I get) and an over weight bag as well.  When I get online I will let you all know what happends and the extra $$$.

I bought a $90.00 150lbs scale at office depot to weigh the bags.  This trip alone it will pay for itsself.

By the way I saved $250 on a car rental from these guys...
http://www.kemwel.com/car.cfm#terms  $800 from avis/kayak/amex travel vs $550 from Kemwel



I will let you know how that goes as well.  

ken
« Last Edit: July 06, 2007, 04:51:44 pm by kenscott30 »
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LA30

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Iceland air and bags???
« Reply #8 on: July 08, 2007, 04:02:52 am »

Ok, here comes a bunch of NO HELP..

So I had 3 bags to check..A BIG pelican rolling case that was 73 lbs, a liteware "body" bag (49lbs)and my hard suitcase (45lbs).  They were going to charge me +1 bag and 1 over weight bag....I thought that the over weight bag could BE the extra bag...NOPE.  So best case would be $75 and $110 as I am leaving from BOSTON.  Well the credit card machine was down...So they didn't charge me!  Crazy....Then they didn't even look at my Tamrac BIG backpack....It would fit into the bin if they asked...They never did.  Then I saw a video-photographer fro D.C who had a big pelican case..kinda like a 25" tv on its back...Mine is more of a rectangle with 7 latches...hers is more like a square box...She got on the plane???!!!  WTF!!!!!   Who knows....

My car rental worked!  Great car and super cheap FYI.

Best of luck and we shall see what happens on the way back.

Ken
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Rusty Jackson

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Iceland air and bags???
« Reply #9 on: July 08, 2007, 11:10:59 pm »

Steve Ginn and I just returned on July 5th from Iceland.  I took 150 lbs. of gear (20 lbs clothes and 130 equipment) in three bags (checked) and paid $100 extra from Austin, Texas to Reykjavik for the extra piece.  All were at or under 50 lbs. each.  My carry on bag, a Lowe Pro Computrekker Plus AW, was trimmed down to about 25-30 lbs going and was likely 50 lbs returning.  I shifted all heavy gear (small & dense) to the Computrekker on the way back as I did not have a scale with me to check the three bags I was checking.  I was tapped for 20 kilos "extra" on the return and charged 6000 krona, or just under $100.

No where, at any time, was I checked for the weight of my carry on... and I was wearing a multi pocketed vest just in case I had to "off load" something.

The rest of the experience is online here, we covered about 2500 miles in 2 weeks:

http://www.terra360.com

and on Steve's web site

http://sginn.com/journals/20070621-iceland-trip.html

drop me a note if you have any questions... great place, don't go thru JFK, and take a lot of money (it was nuts).

cheers, Rusty
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RockySharwell

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Iceland air and bags???
« Reply #10 on: July 09, 2007, 07:28:17 am »

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drop me a note if you have any questions... great place, don't go thru JFK, and take a lot of money (it was nuts).

cheers, Rusty
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=127213\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

I really enjoyed the reports from you and Steve.  I have been thinking about Iceland for some bird and scenic photography.  I have heard it was expensive to eat and you confirmed it!
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EgillBjarki

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Iceland air and bags???
« Reply #11 on: July 09, 2007, 08:40:43 am »

Quote
I know that some of you have been to Iceland and some are going.  Iceland air's carry on restrictions are very limiting.  I am worried about the weight restrictions and medium format gear.  I plan on taking H2, digi back, 35mm, 50mm, 80mm, 120mm (canon 5d maybe) and laptop and batteries...This all weighs WAY more than 13 pounds.  I don't really want to check my camera gear....  Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Ken
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=126219\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


Hey Ken,

I am flying to Iceland after one month with Iceland express, theyre specifick for handlug. are 55x25x35cm and 10kg. I am quite certain that Iceland air have simular rules... I bought a lowerpro back bag that fits theyse spesifics. My gear fits fine in theyr, but there is not that mutch space for any extras.

I have my Hasselblad H2 and Phase One P30 back along with HC 35mm and HC 50-110mm, along with extra batteries and chargers.

If my gear is to heavy, Ill just pay the penaulty, not leaving my bag anywhere away from my sight.
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davidh4976

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Iceland air and bags???
« Reply #12 on: July 09, 2007, 02:23:10 pm »

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and I was wearing a multi pocketed vest just in case I had to "off load" something.

With the different experiences that you can have dependig on the airline, airline employee du jour, or random fate, being prepared with an alternate means to off-load your most critical carry-on to a smaller carry-on or vest is the smartest. You might not need to go through that, but one never really knows what to expect regardless of what the airline says "officially".

Rusty/Steve, I really enjoyed your travel logs.  Thanks for sharing them.  They make me want to go back!

David
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davidh4976

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Iceland air and bags???
« Reply #13 on: July 09, 2007, 02:24:39 pm »

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If my gear is to heavy, Ill just pay the penaulty, not leaving my bag anywhere away from my sight.
Paying the extra weight penalty doesn't get the bag on as carry-on.  The penalty applies to overweight checked baggage...
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jecxz

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Iceland air and bags???
« Reply #14 on: July 09, 2007, 04:28:17 pm »

I'm glad I found this thread and I will follow it for everyone's experiences. My H2 kit is quite heavy, two bodies and every lens except for the 100mm. I have read enough nightmare posts about flying with gear and I have been fortunate enough to like driving; but I will have to fly sooner or later. Putting 7 or 8 lenses into my vest pockets would not work for me.

Here is my question: If I use a large well padded Pelican trunk for my H gear and check it when I fly, can or will security open it? This is my biggest worry, someone stealing or breaking stuff (I read one post a while ago where a TSA agent twisted a lens and broken the mechanism just to test if it was a lens). I have found TSA notices in luggage (indicating my bag was opened/searched) before.
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LA30

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Iceland air and bags???
« Reply #15 on: July 10, 2007, 03:10:09 am »

......My H2 kit is quite heavy, two bodies and every lens except for the 100mm......

Every lens!!!!  My gear is kicking my butt.  I need to hike more I guess....  I have in the Lowepro backpack (I  thought it was a tamrac, sorry folks) H2, 35mm, 50mm, 80mm, 120mm, Canon 5dw/grip 24mm 1.4 and 50mm 1.4.  Also are a few filters, batteries and charges and the RRS ultimate pano package...I hate it.  It is nice and all but I still can't figure it out.  Anyway, walking around with the 40+ lb back pack AND my laptop with portable power station Uber battery I have about had enough......I do like the camera but it is heavy...  TSA will open it up sooner or later.  I doubt that they will steal anything.  What are they going to do with such a 'weird' camera.  Now if you had an Apple Cinema and you fly AA in and out of Boston then LOOK out.  Now I am not calling AA thieves...But the Cinema display never showed after a job...

If you look the carry on for Iceland air is something like 13lbs or something crazy.  It is a crap shoot but I would always try to carry on my camera gear.

Cheated the night last night...Feels pretty good.

Nap time!

Ken

[attachment=2790:attachment]
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LA30

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Iceland air and bags???
« Reply #16 on: July 12, 2007, 03:50:03 am »

I am hijacking my own thread a little...I don't shoot all day long...But I do take 500-1000 frames.    Shoot a little slower but camera on a lot.  Most of the settings are energy saver for camera and back.  I shoot with a Hasselblad H2 and P30+  I have never gotten close to finishing the H2 rechargeable battery grip and I have almost run out on the digi back.  I have 2 rechargeable grips and 4 digi back batteries...I didn't really know if I would go into the "woods" without power...I bought it all new and currently in the US the phase P30+ comes with changeable tops so I could fit the round plug to the chargers for the H2 grip as well as the P30 batteries.  So I didn't need adapters, I just swapped out the tops from US flat blade to euro round plugs.  I have only been using a round plug adapter on my portable power station (battery geek $300 usd) for my laptop and 1 on my laptop.  I charge my ipod via the USB cable on the Mac and I use bus powered back up hard drives.  I guess I need two but brought 4 incase I loose one..

This place is very cheap.  Make sure your chargers are 120/220!

http://www.voltageconverters.com/plug_adapters.html

Pay-phones don't exist here....I bet that there 10 in the whole country...I bought a phone card here and use it some times...I typically ask a store owner where a pay phone is and the laugh at me and then hand me their store phone....YMMV.  Traveling light is best.  It is best to bring a small backpack and a big camera bag to leave in the car full of extra, extra batteries, chargers and stuff you need but don't NEED.  Very safe country.  Hostels seem to be very safe, not homeless hangouts, I have found.  You are still talking $35-40/night to share a room with 3 others.  Everyone has been very friendly with very good english, at least in and around REK.  They didn't take my canned air out of my checked baggage.  I use a large rocket blaster on my CCD back.  I checked lens cleaner and digi back cleaning in my travel toiletry bag.  Bring ear plugs and a mask for sleeping.  Home depot sells super soft orange ones in a bog of like 10-20 for a few dollars.  I put 3 in a CF card case, the ones that you throw out when you get the cards....3 incase I loose one. :^)  I would've paid $30 for a set when I got here.  Learn how to drive a stick before you come here.  A sandwich is like $22 usd at a cafe.  I eat at 11-01 supermarket or Bonus supermarket a lot.  The tap water in REK smells of sulfur.  I drink bottled water, some of the worst I have tasted compared to western mass, or Vt.  Bottled water isn't very popular, i.e. hard to find...Locals drink a lot of soda and flavored water.  Out of all the super markets and gas stations I have been to I have only seen a 1 liter bottle of water 1 time.  Most of the time they are 1/2 liter bottle but the soda are all 2 liters.  

Ken Scott
www.kenscottphoto.com
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LA30

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Iceland air and bags???
« Reply #17 on: July 18, 2007, 12:52:47 pm »

Trip was good.  I had to pay $80+- on the way back from REK to boston for a heavy bag.  They never weighed my backpack +40 pounds...or my laptop bag.  They took the total weight for the 2 bags not 50 each like boston...So I could have had a 10 pound and at 90 pound it seemed...Again, YMMV.  I will post some images when I get around to it.  Wonderful country, please be respectful and kind to the people and landscape.


Ken
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mauricio

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Iceland air and bags???
« Reply #18 on: July 28, 2007, 07:42:16 am »

If some of you want to take a look at my photos from last month, please check them here:

http://mauricio.smugmug.com
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Mauricio Matos
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Eric Myrvaagnes

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Iceland air and bags???
« Reply #19 on: July 28, 2007, 10:11:22 am »

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If some of you want to take a look at my photos from last month, please check them here:

http://mauricio.smugmug.com
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=130239\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
That's a very nice portfolio, Mauricio. I recognize a number of places from my one trip to Iceland in 1974 (sigh!). I do hope to get back some day.
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-Eric Myrvaagnes (visit my website: http://myrvaagnes.com)
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