Topic: Weight of carry-on-luggage on flight Germany-USA (Read 15135 times)

Bernd B. · « **on:** October 27, 2013, 08:28:13 am »

Hi,
I just try to get a job for two shooting days in the USA. Beeing full time photographer for 26 years I am just interested in getting the experience. Last year the client hired a photographer in the US but the pictures looked completely different from mine, so I offered him to fly there economy class and not to charge travel time.
Carry-on-luggage for economy class is limited to 8 kg. So I wonder what sense it makes to offer a product like think tank airport international which has a weight of 4 to 5 kg without any equipment in it.
I read through some forum and found experiences of photographers having their airport international bag loaded up to 15 kg and passing the check in, because the size is within the limits and the company does not want to be responsible for the expensive equipment when it will travel as checked luggage.
To me it seems a bit risky to plan a job with the possibility of beeing rejected at the airport.
Anyone doing flights US-Germany regularly?
Thanks,
Bernd

SecondFocus · « **Reply #1 on:** October 27, 2013, 06:45:06 pm »

I recently flew back from Budapest to the US. My carry-on bags were a Think Tank 4-Sight rolling bag and a UD-50 shoulder bag. Both were packed very solid with gear both going and coming to Budapest. Neither was weighed at any of the airports. But I am sure there are people here who have more experience.

I might suggest that you send an e-mail to Think Tank support. I know they are very familiar with travel issues and such and probably can help you with good information.

Justinr · « **Reply #2 on:** October 27, 2013, 07:42:27 pm »

What sort of camera(s) are you thinking of carrying? As I understand it most airlines allow one bag for the overhead locker and one that will fit under the seat in front, eg a laptop case or similar, works for me anyway. I'm puzzled as to how anyone can get 15kg of camera equipment into a locker sized bag? That's about ten average dSLR's with kit lenses!

alatreille · « **Reply #3 on:** October 27, 2013, 11:29:45 pm »

Hi Bernard,

I don't have the Think Tank bag, you're describing, but something similar (A Samsonite carry on with an insert).
I've traveled with it around North America and between Canada and Australia regularly. It hasn't been weighed yet on an international flight - but it is well over 10kgs.

Hope that helps.

Andrew

jjj · « **Reply #4 on:** October 28, 2013, 06:57:35 am »

I choose airlines that don't have a lame carry on weight limit then go from there. BA tend to be very good for that,but the easiest way to find out things like this and other useful info is to go to Seat Guru. Here's the page for BA's luggage for example, which has a size but not a weight limit for carry-on. Virgin Atlantic a big rival of theirs was a paltry 6 or7 kgs.
Other things to be careful of are flights with connections as it may be a different airline for part of journey and with different rules. But if entire ticket is booked via BA for example then BA's rules should apply - but do check first.
Other ways of getting under restrictive weight limits are if you can carry laptop/cables as a separate bag. Some flights allow a second bag like handbag/laptop others do not. Also avoid going via the UK if you can to avoid having to deal with the jobsworthies at the airports here.
[For non-Brits, a jobsworthy is someone who insists you place your camera bag in the hold because it's 50g over the 12kg weight limit and justify this by saying 'it's more than my job's worth to do otherwise']

Ellis Vener · « **Reply #5 on:** October 28, 2013, 11:08:01 am »

Have you considered renting in the USA, at least your lighting and grip gear? Check lensrrentals.com to see if they have what you need.
I regularly use a Thinktank Photo International v2.0 bags on international flights. I've never had it weighed even when fully loaded. fully loaded

jjj · « **Reply #6 on:** October 28, 2013, 04:26:40 pm »

Quote from: Justinr on October 27, 2013, 07:42:27 pm

What sort of camera(s) are you thinking of carrying? As I understand it most airlines allow one bag for the overhead locker and one that will fit under the seat in front, eg a laptop case or similar, works for me anyway. I'm puzzled as to how anyone can get 15kg of camera equipment into a locker sized bag? That's about ten average dSLR's with kit lenses!

No problem. I can easily get my Lowe Pro Fastpack 350 [which is my small backpack] up to 15kg. It does however get hand examined at every security checkpoint as it's do completely crammed with metal, glass, cables, electronics and batteries. The bag which is quite lightweight is still 1.85kg and my 17" MBP is 3 KG, so that's nearly 5kg and no cameras yet. Cables and batteries are a considerable weight too and I don't have light [plastic] kit lenses which weigh about as much as 4AA batteries of which I have about 40. All my glass is f2.8 or faster, so heavy!
A full m4/3 kit and a MB Air so I can travel light if want to, would be nice for some kinds of work.

ErikKaffehr · « **Reply #7 on:** October 28, 2013, 04:36:53 pm »

Hi,

Different carriers have different weight limits, I try to fly with a carrier with good luggage allowance. Last time I flew with United and they had 14 kg (or possibly no limit). I use a light bag (Gura Gear Kiboko) that can be packed very thin. I can get my equipment under 10 kg. Sony Alpha 24-70/2.8 and 24-70/2.8,
Hasselblad 555ELD and P45+ go in the Kiboko. Other lenses go in checked luggage, in a B&W Outdoor case (inside a canvas bag).

I usually have a Domke photo west, MacBook 13" goes into one of the inside pockets, iPad in one of the others.

Best regards
Erik

Quote from: Bernd B. on October 27, 2013, 08:28:13 am

Hi,
I just try to get a job for two shooting days in the USA. Beeing full time photographer for 26 years I am just interested in getting the experience. Last year the client hired a photographer in the US but the pictures looked completely different from mine, so I offered him to fly there economy class and not to charge travel time.
Carry-on-luggage for economy class is limited to 8 kg. So I wonder what sense it makes to offer a product like think tank airport international which has a weight of 4 to 5 kg without any equipment in it.
I read through some forum and found experiences of photographers having their airport international bag loaded up to 15 kg and passing the check in, because the size is within the limits and the company does not want to be responsible for the expensive equipment when it will travel as checked luggage.
To me it seems a bit risky to plan a job with the possibility of beeing rejected at the airport.
Anyone doing flights US-Germany regularly?
Thanks,
Bernd

Bernd B. · « **Reply #8 on:** October 29, 2013, 04:43:19 am »

First of all: thank you, guys, for all your helpful hints! I´ll work myself through this during the next days.

Seems I´m off for the job because the visa procedure for the US takes too long for my client. And I cant´t apply for one in advance at my own financial risk, because for the visa form and the visa interview at the embassy I need to say the exact date when I will do the trip, the hotels I booked and the names and addresses of the people I will get in contact with. I told my client yesterday I have to calculate three to for weeks for it. He said this might be the reason why they will decide to take local photographers.

Bernd

Justinr · « **Reply #9 on:** October 29, 2013, 06:30:16 am »

Quote from: Bernd B. on October 29, 2013, 04:43:19 am

First of all: thank you, guys, for all your helpful hints! I´ll work myself through this during the next days.

Seems I´m off for the job because the visa procedure for the US takes too long for my client. And I cant´t apply for one in advance at my own financial risk, because for the visa form and the visa interview at the embassy I need to say the exact date when I will do the trip, the hotels I booked and the names and addresses of the people I will get in contact with. I told my client yesterday I have to calculate three to for weeks for it. He said this might be the reason why they will decide to take local photographers.

Bernd

Any resemblance perceived between the above procedures and those of the former communist bloc countries who were the greatest threat to freedom since well, whoever is the present greatest threat, is of course pure unpatriotic negativity and such misguided individuals obviously require educating in the ways of true liberty and democracy.

Sorry, just had to say that!

Justinr · « **Reply #10 on:** October 29, 2013, 06:36:54 am »

Quote from: jjj on October 28, 2013, 04:26:40 pm

No problem. I can easily get my Lowe Pro Fastpack 350 [which is my small backpack] up to 15kg. It does however get hand examined at every security checkpoint as it's do completely crammed with metal, glass, cables, electronics and batteries. The bag which is quite lightweight is still 1.85kg and my 17" MBP is 3 KG, so that's nearly 5kg and no cameras yet. Cables and batteries are a considerable weight too and I don't have light [plastic] kit lenses which weigh about as much as 4AA batteries of which I have about 40. All my glass is f2.8 or faster, so heavy!
A full m4/3 kit and a MB Air so I can travel light if want to, would be nice for some kinds of work.

Anyway, how many cameras and lenses? 15kg is 60% the weight of a sack of spuds, weigh it next time and come back to us.

Edit. Just weighed my Mamiya AFD with 3 lenses, 3 spare batteries, Metz flash and lead, 3 usb cables and with 40 spare AA's, a 3kg laptop and a 2kg bag it still weighs less than 11kg. and even if I managed to squeeze a reasonable back up dSLR and zoom lens in there I would still be no more than 12kg.

jjj · « **Reply #11 on:** October 30, 2013, 11:57:04 am »

I'll weigh it next time I have access to some accurate scales that also read that high, my luggage scales have died.

Go Go · « **Reply #12 on:** November 07, 2013, 11:20:26 am »

FedEx your gear and forget the carry on.

Bon Voyage!

slackercruster · « **Reply #13 on:** November 15, 2013, 05:45:01 pm »

BB, I'd make sure you have a bag to pull out any gear to carry on if the force you to gate check the bag. I've had my luggage bounced 4 or 5 times with carry on problems at the gate. And my bag was within the weight limits.

steveclv · « **Reply #14 on:** November 23, 2013, 10:23:17 am »

I just flew Virgin Atlantic from LAS to LGW and they now have a 10Kg limit on cabin baggage however neither mine nor my wife's was weighed - as long as it's a standard carry-on size you should be OK. We also flew economy in the bubble and the crew simply put them in the wardrobe for us.

The ones to be wary of are the cheap internal flights such as Easyjet and Ryanair in the UK/Europe - they use baggage excess charges as a revenue generator.

jjj · « **Reply #15 on:** November 23, 2013, 03:55:06 pm »

Easyjet are actually quite good as last time I checked it was a size and not a weight limit, just like BA. And if you could lift bag into lockers that was fine.
They used to be very good for bikes too as for a long time they travelled free. Sadly no more.
RyanAir is run by a complete (*^£ who will charge for everything and mock his customers too - cheaper to fly BA a lot of the time once everything's been added on.

Justinr · « **Reply #16 on:** November 24, 2013, 05:57:22 am »

Quote from: jjj on November 23, 2013, 03:55:06 pm

Easyjet are actually quite good as last time I checked it was a size and not a weight limit, just like BA. And if you could lift bag into lockers that was fine.
They used to be very good for bikes too as for a long time they travelled free. Sadly no more.
RyanAir is run by a complete (*^£ who will charge for everything and mock his customers too - cheaper to fly BA a lot of the time once everything's been added on.

O'Leary works on the principle that there is no such thing as bad publicity, which also often has the advantage of being free. Unfortunately he has yet to be proven wrong. He's not averse to using good old fashioned sex to sell the airline either -

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/17/ryanair-2013-calendar-photos_n_1973536.html

Aer Lingus would be my preference, but then I live in their home patch.

Rob C · « **Reply #17 on:** November 24, 2013, 02:03:31 pm »

Quote from: Justinr on November 24, 2013, 05:57:22 am

O'Leary works on the principle that there is no such thing as bad publicity, which also often has the advantage of being free. Unfortunately he has yet to be proven wrong. He's not averse to using good old fashioned sex to sell the airline either -

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/17/ryanair-2013-calendar-photos_n_1973536.html

Aer Lingus would be my preference, but then I live in their home patch.

Had to look; guess several people learned that it isn't as easy as it looks.

I lost a very good client to the same ethic: use 'local' models instead of the many previous London ones we'd used. I fought my corner - possibly too hard - and the results were exactly as I'd feared. Fortunately, part of the job had already been booked before the change in plan, and at least I got a couple of nice images for the website that came years later.

One of the remarks I picked up was: you'll have to earn your money this time! Thing nobody wanted to accept: it takes a good team to produce a fine team result. Why? Because, frankly, I don't believe that all that many clients genuinely credit photographers with much sense; rather, I think they see us as external problems, not quite part of their company ethic, just awkward persons they sometimes have to use - for better or for worse...

Rob C

jjj · « **Reply #18 on:** November 25, 2013, 06:44:11 am »

Quote from: Justinr on November 24, 2013, 05:57:22 am

O'Leary works on the principle that there is no such thing as bad publicity, which also often has the advantage of being free. Unfortunately he has yet to be proven wrong.

Well, I won't fly with him and most people I know think he's a dick and avoid his crappy flights. So he could be making a lot more money is he wasn't such a knob.

Justinr · « **Reply #19 on:** November 25, 2013, 06:58:36 am »

Quote from: jjj on November 25, 2013, 06:44:11 am

Well, I won't fly with him and most people I know think he's a dick and avoid his crappy flights. So he could be making a lot more money is he wasn't such a knob.

Nor will I, but plenty do, and I have seen him stoutly defended on Irish based websites. Mind you, the chickens could be coming home to roost - http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/easyjet-pulls-away-from-ryanair-as-profits-and-dividends-advance-29768107.html

Author Topic: Weight of carry-on-luggage on flight Germany-USA (Read 15135 times)