132
votes
When boarding a full plane, how can I guarantee that I can keep my handheld baggage with me?
"My bag has medication in which I may need during the flight" would normally be sufficient to get the cabin crew to select a different bag. You bag is more important than other people's.
- 3,228
104
votes
Considerations for very fragile and expensive (> $100,000) items in carry-on luggage
Drive. Insurance won't help with something you can't replace and may not have time to repair, and you don't want the stress dealing with the risks of handing over control.
Do yourself a favour and ...
- 53.7k
95
votes
Accepted
Why do airlines not have you put your bag underneath your own seat?
I can think of two reasons. One, sadly, you have disallowed, which is the legroom answer. But what if the answer actually is about legroom? Since I don't have enough room for my knees, I have to ...
- 127k
88
votes
Accepted
Prohibited item forgotten in hand luggage: what to do with it?
It happened to me once in London Heathrow. In my case I didn't have any emotional attachment to the item and it only cost around £3 to replace, so I threw it away, however I discussed with the ...
- 14.2k
78
votes
Accepted
Why can't you take a hoverboard on a plane?
No joke. A hoverboard these days isn't referring to flying skateboards a la Marty McFly in Back to the Future, but what Wikipedia calls self-balancing scooters: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-...
- 98.4k
76
votes
What is the legal status of travelling with (unprescribed) methadone in your carry-on?
It is not legal to bring methadone into Canada without a prescription.
Methadone is a controlled drug in Canada under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (it's in Schedule I, number 5 (4)). It ...
- 37.3k
76
votes
First aid scissors confiscated by Dubai airport security
Individual countries have their own rules, and while some items are unambiguously permitted or forbidden everywhere, quite a few are in a greyish area which varies from country to country (and then ...
- 62.1k
72
votes
Why is there a weight limit for carry-on luggage on some airlines that is enforced even when the plane is almost empty?
At what point should they not enforce it? Half full? Quarter full? Can you imagine the arguments!
And then - when you are packing at home, most passengers don't know how full the plane might or might ...
- 158k
71
votes
On a plane, who has the right to the overhead bin?
You have no right to the bin above your seat. For those exit rows where you cannot put anything beneath the seat in front of you, flight attendants will generally try to help find some space somewhere ...
- 85.6k
68
votes
Accepted
How seriously should I take size and weight limits of hand luggage?
Hand luggage is rarely measured and even less often weighed. It does happen and some airlines are very strict but the majority of airlines only weigh checked luggage.
Before boarding most flights, ...
- 43.2k
67
votes
Avoiding important carry-on luggage being taken away
The main reason for gate checking with delivery at aircraft is simple: It's a small plane and standard carry on sizes don't fit in the overhead. There isn't a whole lot the crew can do about it: if it ...
- 82.9k
66
votes
Can I fly with a gold bar?
It's allowed, I have personally seen a passenger who booked a seat for a bag. I then asked the passenger and he said it was gold. I was an operating flight attendant.
I also do not recall any rules ...
- 95.7k
62
votes
Accepted
Carrying 30 ebook readers in hand luggage
First, 30 to 40 ebook readers still in their boxes is going to take quite some space, and weigh a decent amount.
So the first issue is that it’s likely to exceed your carry-on allowance, either in ...
- 62.1k
50
votes
Considerations for very fragile and expensive (> $100,000) items in carry-on luggage
Source: I had a small hand in a cubesat built in West Virginia and was around during launch integration preparation.
Our contract lead filed paperwork ahead of time with the TSA. (Various forms, I ...
- 601
49
votes
Accepted
Are there any laws that prevent reserving two adjacent seats for one person for a flight with Ryanair?
Outside of an emergency evacuation or similarly dire situation, I cannot think of any reason why a civil authority would ban a person from purchasing multiple seats. After all, it is not uncommon for ...
- 42.8k
49
votes
Accepted
Can I bring a wooden dough rolling stick onto the plane(carry-on)?
I asked https://www.facebook.com/AskTSA and they've told me that it is not allowed in carry-on bags.
(12:44:55 PM) Ask TSA: We're glad you asked! Rolling pins must be
packed in checked bags. Safe ...
47
votes
Accepted
Avoiding important carry-on luggage being taken away
There are multiple possible reasons for cabin luggage to be gate-checked.
The most common is that the aircraft is full and they know they won’t be able to store all hand luggage in the overhead ...
- 62.1k
43
votes
Accepted
What does TSA mean by "pivot point" when talking about shears/scissors in carry-on luggage?
As JonathanReez mentioned in a now-deleted comment, the pivot point is not in your suitcase; it's part of your scissors:
(source: Weebly)
An alternative phrasing could read:
If packed in carry-on,...
- 5,985
43
votes
How do airlines compute weight allowances for carry-on bags?
She said the 7 kg limit applies to the things we put in the bag, not the bag itself.
That's incorrect, the weight of the bag counts towards the 7kg limit. The Emirates webpage on baggage allowances (...
- 49.7k
43
votes
Why is there a weight limit for carry-on luggage on some airlines that is enforced even when the plane is almost empty?
The weight of the luggage affects the fuel consumption, and the airline might very well adapt how much fuel the put on the plane to the number of passengers. If they were to allow all the passengers ...
43
votes
Accepted
What happens if I bring 100+ of the same item in my luggage with the intention of selling?
There are several things which may affect your plan:
First, many retailers (especially if they are the brand’s own store) have limits on how many identical items one can buy, especially when there ...
- 62.1k
42
votes
Prohibited item forgotten in hand luggage: what to do with it?
In the US, according to the TSA you have some options:
When prohibited items come through the checkpoint, passengers are given options:
Take the item to the ticket counter and check it in ...
- 61k
42
votes
Considerations for very fragile and expensive (> $100,000) items in carry-on luggage
Contact a parcel carrier such as UPS, DHL, Fedex, etc. They all have options for delivering high value items which may or may not meet your needs. For instance, DHL offers a separate delivery vehicle ...
- 9,638
41
votes
Accepted
Why do airports, not airlines, determine what can be taken on board?
I think you've misunderstood the situation a bit.
The airline almost certainly allows peanut butter on board along with any other condiment. They have no reason to disallow this unless they have ...
- 32.2k
39
votes
Can I fly with a gold bar?
Anecdotally, you can buy gold at a vending machine in Abu Dhabi airport, in the outgoing terminal. Whilst policies at destinations will vary of course, it's highly unlikely to be widely illegal whilst ...
39
votes
When boarding a full plane, how can I guarantee that I can keep my handheld baggage with me?
If your handheld bag is small enough to go under the seat in front of you, it won't be taken from you. If you want to bring a large roll-a-bord to save checking a bag, you can do that, but keep the ...
- 78.6k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible