What do you do with your luggage when flying?

[Dogdaycommeth]

Inspired by another thread...and as its holiday season...

Are you a cabin bags only or prefer everything in hold luggage? Does it change depending on why your flying? (Im hoping the poll posts by the way)

Me personally I am a hold luggage person irrespective of why im flying. I cant stand trying to get through a busy airport with a cabin bag plus a handbag. I travel a lot for work and colleagues get irritated as I always put luggage in the hold.

Or do you take no luggage and wear everything possible at once?

Also the number of times ive used the word luggage in the above has just highlighted to me what a odd word it is.

As no longer have DCs to worry about, DH and I are usually cabin only (usually fly BC so plenty of room).

If I'm visiting family in US, Canada or Australia I have to take so much crap* then I need a hold bag - even although I'm travelling solo!

*Irn Bru, tattie scones, kola kubes, midget gems, Tunnocks teacakes. No I'm not risking being caught with haggis and black pudding, much as I love my family.

I've had hold luggage go missing several times. Usually arrives within a couple of days but once on a Canadian trip it took 3 months to get back.

Whether I am flying solo or with family, I always use hold luggage. I often bring a small carry on so I have important documents, car keys, purse and medication etc at hand, but sometimes just use my handbag.

It depends. If I'm just going to a European city for a few days then, cabin. If it's two weeks in a sunshine resort then hold luggage plus a bag with my essentials and snacks. I'm a line traveller these days, if that makes a difference.

Outside work we only tend to fly for trips that are two weeks or more in duration. Cabin baggage alone isn’t really an option because we tend to lean towards activity holidays rather than lounging around a pool and invariably we need to take equipment with us.

Plus, I like to have a choice of shoes and dresses for more formal things we might attend while away.

I only take what I will need during the flight into the cabin.

What a bizarre comment. I can easily "afford" to put luggage in the hold. But for most trips I just prefer to have a small, compact bag that I can move around easily and keep with me. I usually do trips where I move accommodation regularly so much prefer a small bag.

To be honest, as the size of free cabin bags has shrunk, I usually pay for the larger (used to be standard sized) cabin bag that goes in the overhead locker. I would happily pay more for that than a hold bag, so it's not a matter of money.

I can do short holidays to warm climes with nothing special planned with underseat only, but it is certainly limiting on other trips.

Hold bag, usually one between two on the “pay for luggage” airlines then just the free under the seat bag

But I did persuade easyJet to let my motorcycle helmet on as my “free” luggage with my other bits inside it (my actual luggage was on the bike already along with dh, I had a meeting but was flying to meet him, they did a slight double take and my jacket and protective trousers I was wearing but luckily not a full and domestic flight.

Depends on the length of the holiday but personally I prefer to put my luggage in the hold and just take a small carry on. I like to have clothing options when I travel, not be stressing over how to make a capsule wardrobe out of 2 tops, a swimsuit, one pair of sandals and a sarong! I don’t have carry on only unless I’m going away for like three days or less.

I travel solo using home exchange so always make sure there's a washing machine where I'm staying. I'm getting much better at only taking what I know I'll wear/use, buy basic toiletries at my destination, and don't wear make-up.

For me the benefit of taking a cabin bag is that it saves on time and queuing - going and returning.

A week away then hold baggage or if I am visiting family abroad as there is always gifts and bits that they request to be brought over. Weekend away then checked bags only.

If I’m going on a “proper holiday” I need hold luggage, it’s not so bad now but all my lotions and potions just wouldn’t go in that stupid sealy bag 😂

But if it’s a weekend/short break I won’t bother, it all goes in a backpack and I love not having to wait at the other end. I also do feel there’s a special place in hell for people who wheel a cabin bag through the airport and then try and ram it in the overhead locker 😂😂😂 why?!

I've found that the more I travel, the less stuff I think I need. When our children were young and we only went away for two weeks in the summer, I was far more likely to take lots of different outfits to wear on evenings as we would go out every night, but we don't holiday in the same way now. Even so, with a cabin case (not just an underseat bag), I can still fit in lots of changes of clothes if we are going somewhere hot; bikinis, shorts, vests and a few summer dresses don't take up much room and I always use packing cubes to organise my clothes. I just don't take as many pairs of shoes any more!

Because that's what the overhead lockers are for.

Hand luggage. Never ever take a case any more.

When DC were little they had a trunki booster seat that we packed their clothes in.

We did 3 weeks in California with hand luggage. DH and I took turns going to the laundrette every few days.

That said we only fly on BA or similar. No low cost, so we don't have the tiny allowance.

I've been training myself to travel light as the flight to my cold weather climate family is Ryanair only! We did nearly 10 days on cabin cases and underseat bags, including a couple of family events that needed dresses, shirts etc.

Two weeks proper holiday we take a hold case each and I struggle to get them in under the weight limit, I then get stressed about repacking to come home. I'm trying to improve and tell myself I don't need a different dress for dinner each night... I'd really like to be better at travelling light, to much luggage is such a faff.

Unless im flying to my actual wedding it's one small rucksack only no matter what

If you're travelling to family, you could probably wash things while you're there. Might also be worth leaving a couple of jumpers, jeans, spare winter shoes there if they're agreeable, so you don't need to take so much.

I pay an airline the least I possibly can. I fly once a month and put my 10kg case in the hold, as this particular airline started charging for cabin bags a year or so ago.

It's a bloody joke, charging people for their luggage.

You really can't imagine?

Yep, all of this really helps, especially in the winter.

When packing your bag for the overhead locker, imagine that hitting you on the head when opening the locker. l hate having to dodge other peoples' heavy cases/bags when walking down the isle. Whilst putting my rainwear/jacket/coat in the locker I don't want someones' case wheels tearing my clothes or smearing them with dirt either. Consider other people's belongings and safety when taking cabin bags etc.

That stuff isn't supposed to go in the overhead locker on most flights!

For a 3 day trip away/long weekend situation I’ll do a rucksack as my canin bag, anything longer than that and it’s hold luggage and I use a Uniqlo cross body bag as my carry on, I absolutely loathe being weighed down with luggage when travelling through a busy airport so my preference is to be totally hands free.

I always book a package holiday and get at least 20kg each plus hand luggage. I’ve never flown with just hand luggage and don’t intend to, I can’t be bothered with decanting toiletries and rolling everything up to create space. Coming home it’s great, one case of dirty clothes and anything unworn or purchased there in the other one.