Carrying gear on a plane

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Matt.

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I'm off on my 3rd US road trip later this year and am beginning to think about kit. I have quite a few flights as i'm actually flying from Dublin (so i can fly business class for cheap). However, i need to actually get to Dublin first... The only flights i can make with my very tight timescales seem to be RyanAir. Now i don't have a huge issue with this as it's only a one hour flight. However, it presents a problem with carry on luggage and carry on. I'm going to the US for a month, so will have a standard size case to put in the hold, but i need to carry all camera and computer gear as carry on. Normally i just use a standard backpack, which i then use when i arrive for day hikes. However, i wonder whether i'm better off getting a cabin case to carry stuff in. I can take more then...

The main problem seems to be the size and weight restriction with RyanAir, and how it appears to be in no way flexible (at least with size).

I was thinking of getting a Peli 1510, but it's slightly too large, and i can foresee problems.

Can anyone suggest what to use? I only use hard sided luggage, so soft bags aren't really an option.
 
Some airlines, Cathay Pacific for example, only allow 7kg for carry on luggage. Just managed to stay under that last year. The Peli 1510 is 6kg on it's own, so you could get pinged on weight in addition to size. Ryanair are renowned for being inflexible and charging their customers for any minor deviation from their 'rules'.

So, depends a lot on what you're planning to take with you I guess.

Edit - just seen that Ryanair allow 10kg
 
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Paying for it isn't a problem. Not being able to take something is.

The limit is 10kg on RyanAir. But i don't actually know if they check the weight, or just the size.

BA are good as they have a weight limit of 23kg for carry on... and i can take 3x 32kg bags for the hold.
 
Kit wise i need to take:
1. 5dmk2
2. 17-40
3. 85 1.8
4. 50 1.8
5. 70-200 4
6. macbook
7. ipad
8. Maybe a second body if i buy another
9. Maybe a 100-400

So not actually that much.
 
Quick answer ryanair are strict they want to take your money so weigh the gear and measure your bag.
 
Not really any help but, you mentioned one word.... Ryanair! A company that was thinking of charging for in-flight toilet use! I will never travel with them.... even if it leaves me to have to walk
 
Have flown with Ryan Air once (and will try best to never again), had camera kit, they check size, had a cage it had to fit in, and then weigh the bag, if over they say they will stick in hold and charge.
 
Even if you comply with the cabin luggage size and weight with Ryanair there is no guarantee that it won't end up in the hold.
 
Gaz J said:
Even if you comply with the cabin luggage size and weight with Ryanair there is no guarantee that it won't end up in the hold.
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Their website says they only take the first 90 overhead bags in the cabin..
 
RyanAir are not a problem if you pay for priority boarding, that usually guarantees your bag in the cabin. The trick with heavy bags, is not to make them look heavy at check-in, then you'll be fine, flown with RyanAir loads of times, and never had an issue. There are always multiple sides to a story!!!
 
GeeJay57 said:
Their website says they only take the first 90 overhead bags in the cabin..
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If you're a 'business plus' person then they will always take your cabin bag apparently.

If i fly RyanAir then i can go from Birmingham and save having to go another hour to Heathrow, and also can save having to wait around for ~3hrs in an Airport between flights. There are lots of benefits, but i have lots of concerns... I wouldn't even care if they wanted extra money so i could have a larger carry on, but amazingly that doesn't seem to be an option!

Annoyingly the Peli 1510 is approx 3cm too big for RyanAir...!
 
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Simple solution, when I fly I put on a photographers vest, gear distributed evenly around the body it's easy to carry, plus plenty of pockets for passport, boarding pass etc. works for me. Flown many airlines world wide and never had an issue.
 
Blank_Canvas said:
Simple solution, when I fly I put on a photographers vest, gear distributed evenly around the body it's easy to carry, plus plenty of pockets for passport, boarding pass etc. works for me. Flown many airlines world wide and never had an issue.
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Exactly what I do, though I recently managed 11 flights to, within and from Japan and China with overweight carry-ons without having to resort to the jacket as there were no checks on six different airlines!
 
Matt. said:
If you're a 'business plus' person then they will always take your cabin bag apparently.

If i fly RyanAir then i can go from Birmingham and save having to go another hour to Heathrow, and also can save having to wait around for ~3hrs in an Airport between flights. There are lots of benefits, but i have lots of concerns... I wouldn't even care if they wanted extra money so i could have a larger carry on, but amazingly that doesn't seem to be an option!

Annoyingly the Peli 1510 is approx 3cm too big for RyanAir...!
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3cm? We fell foul (our own fault) of Flybe's sizing by the radius of the carry-ons' wheels. £340(!!!) to put them in the hold, or throw them away, wear some of the contents, and carry the rest on in bin liners. We took the second option and I boarded looking like a Michelin Man who was sleeping rough.

Take the Heathrow option. If you try it on with Ryanair and it goes wrong the downside isn't too good compared with a longer overall journey time.
 
I've always got oversized through on Ryanair. Normally have some V-lock powered kit which can't go in the hold but it's always an argument.
 
I was going to suggest f-stops bags and their ICUs but I've noticed you want a hard case. The good thing about f-stop bags is if they don't take the bag as cabin luggage, all you have to do is remove the ICU from inside the bag and fold the bag flat inside your hold luggage. I can't wait to do this at check in if needed with them thinking they have made a bit extra! The ICUs are the perfect carry on size plus you can use any clip on shoulder strap to help carry it too. The ICUs are padded but not the same as hard case padded.

The photographers vest idea is quite good to get through over weight issues. There was one going cheap in the classifieds if you have access.
 
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GeeJay57 said:
This looks to only be 1mm oversize....
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Peli-Stor...818?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item51c921f8fa
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Trouble is, that case weighs 6.2kg empty.
Matt. said:
The limit is 10kg on RyanAir.
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So that leaves just 3.8kg allowance for the kit inside the case.
Matt. said:
Kit wise i need to take:
1. 5dmk2
2. 17-40
3. 85 1.8
4. 50 1.8
5. 70-200 4
6. macbook
7. ipad
8. Maybe a second body if i buy another
9. Maybe a 100-400
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5D Mk II ... 810g not including battery, body cap, strap.
17-40 ... 500g not including hood, caps
85/1.8 ... 425g not including hood, caps
50/1.8 ... about 130-160g not including hood, caps
70-200/4 ... 760g not including hood, caps
Macbook ... at least 920g, maybe more depending on model
iPad ... at least 430g, maybe more depending on model

That's already 3.975kg at least, not including any caps, hoods, cables, batteries, chargers ... so there's really no point in even thinking about the second body or the 100-400. Which is a shame really, since there would e plenty of room in the case.
 
Hi Stewart, the Peli 1510 is also about 6kg empty, but is 3cm too deep and 1cm too long for Ryanair... The Peli-storm iM2500 is only 1mm too long, so probably not noticeably too big. However as you say the empty case uses up the lion's share of the carry on weight allowance. It may be possible to pay Ryanair for the extra weight, but they may not allow a larger case in the cabin. Either could safely go in the hold, but might easily evaporate somewhere between check-in and reclaim.

Could put the three smaller lenses in jacket pockets for check-in, then put them in the case before going through security... I did this last year when struggling to get my carry-on below 7kg.

EDIT - My mistake. The Peli-storm case is 226mm deep, Ryanair max is 200mm. So a non-starter. Sorry.
 
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Got to just chip in about Ryanair. I have used them very regularly to get to and from my place in Spain. I've never had an issue with them. Their terms and conditions are clearly laid out and in the last year they have relaxed some of their conditions to the benefit of their passengers, for example you can now make one alteration to a booking within 24 hours at no cost. Those who quote the usual Daily Mail rubbish like paying for the onboard toilet or standing for the flight to get more passengers won't have their mind changed I suppose. However there is THAT first 90 bag rule so to guarantee your camera gear goes in the cabin you need to go for priority boarding. Just as an aside, my daughter and a friend travelled to Australia the week before last with Etihad. They booked their flights months ago yet on arrival at Manchester airport they were allocated separate seats on different rows. Despite their protests the ground staff couldn't assist. When they boarded their aircraft it was only about 70% full. What was that all about? They too only offer 7kg hand luggage allowance by the way.
 
I've flown with Ryanair loads of times and never once had a cabin bag weighed or checked.
I've always complied with the size of bag, but every time I've taken a flight I've seen loads of folks with bigger bags than mine getting them on no problem .
Also, Michael oleary manipulates the press and gets loads of daft stories such a standing room and paying for toilets etc printed which generates loads of free publicity for Ryanair, and he believes that's a good thing.
 
cosmix3 said:
Have flown with Ryan Air once (and will try best to never again), had camera kit, they check size, had a cage it had to fit in, and then weigh the bag, if over they say they will stick in hold and charge.
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Can't you read? Their terms and conditions are freely available to anyone who cares to read them.
 
I wonder what they would do if there were spare batteries in a bag that they wanted to shove in the hold? The "No LiIon batteries in the hold" rule is a CAA one IIRC so is law rather than a rule. I wouldn't want to put it to the test, since the easiest thing for them to do would be to refuse to accept the bag in either place...
 
Bobsyeruncle said:
Care to elaborate?
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Made us pay a return flight back to UK even though we had return tickets. Because you have to get your boarding pass printed, but you cant do it before you fly as it has to be a few days before not a week.
So I guess you need to find a place to do this when on holiday. Which we knew nothing about so they scammed us for flights back to UK.
They are total SCUM. Would not fly with them scum sucking pigs if they were the last flight company on the planet
 
On line check in can be done between 7 days and two hours before your flight. Or if you wish to reserve a specific seat, between 30 days and two hours.
 
Extract from their conditions...
6.3 If you fail to present a valid Boarding Pass (paper or mobile) at airport security or at the boarding gate and there is sufficient time to re-issue you with an alternative form of Boarding Pass, you will be charged a Boarding Pass re-issue fee at the rate set out in our Consolidated Table of Fees. All passengers departing from Moroccan airports must present their paper Boarding Pass at the local airport check-in facility.
Fee is €15 per passenger.
Not difficult to read the conditions before spending your money, not sure how your failure to read their comditions is their fault?
 
My last (ever) fiasco with Ryanscare was at Knock airport.... we bought our tickets in advance and had itemised payments "All flights and duties paid". However at Knock an "Airport Improvement Tax" was levied at something like €19 per person. Believe it or not at the time we were skint. It got paid by virtue of some kind souls who made up the €15 we were short.

I wrote and explained many times to Ryanscare that the were working outside of their own Terms and Conditions - their stock answer was it was a 'local' tax so was outside of their jurisdiction.... they eventually stopped replying so I immediately stopped using them. I even told my employers I would never travel with them again.... they upheld my conviction/decision even though it may have cost them extra!

Not necessarily scum but they operate outside of common good Customer Services! Any chance O'Dreary has of making an Extra few €€€€'s he will. I mean to charge extra to book using a card on-line is beyond a joke when you can ONLY book on-line. So far the Internet does not accept cash!
 
^^ Somethings have changed then! ^^
 
1. there is a an Irish govt departure tax of €10 which we all pay when we leave Ireland from all airports in ireland. it seems that FR is absorbing this tax on some special fare deals so you can avoid paying it sometimes.
2. in addition there is an Airport Development tax which only Knock Airport charges, payable in cash when you leave Knock airport. you cannot avoid paying this tax in Knock airport or else you dont fly ... no other airports in Ireland charge an airport development tax.
It is them, not Ryanair, that won't allow you to depart the airport without paying the fee.
 
I cant help the op as he has stressed he wants a hard case solution, plus he's travelling with the dreaded Ryanair..

Joeturner11 said:
Bit related to the topic in hand, can anyone recommend a decent backpack I can use for carry on, to contain a two bodies, 500mm f/4 lens and 16-35mm?
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Joe look at the Guragear range of backpacks, I use them myself and I think it's an awesome bag..!
 
Maybe you should get a ferry! Ryanair may have relented on a few things but they are blatant about their bottom line and custom service is low down on their list… My Think Tank Airport Essentials is not a hard bag and I have taken it on flights many times but being careful not to overload it. Anyway, good luck - you don’t want to get caught out by sod’s law!
 
Bobsyeruncle said:
Can't you read? Their terms and conditions are freely available to anyone who cares to read them.
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As it happens yes I can read, though not sure why you are asking???? dose not relate to what I said to be honest, was giving my experience of Ryan Air, in that my Cabin Luggage had to go in a cage to check size, and had to be weighed, this was not an option to not do it, as it goes I was under on both, as yes I had read the T&C's of booking, you obviously don't like others saying things bout Ryan Air that you don't agree with, not my problem to be honest, me I did not like flying with them and would avoid in the future.
 
Simplythebeast said:
1. there is a an Irish govt departure tax of €10 which we all pay when we leave Ireland from all airports in ireland. it seems that FR is ahbsorbing this tax on some special fare deals so you can avoid paying it sometimes.
2. in addition there is an Airport Development tax which only Knock Airport charges, payable in cash when you leave Knock airport. you cannot avoid paying this tax in Knock airport or else you dont fly ... no other airports in Ireland charge an airport development tax.
It is them, not Ryanair, that won't allow you to depart the airport without paying the fee.
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Agreed, but if you were and listened to the diatribe from Ryanair at the time you would understand that Ryanair have/had a duty of care to inform of all taxes, paid or unpaid. It was their defence of their own actions that appalled me with no acceptance that ALL taxes means ALL taxes, local or otherwise! At the end of the day, taxes at any airport are generally imposed by the local airport for their services. Ryanair had a duty of care to inform which they did not.
 
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