Argghhhhh last minute panic!!!

Buddingblonde

I am going away tomorrow for a weeks holiday and I have a couple of qu. Sorry if they are dead obvious but this is me and OH first time abroad and I want nothing to go wrong.

1. Baggage weights - it says on my tickets that we can have 15kg each and that the max for hand luggage is 5kg. Is this on top of the 15kgs or as part of the 15kg? They are listed seperately.

2. Hand luggage - OH is very into photography and has a lovely large lens professional style camera (worth £300+) - he wants to carry this on as hand luggage but it is small and wide so not matter how I measure it it is slightly larger than the hand luggage measurements. Although it is insured I would hate it to have to go in the suitcase as it might be stolen. Its height and width are well within the measurements - it is its length (it is about an inch extra). Any ideas if this will be a major problem or will we be fined or will we have to put it in the suitcase?

3. My hand luggage - I was planning on taking a soft bodied fold over messager/laptop bag. Its height is the problem. When it is empty and flat it is 2 inches taller that the height permitted. However when you put things in it the stuff drops to the bottom and it becomes wider and loses the height (I hope that this is making sense to someone). I am terrified that the bag will be too big when it is measured at the airport as it does not hold its shape (it moves with its contents iyswim).

Thanks for the help - I know I am probably being a bit para but my MIL was just fined £35 for going over her weight and I really dont want any more expenses than totally necessary.

Ax

Incapuppy

Is this camera huge? I am just trying to figure out how the camera could be bigger than the hand luggage size unless it is packed in a case that is much bigger than anything I have for photography stuff.

mrs_thrifty_2

Hand luggage is in addition to your 15kg allowance. Will your hand luggage fit in end on ie the longest part becomes the height. I don't think the 2" discrepancy should be a problem - don't draw attention to it! I think you will be surprised by the hand luggage some folks take! Make sure you pack your toiletries in your big bag - you can only take containers of 100ml or less ( up to a 1000ml total) in your hand luggage and they need to be in a sealable see through bag. Who are you flying with and from which airport?

Buddingblonde

The camera is in a fitted camera bag so it is a very snug fit but there is a couple of pockets that although empty sit proud of the bag (which is what takes it over).

I am flying from Glasgow to Malta with AirMalta I think. I am packing all fluids in the suitcases and will make sure I buy water for the plane after we have gone through and not as my sister did, before check in.

I am now in major meltdown mode - not because of these questions but the fact that I sent the holiday insurance details to oh to print out on his PC (as it is connected to the printer) - that was 2 weeks ago and trusting him to do it I have deleted from my emails. However he hasnt printed it and he has deleted it. I have rang the company but they closed at 12 so I have emailed them to ask for another email copy. Hope it will be here in time.

luci

Absolultely on no account put the camera in the hold baggage as it will NOT be covered by insurance.

Can you give us the hand baggage dimensions allowed by AirMalta and the dimension of the camera bag so we can get a clearer idea?

Yes the 5kgs hand is in addition to the 15kgs hold baggage. If you don't have luggage scales to weigh them before you go, stand on the bathroom scales and get your own weight then weigh yourself holding each case and subtract the difference.

Buddingblonde

Dimensions allowed are 17 inches by 11 by 9

Camera bag is 18 ish inches by 10 by 8 ish

Donnie

You'll find that most airlines will not make a fuss about laptops and cameras. As to the dimensions...don't be silly. The camera bag has smaller dimensions than allowed anyway.

Don't panic about the holiday insurance. You are still covered, regardless of whether you have the document.

Just jot down their contact details and emergency numbers for now. I'm sure they have Internet access in Malta.

Take a deep breath and relax.

Buddingblonde

You are of course right - I should just chill.

I have never had a day where I have felt more like my mother - and all the fussing and stressing that she used to do before holidays and we used to laugh at now makes so much more sense.

It doesnt help that I am not feeling very well and I am praying that it is a 24 hour thing and not the dreaded SF!

Incapuppy

I wonder if Air Malta's website is out of date? Not only does is state the baggage allowance as 20kg plus 8kg, it states hand luggage dimensions of 18 x 45 x 50cms which is 7 x 17.5 x 19.5 inches.

Incapuppy

Yep Tojo - it just seemed odd that the OP's info re: baggage allowance and hand luggage dimensions differed from those on the website.

I'm loving your sig btw :rotfl:

Tojo_Ralph

Incapuppy wrote: »

Yep Tojo - it just seemed odd that the OP's info re: baggage allowance and hand luggage dimensions differed from those on the website.

I'm loving your sig btw :rotfl:

It took me that bl00dy long to convert cm to inches, you beat me to posting the dims from the Air Malta site... so I deleted it.

The 18cm dimension does seem a tad absurd, although that's not to say it is not correct!