B is for Baggage Allowance...
…which by definition is never enough. It should really be called baggage pittance. Honestly. It doesn’t matter if you’re flying first class like my father did back in the 80’s, or the fancypants business class now. As for the allowance in cattle class, which I’ve flown for a good long part of my life, that’s just a joke. Whatever arbitrary number or weight is allocated, it is never enough.
Some
employers will pay for x number of cubic meters or y number of kgs extra but still…it
won’t be enough. Not that I’m
complaining, because hard experience has taught me to pack only as much as I
can lift myself.
I
have been packing and repacking my stuff since I was 8 years old. As a child it
was easier because most airlines we travelled on had limits only on the checked bags. Handbags weren’t
weighed so heavier stuff like books could be heaved onto shoulders.
Over
the years, baggage limits have got tighter. I can still remember a time when
even in domestic economy the allowance was 20 kgs but now we’re allowed only 15.
And hand baggage rules have gotten narrower and frankly, weirder. No knitting
needles, no large size shampoo bottles, no pickles. Excuse me? Are grandma’s pickles considered a weapon now?
I have had things like a child’s fork, a metal tape measure, a
key chain with a toy kukri (Nepali dagger) all of one inch long, a teeny pair
of round-ended scissors for trimming infant nails confiscated by airport
security staff. You couldn’t kill a
mosquito with any of them much less hijack a planeful of humans. But they broke
some abstruse rule or other and so…I was particularly cut up about the tape
measure, it originally belonged to my father and was over 40 years old. Also now
they frown at me if my cabin bag tips
the needle beyond 7 kgs. That’s basically two and half hardbacks and my bunch
of keys. Like I said, the whole thing’s a joke.
What
to take, what to leave behind? Should I take a favourite book or should I pack my
trusty old rolling pin? Should I pack brands I’m comfortable with or should I
explore new options? Excitement of the
unknowns or comfortable familiarity in a new place? Prioritise, pack, and then unpack half of it back again.
Aaargh.
ReplyDeleteAnd if your total weight was a mere bagatelle - it would still be too much.
I can well understand your grief at losing your father's tape measure. And cannot see how it could have been a problem.
I didn't either, what harm can a tape measure do?! It was super sad, measured out a lot of things for me from rooms to my child's height :)
DeleteHari OM
ReplyDeleteThe first time I flew to India, I made the mistake of carrying my manicure kit in my carry on... the one I had been given for my 21st b'day by my mother. Containing a pair of (very short bladed) nail scissors, tweezers and a short metal nail file. I am sure some young lady in Dubai is now enjoying using those... Brutal. YAM xx
B=Branches and Berries
Oh that must have been a wrench! Hugs.
DeleteHi Nila - oh gosh ... travel by pounds (weight) not easy at all ... and yes I've got to the airport and found my wash-bag was all wrong - I'd only brought my left overs - but the bottles or containers were too big - 6.00 am = not funny! The States confiscated a sandwich or equivalent and some juice, and water ... as I'd bought it passenger side - crumpets! That begins with a C ... see you at C - cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteThe whole security protocols around food and cosmetics seems absolutely insane to me! See you later.
DeleteI don't fly very often, or pack much. It seems to me that airports could have a postal service/ shipping service option so items like your tape measure could have been shipped to your home or wherever. As long as it's no longer with you on your flight, it seems like a fair alternative.
ReplyDeleteI'm doing the #AtoZChallenge - writing a speculative fiction short story.
On the main A to Z site today for "B" I shared a list of books. Check it out!
At Operation Awesome we're doing the A to Z Challenge and running a survey to pick the next Pass or Pages query contest genre.
Yes, I did offer to turn the tape over to the flight crew for the duration of the flight but apparently it was too dangerous to keep in their possession also.
DeleteAll the very best for your A-Z, you have a packed agenda. Have fun!
Your B word is fraught with many layers - what to pack or unpack. The burdens we carry daily are often too heavy. Then to pack for a change of life - I can't imagine at this juncture. The tape measure...oh, that one was hard.
ReplyDeleteTravelling light, both emotionally and materially, has been a dream of mine, but I don't think I am achieving it in this birth. :)
DeleteThe oddest of things seem to anchor me to my life and they are all either fragile or heavy, sometimes both and are invariably on the not-in-hand-luggage list of airport security! Bummer!
I would worry that the rolling pin could be considered a weapon. Do you have carry on you could put it in? Are you moving continents with only your carry on!? That is amazing. I haven't flown in years and for a week long trip we packed the car full of clothes and lots of food. Could never afforded to have flown with it.
ReplyDeleteThe rolling pin would never be allowed in my carry on. It can double up as a great weapon, actually. Am NOT moving continents with only carry on, oh no! If only we could drive there and pack everything in the car.
DeleteHow sad to have the tape measure confiscated - sigh. Frankly I find the whole pre-flight weigh-in and security a hundred-fold more stressful that being in basically a tin can flying in the sky. I look forward to the day we can just teleport ourselves and all the things we want to bring along.
ReplyDeleteI come back after ages and find you have shifted from poetry to prose. Good luck.
ReplyDelete