Flying with Equipment

Next year will see me travelling quite a bit and my favoured method of transport, driving, just isn’t going to work in a few cases. A few years back I covered the Speed Trials at Bonneville and getting everything across the Pacific on a Jumbo wasn’t the easiest of activities. I was lucky and had a frequent flyer gold card for the airline I was using at the time and so the excess luggage wasn’t a problem. I bought a Pelican hard case to save the equipment for airport baggage staff, but wieght and sheer logistics required that I left some equipment behind.

Any advice guidance or stories about how you transport your equipment long distance would be appreciated. Essentially 300 & 500 primes, the normal array of 24-70, 70-200, a fish eye, couple of flash guns, enough batteries to open a battery shop and omnipresent MAC laptop. Add to this clothes and a tooth brush if I want anyone to talk to me and the ever increasing collection of paper work and little plastic cards for getting in places.

Seriously, any pointers much appreciated.

Picturesports wrote in post #15399357
Next year will see me travelling quite a bit and my favoured method of transport, driving, just isn’t going to work in a few cases. A few years back I covered the Speed Trials at Bonneville and getting everything across the Pacific on a Jumbo wasn’t the easiest of activities. I was lucky and had a frequent flyer gold card for the airline I was using at the time and so the excess luggage wasn’t a problem. I bought a Pelican hard case, but even still ended up having to leave some equipment behind.

Any advice guidance or stories about how you transport your equipment long distance would be appreciated. Essentially 300 & 50 primes, the normal array of 24-70, 70-200, a fish eye, couple of flash guns, enough batteries to open a battery shop and omnipresent MAC laptop. Add to this clothes and a tooth brush if I want anyone to talk to me and the ever increasing collection of paper work and little plastic cards for getting in places.

Seriously, any pointers much appreciated.

Two manufacturers of equipment bags that have good reputations are Think Tank and Tamrac. I have a Tamrac Cyberpack that has held up under years of abuse, and a friend has gotten good performance from a Think Tank rolling case. Individual needs are so different that the best way to buy a bag is to examine it in a store and decide if it has the features you need.

It is more the logisitics of getting your equipment past luggage handlers without getting a box of expensive bits back.

I think my back pack weighs about 16 kgs and then there are the larger lenses. On a standard economy flight I'd use up all of the luggage allowance in equipment alone. Do you just bite the bullet and pay the excessive excess bagage charges and hope ?

I normally travel around the world with a Think Tank Airport Security roller and in it I put a 300/2.8 + either a 400/2.8 or 600/4.0 + 16-35/2.8 or 24-70/2.8 + 1DX + 2 flashes + batteries + misc filters + 17" laptop. It's heavy but carry-on legal for full size passenger jets. In addition, I carry either a large Think Tank laptop bag (for international flights) or a Tamrac 614 (for USA domestic flights). I never check lenses or bodies. Besides the obvious risk of it getting stolen, there's the very real possibility that it'll be brutalized by handlers and regardless of how well it's packed it may be damaged when they throw it around.

When shooting motorsports in other countries I often ship gear with one of the teams/programs I'm working for. This is not always an option for others, and it does present its own logistical challenge, but if this is something you can do then it's worth exploring.

Thanks Steve - That makes sense. Do you ever get any problems with the weight of carry on luggage?

As I mentioned before, normally we drive all over Europe - for us it has just been simpler. Next year, as well as a couple of fly aways we need to bunny hop from one location to another without enough time to drive, so learning to love airline food will be a requirement.

My carry-on cases have been weighed in some non-North American airports but this is not normally done in NA. This does present some serious challenges. I get as much weight out of the carry-ons as I can by removing batteries and other items I'm not especially worried about and try to ship equipment with teams I'm working for when possible. If I can't ship gear with a team and must carry on gear that exceeds the weight limit I wear a photo vest and/or jacket and trousers with large pockets, and get weight out of the carry-ons by placing smaller/heavier bits in my pockets.

I have the Think Tank Airport International. Fits most of the fragile stuff for carry on. I might put a few bits in my hold luggage (well padded!)

Different airlines have different policies regarding hand luggage, so it's best to check those before you book flights! If it's a little bit more for an airline with unilimited weight allowance vs. a few kilos I'd rather pay a bit more at the time of booking than get stung with excess baggage fees etc.

I don't normally fly for race photography, but do some photographic travel. I pare down equipment to the minimum and use a Think Tank Airport Acceleration V2 plus a photo vest. I've never tried to pack a really big lens, but I have gotten a lot of stuff in that bag.

Mike Hoyer wrote in post #15402188
Different airlines have different policies regarding hand luggage, so it's best to check those before you book flights. If it's a little bit more for an airline with unilimited weight allowance vs. a few kilos I'd rather pay a bit more at the time of booking than get stung with excess baggage fees etc.

It's always a good idea to check the airlines carry-on policies but be aware that in the end it'll be the person at the gate who makes the decision whether to let you get on with what you're carrying or give you a hard time about it. Also, I don't think there is an airline that permits "unlimited" weight for carry-ons. Weight limits do vary among airlines but all have some limit.

Speaking of weight limits, there's something annoying about giving a photographer a difficult time about being a few pounds over the limit because of the gear carried and then when you get on the plane you're seated next to someone who weighs 350+ pounds. Maybe the airlines should set a total weight limit for everything, including the person flying!!

It definitely is challenging when it comes to air travel with lots of camera equipment. Especially so, when you are bringing long glass with you. First and foremost, make sure your equipment is insured. Second, you need to decide if you are ok with checking in equipment that can't be packed on your person or in your carry-on. Pelican's and similar cases work well.

With regards to carry-ons, most domestic US flights do not weigh carry-on luggage. However, if you are getting on a plane that is smaller than a 737 or similar sized Airbus (those small turbo prop "puddle jumpers" come to mind) then there is no way your gear will be fitting in the overhead compartment or under the seat. Most international flights I have been on not only check the weight but also check the dimensions of your carry-on. Makes things extremely frustrating when your camera gear specific bag weighs quite a few pounds as well.

Like others have mentioned, photo vests and cargo pants, to disperse your gear on yourself can definitely help.

I would consider shipping the larger heavier pieces of equipment to your destination (fully insured of course).

I have photog friends that have gone as far as paying for the 2 seats next to him when flying with a 600mm and a 800mm, but that may or may not be an option for you.

Good luck!

British Airways cabin luggage must be able to be lifted into the overhead lockers by the person unaided.
I loaded a thinktank Airport v2 with 22KG of kit and had no problems flying into Miami, Newark Seattle & Anchorage this included a 500. As others have said wear a vest or coat with lots of pockets in & put some of the smaller items in them. I packed monopod, Tripod spare batteries into my checked in luggage. BA is one of a small number who are more concearned about the size of the carry one rather than the weight.

Flying with Equipment is... always fun!

As a frequent worldwide flyer I have learned that the US is VERY lenient on carry on limits. You will have no trouble on most longer/heavy routes (think bigger aircraft 737/A320 and larger) with a roller board and a camera back pack which is how I travel. (22"roller and Camera Backpack)

Other destinations are horrible. Flying Downunder is a nightmare :/ I have managed to leave the US with my bags as described, but coming back is always a major drama. Especially out of New Zealand! ha ha.
When I am leaving countries/destinations I know will be a drama, or I walk up to a gate and see a pencilplane like a E145 or Q200/400 I make sure my 22" has all of my cheapest gear in it and stuff I could replace easily while waiting for insurance money. Generally though when they take your bag from you at the gate for smaller aircraft its still far better/safer than "checking" it.
As was mentioned above though...
Flying with equipment is... Always fun :/