Packing light not always an option — Updated Below

Since leaving his position as Global Travel Editor at Lonely Planet, Don George has continued to pursue his career as an award-winning travel journalist and unquenchable traveler. Luckily for the rest of us, he also maintains a travel blog full of great advice from one of the great travelers of the world.

Recent posts include thoughtful advice about things to consider when taking your kids on vacation (I love his idea of introducing them to new cuisine before you go — if you’re going to Thailand, take them to a Thai restaurant, and so on), and how to choose and prepare for a “summer adventure.” Don’s packing tip — lay out everything you think you’ll need, then put away half — is a not-so-well-known standby that can save many people broken backs and excess weight charges. It always works.

But speaking of excess weight charges, his advice of trying to stick with carry-on only is unfortunately not always feasible. And it’s probably only going to become less so. Why? Because countries like the UK are becoming more strict about the size, weight, and amount of carry-on luggage. Anyone transferring through the UK or ending their journey there is allowed only ONE carry-on item, which means your purse or laptop had better fit inside it, and it in turn had better fit inside the little size-rack provided for people to say, “Oh, bugger” when they look at it and the handy-dandy roller bag in their hand that just won’t quite fit. And I’ve known business travelers, who are past masters at packing light and quick, to be forced to check their hand luggage with Virgin Airways because it was 2 pounds overweight (despite the fact that they had absolutely no other luggage with them).

I usually fly British Airways, and was informed on my last Heathrow transfer that, starting from September 30th, weight limits on checked luggage itself will decrease from 32 kg (70 pounds) to 23 kg (51 pounds). Not only that, but, unless you’re traveling to or from the U.S., you will only be allowed one checked bag in regular economy class (U.S. routes will still allow two per passenger — that says something about the way we Americans live, doesn’t it?).

In other words, pop on over to Don’s blog and look at some of his packing advice. Because you’re probably going to need it.

UPDATE: Paul from cheapflights.co.uk has added an extra-useful comment regarding forthcoming European baggage restrictions. Here’s an excerpt:

“Each airline’s baggage limits can be hard to find on their websites so I have put together a list of links that go directly to each airline’s baggage page. There are over 40 European airlines on the list so it should help a lot of people this summer.

The page can be found here:
http://www.allcheapflights.co.uk/Travel-Guides/6/Airline-Luggage-Allowance

Hope this helps some people.”

That’s some useful information! Thanks, Paul.