For toiletries, I bring a hairbrush, basic makeup (lipstick, mascara, foundation, coverup, blush) but only one color of each, face wash in 3 oz bottle, solid shampoo from LUSH, 1.5 oz LUSH moisturizer (Imperialis if you're curious), solid travel deoderant, travel toothpaste, toothbrush (in case), etc. It DOES all fit.

Here's a picture of the bag I packed for 5 nights in Italy:

Here's a picture of me IN Italy (the bag had enough room for my black leather jacket/blazer on purpose, I'm wearing a jacket I purchased in Florence):

This was mid-way through the trip. About day 3 or 4. You can see I'm holding my Rick Steve's book for Rome. I also packed a mesh grocery bag that I used to hold books and whatnot while walking around. It mainly just held my City Moleskine and my Rick Steve's. If I purchased something it went in there or my jacket pocket.

Another (not terribly flattering) picture of me a little earlier in the trip is:

You can see that I wore neutral cargo pants (most every day) and basic tops. Put a blazer over that top and a nice necklace and you can go out to a somewhat nicer restaurant. I also have a cotton skirt I pack that can be worn with my birkenstocks with that particular shirt. It has a nice floral embroidery on it. I wore it out with my inlaws and my husband to dinner last Sunday night. It's pretty nice.

My husband also had a packed bag, but the only items we shared between were the travel books, photocopies of travel documents and the dead bag (which I mentioned earlier, bandaides were good to have).

I didn't come up with these ideas on my own (BTW, ziplock bags are lifesavers when packing), I took a course at the BCAE in Boston called 'Packing with Pat'. I was so skeptical until I did it and now this is so how I want to travel.

I haven't perused it too much, but this site might be useful: [www.onebag.com]

I really hate it when people just accept those fees. We have a right to fight against them! I'll be willing to accept a compromise - 2nd one having a charge, but the 1st one being free. That's a pretty reasonable compromise, IMHO.

With gas prices being at a record high last year, those fees, while annoying, were somewhat palpable. Now, with gas prices being at half of what it was last year, United and US Airways STILL has the gall to increase their fees from $15/$25 to $20/$30... it's obvious this is all about pure profit.

The problem with your argument is that this service was at one time free and there was no problem. Then, they used this fuel excuse to start charging for bags. Now I'm sure that they've renegotiated their fuel charges, so why isn't the baggage fee disappearing?
Secondly, if I am paying for this service, I would at least expect it to be on par with the ones that offer it for free, but ASSUME that it would be better, considering that they should have more money to pump into that particular system (baggage handling). Yet, a couple of weeks ago I flew on Delta out of SAN, and it was probably the biggest clusterfuck I've ever seen. I got there 1 hour and 45 minutes before the plane was to depart, and BARELY made the flight because of Delta. On the return, it took about 20 minutes longer to get the bag from the claim than it does with Southwest. I usually take Southwest, but that was not an option. I would be embarrassed if I were Delta; Southwest handles everything better.
But wait, Delta is a luxury airline! I really need 1 fancily dressed employee who has the sole function of handing out peanuts!

Thanks for the reminder on condoms, never can have enough of those on hand!

@HIV 2 Elway: That's why I love my carry on size backpack! Perfect to fit stuff for about a week, fits nicely into the overhead bin, and is also great for traversing tricky subway stations!

@CreativeLinks: Actually, Delta just made $30 because you needed to bring sunscreen (gotta bring that suitcase back somehow)... Unless you're only checking a large bottle of sunscreen with a luggage tag on it. Which would be hilarious.

Seriously, even airport sunscreen has gotta be cheaper than 30 dollars. Leave the suitcase, bring a carry on, and give extra fees the shaft.

Bonus points if the escalator is within sight of the elevator.

If 8oz was enough, surely 9oz is overkill. (ooh, not punny)

(No offense meant - I'm honestly curious)

In a few weeks when I fly, I will be that dude cramming a big bag into the overhead. A ticket on United was bought for me, and I'd sooner stay home than pay a first checked bag fee.

Too bad everybody still thinks they can cram everything into a carry-on. If you can't afford to check in a bag, maybe you should be putting your vacation.

An Al Qaeda 8oz liquid bomb hidden in a bottle of contact lens fluid actually blew a 2 foot hole on a 747, killing 1 passenger in 1994.

[en.wikipedia.org]

The bomb experts at the FBI determined 8oz was just barely enough to blow a hole in the fuselage. The plane didn't crash into the pacific because the bomber miscalculated the location of the fuel tanks by 1 foot.

Bag Check fees are good for the airline, but bad for the economy.

I recently bought a candle while traveling. I couldn't take it on the plane with me (because it might be made of C4?) so I had to pay a $15 bag fee to check my carry-on bag containing a $3 candle. For less money, I could have had it shipped.

When I go on vacation, I will no longer purchase anything that I can't take with me in my carry-ons. If I do, I will need to factor the $15 into the total price of the item. Suddenly, the item is WAY over-priced.

I fly Southwest, because they seem to be the only airlines that understand that when I fly to Vegas, I gotta have my big, heavy suitcase to fit all my sl*t heels and outfits!

Either way, as logical as this is, it'll never happen because there will be outrage from probably everywhere. No company would enact a policy that would draw such intense criticism.

Rather than pay their unfair fees, I just plan ahead and mail my stuff to the hotel with a phone-ahead to the manager to expect and hold them. The USPS doesn't let me down and invariably the manager is so impressed he recommends it to his favorite customers. The USPS doesn't add that stupid fuel surcharge like UPS,and it beats standing around that worthless carousel waiting to see how badly those underpaid/overworked handlers managed to bash up my luggage!

@nakedscience: Eh, it's too far to drive to fly them anyway with the crazy parking fees at BWI.

1) If the same trip, driven, would be 15 hours or less, we drive it instead of flying. Yeah, doesn't save us money (especially if we have to break the drive over more than one day) but I choose to buy gas for one of our fuel-efficient cars and take whatever the heck I want to in whatever sized bottle I want without anyone making me hand my bags over to strangers who are known to steal out of them.

2) If the trip would be too arduous by car, we pack light and carry on everything. We try to take up as little room in the cabin as possible with reasonable-sized bags and ones that fit under the seat in front of us so that we don't make nuisances of ourselves following this guideline.

3) If I need to take more than we can carry on in reasonable sized bags, I pack it into a box I'm reusing from Amazon or something and send it ahead to our destination. Usually we are visiting family so this is not a problem, but for an upcoming trip to Disney, the resorts there are well-versed in accepting packages for guests arriving soon afterward. I sent the equivalent of two checked bags worth of stuff ahead of us to our resort and it was $23, UPS Ground. We are flying United (the only non-stop that was available to our destination when I booked, unfortunately) and they would have slapped us with a $30 fee for that stuff. So I saved $7 and I don't have to haul the stuff around at the airport.

I will NOT pay a fee to an airline that I believe is unfair unless there is no reasonable alternative, and if you think outside of the box (or inside the UPS box, har har) they can usually be easily circumvented.

I wonder if the airlines who are hooting about the revenues from their beloved fees know that my family has taken around 10 long car trips since the advent of these fees that would have been airplane trips if only they weren't being so unreasonable. What has one gained if you hit one poor guy for $15 only to lose the proceeds from selling entire airfares to the passengers who avoid you and turn to their cars or trains instead?

I travel light and can usually pack a week's worth of clothing into a backpack or small shoulder bag (that's all you need anyway, since laundry doesn't stop just cause you leave home). My problem with the airlines is the horrendous odd-sized baggage fees I pay when traveling with a surfboard. I don't get how the guy in front of me can get his fifty pound bag of golf clubs to Australia for free, but I have to pay $150 bucks to tote my fifteen pound board.

@econobiker: Exactly. And I kind of like being able to pick my own seat. Why is that a bad thing? Also, the attendants are always really nice and awesome. Even Aug 10, 2006, during that London Bomb scare, they were super awesome.

@mrgenius: Sort of. You get assigned A, B, or C. A goes first, B goes second, then C. If you check in 24 hours before the flight, you'll usually get A, sometimes B.

@nakedscience: If you're traveling with equipment you are most likely traveling for work in which case a fee for a checked bag will be picked up by your employeer.

@nakedscience: Do they still do that open seating situation going on? I really hated that as a single or business traveller because I was always having people to ask if I would move so they can sit next to whomever even though I was settled in.

I think Virgin America has a great model, though their service is a bit limited right now. Your first bag is free and everything else is ala carte.

You order everything using the touchscreen console, swipe your credit card, and 2 minutes later, a flight attendant has whatever you ordered. And if you spring for "main cabin select" which is basically the bulkhead/exit rows, everything is free plus you get the legroom.

I just think it's nice to have the option to choose a more expensive ticket with all the freebees or to decide to pay everything and get the less expensive ticket. Plus you can get into the Virgin Atlantic Club for $35!

i personally feel ANY fee that was added when fuel prices soared with THAT as the reason should be removed now that fees have dropped.

I don't fly often and while I heard of fees for 2nd bags, I was stunned yesterday when I booked a flight that everyone other than Southwest wanted $15 for a FIRST BAG. I am going away for a week and MUST check one bag. There is no way I can carry on a week's clothing.

I will add that while Southwest had no bag fee, it was $100 more for the flight.

I say you simply add that fee in your head as part of the ticket price. I did and still selected the lowest priced carrier.

God DAMN, it always amuses me that people are SO CONCERNED! with how other people travel and pack.

@econobiker: Apparently, if you are using a rolling bag, you are not a real man, bad back or no bad back! Apparently, people like HIV 2 Elway are way too concerned with what other people think of them.

@glitterpig: They advertise the no-hidden fees deal too...

They may be bus like but they are on-time and try to be completely honest- both of which the other airlines fail on either one or both at a time...

@pot_roast: Southwest still has great prices. They didn't go up that much. And most people prefer that, anyway.

@MoreFunThanToast: 2nded or maybe just in the B boarding group...

@HIV 2 Elway: And some people are traveling for more than one or two days, or have to pack for business AND pleasure, or have equipment they also have to bring.

Surprise, not everyone is you!

@HIV 2 Elway: Until they have had prior back problems...

Nothing like blowing a workers comp case because you had to be macho and carry yer stuff at the airport.

@Sean Masters: Uh. He clearly knows the rules: "But I can't BRING sunscreen on my "carry-on" " He was just commenting/complaining about how lame it is (and it is).

Also, just so you know -- the No Liquids rule didn't start on 9/11. I believe it was August 10, 2006, if memory serves correctly, because I actually flew that day.

And THAT day, NO LIQUIDS were allowed--it was a few days or weeks later that the size restrictions were randomly made up.

Also, THAT day, I accidently brought on some liquids that the TSA agents missed.

@CreativeLinks: A 3oz or larger tube or bottle of sunscreen could fit pretty well in a tall sock on your leg- or even better for the ladies inside a stocking against your inner thigh.

Just saying...

Not that I ever got a 3oz+ over-the-counter liquid cough med bottle through security in my pants...

@EBounding: if they are going to charge per bag... implying that it costs money for the extra space it uses... shouldn't we charge more for larger people?

I'm 6'0" and 146 lbs.... shouldn't the 5'2" woman next to me pay less, and a 250lb guy (that I pray doesn't sit next to me) pay more?

@vastrightwing: As prices are listed in many European countries.

@Preyfar: cheaper/faster if you are travelling more than 200 miles

@Matt Palmer:
"If t@Sean Masters: if they are going to charge fees, why not just raise ticket prices?"

You need to ask the telcom industry- purveyors of the wildly successfull "regulatory recovery fee" which , as they all list, isn't a tax but a fee to compensate the companies for complying with certain government laws. Or, even closer to the airlines, ask the rental car agencies about their facility recovery fees...

I put these fees under the big heading "FEAR THE ASTERISK"...*

*Fees and taxes may apply, not all offers valid in every state, prices higher in Alaska and Haiwaii...

@nakedscience: Its not heavy because smart people pack light.

@CreativeLinks: If you honestly don't know the rules for liquids on planes in the USA, nearly 8 years after 9/11 and thus the implementation of those rules, I have absolutely zero sympathy for you.

@HIV 2 Elway: Some people find it difficult to sleep without their favorite pillow, or they like their pillow on long flights. Bringing it to a baseball game is WEIRD, but you're not carrying it so ... why does it matter?

@exploded: It's also a LOT easier than carrying a heavy bag. I'd say the smart people are using wheeled bags that are easier, while the TOUGH GUYS! who are oh-so-concerned with how they look are kind of being stupid by making their lives difficult by hand-carrying a heavy bag when they could get a rolled bag and make their lives easier.

But I don't think someone is awesome just 'cuz they like to make their lives hard.

@CreativeLinks: There is none. TSA is a huge joke.

What's funny is that people will defend Time Warner for offering tiered services to "light users", but the second the majority of the airline industry changed to this policy and said, "Hey, we're lowering the price on getting you into a seat and everything after that is up to you", people (not you specifically, Matt) get all up in arms over it.

I fly between 6 and 12 times a year and always chase the lowest fares because I know how to pack for the trips I take. Saving $30-40 on a ticket and then paying $10-20 to check a bag is fine by me if that total price is the lowest one. And because I'm an informed consumer, I know how to check on these prices.

The only cause for consumers to complain about this change should be a lack of access to information. Airline fares and fees should be listed right on the front page of that airline's web site, or maybe behind a "Pricing & Ticketing Info" link. Still, in most cases the information is there, it is available, and it is up to you to read it, digest it, and then not pack 3 bags for a 4 day trip like so many jerks seem wont to do ;)

I used to fly whoever was cheapest; now I fly Southwest, because I know that the "cheapest" is going to be like $100 more per ticket than what comes up in the search, and Southwest is basically going to be what it says.

So I guess they're getting some market share that way. I don't know if most people pay that much attention, though.

@Tambar:

Which is exactly my point. If I can bring 30 OZ of any liquid onto a plane by moving them into 30 different bottles, what exactly is the "security" measure here?

And ladies, you are usually the worst offenders.

Same principle as pricing something $9.99 instead of $10.

This doesn't irritate me too much UNLESS they charge me a fee and I arrive at my destination without my checked luggage. I think I'd try and get a refund for the fee at that point, although I'd probably fail.

@nakedscience: The scientific name for a wheeled suitcase is a "Nerd Caboose"

I don't know of any major international or nationwide carrier who is not charging luggage fees.

@chiieddy: But not everyone is you, and not everyone travels the same way as you, and not everyone travels to the same places as you, or does the same things as you. And what if you get a stain on a shirt? Or a hole? Then you're screwed, or you have to suddenly find a Target.

And if you're traveling to Arizona (where I live), I want you to wear a blouse and slacks when you're trying to go casual and it's 110 out. Yay sweat stains.

@wheresmymind: People who travel with pillows should be suffocated with them. I saw someone at opening day bringing a pillow into the ballpark, WTF?

@Matt Palmer: The problem with raising ticket prices is if Airlines A, B and C raise prices and Airline D tacks on a fee, airline D appears less expensive to bargain hunters and gets more business.

Then again, if you're traveling with your family or lugging equipment around, those fees would start to pile up pretty fast.

I would be happy (relatively speaking, of course) if instead of separating the costs of all these things out in fees, they just included them in the price of the ticket like they used to and as a result, ticket prices went up. That way, I wouldn't feel as though I was being charged for something that almost seems like it could be avoided, but it really can't.

I mean I detest these fees as much as anyone, but 270M does not sound like a lot for an airline.

Ofcourse, Very likely that I am mistaken. Anyone care to provide any numbers?

@nerdtalker:

you're right. Checked bags magically transport themselves from the counter to the plane's hold, then off to the luggage carousel. There are no systems necessary to track checked luggage either, it just knows where to go.

Paying more for this service makes sense - of course there's no way of knowing whether non-luggage-checking passengers are paying less than they did before (yeah right), but paying more for using more resources is absolutely fair.

The were grounded then. Right now, they just pull them out of thin air.

@HIV 2 Elway: Some people are so judgemental and picky about how other people travel, jeez. What if said male has a back problem? Or needs to carry some kind of heavy equipment? Or has business meetings AND beach time planned, so he needs more than just two outfits?

@chiieddy: I am pretty low-maintanance, and even I need more than three outfits for a week-long stay. What if you're doing some tourism crap, and then going out to a fancy dinner? Or you have several business meetings? Or you're going to the beach? Sometimes you need heels AND sneakers, sometimes you need a pair of jeans and a few comfy shirts, AND a nice suit.

BTW, we need to stop terrorist from using sunscreen!@CreativeLinks:

@CreativeLinks: Can't you buy sunscreen in Orlando for less than $15?

Packing light is an art form eveyone should learn. That and the art of carrying your bag. No self respecting male uses a bag with wheels.

@exploded:

As long as you aren't that dude trying to jam an enormous bag that he should have checked into the overhead bin and I don't have to sit next to you at the end of your week, by all means.

Flying to Orlando tommorrow. Here is what sucks. I need to bring Sunscreen.

But I can't BRING sunscreen on my "carry-on" because apparently I can hijack a plane with it.

So. Delta just made $15 due to "security reasons".

This just doesn't seem right.

I hate the fact that I can't comparison shop because now there are a million small fees that add up and make your trip double! Would all merchants please stop the nonsense of advertising a price that you can't possibly get!!!!!!?

If you must pay a "convenience" fee, add it to the price. Will call fee? Add it to the price. Service fee? Add it to the price. Shipping? Add it to the price. Tax? Add it to the price. Sur charge? Add it to the price. This is all I want. Just make the fees included in the price.

I used to fly American, now I do fly SW, so they may be right.

I've managed to fly without having to check a bag. I'm a dude that's fine wearing the same pair of underwear for a week straight though. Is that wrong?