welovebonds

Now that I have ticked the jewellery niggle out of the way...my next question is laptops.

We have 2 laptops and want to take them as hand luggage, has anyone done this or is it possible. We will also have a toddler in tow....so don't want to loose sight of the laptops or the toddler while travelling over to OZ.

Any advice appreciated.

fraser

No other way to take them, you'll see loads of people with them.

Some flights even have internet access.

Katherined0

You can take them, but they do count as your piece of hand luggage so with 2 laptops, 1 toddler and only a 3 bag allowance you'll probably need to pack them with other stuff as well.

fraser

They've always allowed me on with a laptop and another piece of hand luggage.

They're also more tolerant when you have small children.

Dreamy

We brought our two laptops over with us as hand luggage.

Absolutely no problems, bit of a pain having to take them out of their laptop bags at Manchester, so they could go through the x-ray machine separately (they did a swab test on mine too, I must have a suspicious look about me) and then the same again at Singapore (but no swab test then, I must have lost my suspicious air).

OHs employer had booked us on QANTAS flights, and we'd panicked a bit because on their website it stated that laptops count as your item of handluggage.. but a friend of ours who is QANTAS cabin crew said they don't generally mind extra hand luggage so long as you're not taking the mickey. I had a decent sized hand bag, my laptop bag (packed with books/iPod/NintendoDS that I never used) and a small rucksack. Kids all had small rucksacks, and OH just used his laptop bag.

Lynne

Katherined0

That's useful to know! Thanks.

paddyo

Have you ever traveled before?? Seriously this is a daft question, read the hand luggage allowances on your chosen flight providers website and use that. Your hand luggage for the 3 of you could be 3 of the small trolley bags, all you need to do is put your laptops in one of them and use the other 2 trolley bags for your normal hand luggage/toddler items. Its not bloody rocket science!

northernbird

neither is being polite.

paul30

you can it can get to be a bit of a pain everytime you pass through security as you have to remove it from the laptop bag for x-rays

paddyo

It may of been harsh but certainly not impolite! I just sometimes feel that people seem to think Australia is on another planet at times!! Its just another country a plane ride away!
I mean, with all the furore recently with hand luggage you would of thought people would check officially first before relying on other peoples opinions!

Buzzy--Bee

The whole point of this forum is to share knowledge and get help from other peoples experiences and opinions. If you don't wish to reply to a thread you don't have to.

Mod.

northernbird

You aren't here yet, Australia is on another planet.

Sometimes websites are less than clear on requirements and peoples experiences of recent travel can be just as valid, particularly as some airline staff are a little more lenient than others.

paddyo

Ok, I accept that!

paddyo

Fair point.

jellibaby

We flew with SA and their hand luggage allowance was 7kg each person. We have laptop rucksacks, we had a laptop each, OH also had canon camera equipment with extra lenses. We put the mains leads and chargers all in the hold luggage to keep the weight down. My laptop is heavy as its one with a widescreen etc. We were both on max 7kg if not over in fact. They did not weigh them at check-in. After going through to customs we each then picked up various bits and pieces at duty free incl. a couple of books so we must have been well over the 7kg by the time we boarded. We had no hasles all the way through to Sydney.

It's true though, no matter which airport it is these days laptops must be removed from bags and put through xray on a seperate tray. That's why we invested in laptop rucksacks (within the size restrictions of course) so that we had easy access to them. I imagine it could be a pain in the butt taking them out of some of the smaller wheelie bags especially if you're juggling ankle biters at the same time!

Out of interest - we were running a blog recording the whole experience from start to finish. We got internet connections in Heathrow through the cloud service and internet at changi too in the A380 standard lounge - all done with a credit card number and next to no money. Yes, we were that anal!