Reasons to Take Only One Suitcase Per Person on Flights
In these post 9-11 days it has become a pain to travel by airplane. But you can't drive from the USA to Europe.
It can be less stressful if you travel and pack accordingly. For both Europe trips I only took ONE suitcase plus a small personal item (usually a purse or backpack).
Even flights within the USA and Canada I took one suitcase. Many people are shocked by this but unless they have taken the journey they do not understand how valuable this information is to travelers.
These bags are empty but I used the dark suitcase for my clothes and the light blue backpack for anything extra.
I put the backpack under the seat in front of me on the plane rides. I put my electronics (iPod, chargers, cameras, two paperbacks, maps, etc.) in the blue backpack.
(Above) This came in handy. In this black case I kept my passport, some money, important papers, etc.I wore it around my neck during the flight, in the airports, and while sightseeing. It remained close to me when I was in the hotel room.
If you do happen to have any small bottles of liquid keep them in a plastic bag and someplace where you can easily get them.
Here is a very good reason why you should limit what you take.
On my first trip to Europe we were scheduled to leave Newark at 8:30 in the evening. The plane ended up having mechanical problems and by the time they cancelled the flight it was midnight. My mom happened to have a bad cold during this time so she wasn't feeling great. They began to make arrangements for hotels for all the passengers in Newark. As we waited in line one of the Continental personnel (before the merger) came up from another gate...
He said that there is a flight going to Edinburgh Scotland with empty seats. We can use our ticket for this flight IF we had no checked baggage. I looked at my mom and we both decided we are better off taking this flight. Who knows what would have happened if we didn't take that flight.
About ten other people came forward with us and we were able to fly to Edinburgh. We did, however, had to make our own arrangements to London. We probably could have stayed in Edinburgh but we had already booked through a tour company with our London hotel room already paid for and the tour to begin the next day. Day 2 of all packaged tours are free since everybody takes an overnight flight and has the day to rest.
We were able to get a one way from Edinburgh to Heathrow paid by Continental since it was not our fault that the one flight had mechanical problems. If we hadn't been able to get a flight we would have gone to central Edinburgh and caught a train or a coach bus. But luckily the rest of the trip went by smoothly.
I hope this helps in understanding why its important to travel lightly.
