The word’s out – American Airlines is now charging travelers $15 for the first piece of luggage that they check in. I can only imagine how the rest of the airline industry will follow their example. As early as now, ask yourself: “Have you got packing smarts?”
In this day and age, if you do not take extra effort to save money, you will probably find yourself spending more than you want to or what you can actually afford. When it comes to traveling, why not take a quick look at how you pack and see if you can avoid those dreaded luggage fees?
The first thing that you have to consider is your bag. Some people do not pay attention to this – to be honest, I was one of those. I have a lot of bags and whichever one can fit all my things, I use. I don’t really pay much attention, as I said. However, if you really want to make the most out of your single carry on, you should take a closer look at which bag to use for travel.
I have two general choices – a rectangular case which has wheels and a soft duffel bag or gym bag. I think that the former bag is better if you are bringing clothes which are prone to wrinkles. The downside to this kind of bag is that the wheels, the frame, and the bag material itself are quite heavy. As such, you already have a lot of weight to begin with, lessening the things that you can pack. The latter bag is great because it is not as heavy as the former. However, you have to know HOW to pack your things because there are usually no compartments – you have to create them on your own by using plastic bags and the like.
(to be continued)