In Transit

Airlines lighten up our lives

IT IS EASY to give out about the so-called low-fair airlines and their high baggage charges – and lord know we do it so often it has practically become a national sport – but maybe we should congratulate them for imposing some discipline on our packing.

Before the baggage police became a part of our air travel reality, many of us would pack for a week-long summer jaunt in the Med with all the restraint of a wealthy 1920s dowager heading on a round-world trip.

Unlike that wealthy dowager, however, we did not have the luxury of dozens of porters to carry our stuff and so had haul it through hot, overcrowded airports and unfamiliar towns and cities all by ourselves.

The ever-increasing cost of checking in bags has led to dramatic changes and according to a survey from Lastminute.com, 75 per cent of Irish tourists planned to travel more lightly this summer.

While packing with care and restraint is certainly one way to avoid giving unnecessary cash to the airlines there are other ways to increase your luggage while reducing the weight of it.

Wear everything.It's all about "Layer Players" this year– an alarming number of people have taken to wearing all their holiday clothes instead of packing them. As long as you avoid paying the charges, who cares if you look like Forty Coats and arrive at your destination looking like you've slept in your entire wardrobe. And you would have slept in them if only the hawkers who stalk the airplane aisles flogging everything from overpriced sandwiches to lottery tickets had given you a moment's peace on the flight.

Turn poacher.When it comes to saving cash on travel, fashion consciousness is one of the first things to go. How else can you explain the sudden popularity for poacher coats – large jackets that have been specially designed for travelling on low-cost airlines.

They have over 45 pockets so if you pack each one carefully you not need to bother with any kind of case at all.

You will look ridiculous but the strategy would almost be worth it just to see the looks of impotent rage on the faces of the cabin crew as you board – just don’t forget which pocket you put your passport in – the stress of trying to find it, added to the weight of your coat could bring on an aneurysm.

Don't have children.No, scrap that, by all means have children just don't bring them on holiday with you under any circumstances, at least until they're big enough to double as pack mules.

There is no way in the world you can fit Dora DVDs, princess books, jigsaws, rabbits, nappies, talking Iggle Piggles, bottles, bibs, colouring books, crayons, baby monitors, wipes and the rest of the accoutrements babies need to enjoy their holliers into a small carry-on suitcase weighing less than 10kg.

And it’s not as if they even bring anything to the weight party themselves as most low-cost airlines give no extra baggage allowance to babies.

To be fair to the airlines they will allow you put a pushchair in the hold and they only keep one or two of the wheels for themselves some of the time.

Lighten up.It doesn't matter that your suitcase is in perfect working order and has never let you down, if it is more than a couple of years old, it's sure to be made of heavy materials which eat into your precious baggage allowance.

There is a new generation of super-lightweight cases that are half the weight of your standard cases and look snazzily 21st century too.

Speaking of the 21st century, you might want to buy yourself a reader and load it with beach reads while you’re at it. Yes, we know this investment will cost a whole lot more than just paying the baggage charges but at least the airlines aren’t getting the money, right?

Buy later.Most people overpack because they haven't got a clue what clothes they'll need on their holiday. So you pack six pairs of shoes and loads of jeans and shirts but end up only wearing one pair of €3 flip-flops, a pair of shorts and two manky T-shirts for the duration of your holiday.

An increasingly popular, if not entirely environmentally sound, alternative is to bring very few clothes and buy what you need at markets in your holiday destination.

Chances are they’ll be selling stuff for much less than at home – unless you’re in St Tropez – and they will be more appropriate.

If you do insist on packing clothes make sure they’re vacuum packed. By buying vacuum packing bags which shrink all your clothes you can triple the space in your case. ‘