Subject: Re: Carry on's

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Subject: Re: Carry on's

Posted on: Mon, 6 Feb 2006 13:05:10 +0000 (UTC)

Adam Weiss wrote:
>
> To those who think they need to carry everything with them or the
> airline will lose it: brighten up. With a credit card and the ubiquity
> of WalMart (and stores modeled on WalMart abroad), no matter where you
> fly to chances are you'll have no problem buying cheap necessities if
> the airline loses your luggage.

True, but its not the "cheap necessities" that are the problem. That's
the gross fallacy.

For example, if I had a business colleage arrive this morning sans
luggage and thus in need of a custom tailored suit for a meeting
tomorrow, to the best of my knowledge, he is screwed.

> And if you're worried about valuables like expensive cameras, golf clubs,
> and such, send them FedEx and get insurance and tracking info on them.

Case Study #1: let's send my UW camera gear on vacation to the Cayman
Islands, BWI.

Currently, it weighs out at 28lbs in a softsided Tamrac bag. Let's
assume that we can round it off to a conveniently even 30lbs.

As per FedEx's 2006 rate sheet for the USA, the Cayman Islands are zone
"M", and the "International Economy" rate is their cheapest ...for
30lbs, its a mere $404.00 (International Priority is $504.64). Ouch.
For the return, and using FedEx's current rate sheet for that country,
its a piddling $155.35. So instead of taking it as my carry-on, I'll
have to spend at least $559.35 to FedEx it...before insurance, and with
the assumption Customs can be convinced that the local 25% Import Duty
doesn't have to be paid.

Good luck...oh, and BTW: my final destination wasn't actually Grand
Cayman (GCM), but one of Cayman's out-islands (IMO, the scuba diving is
better there). You'll now discover that FedEx doesn't provide service
to CYB or LYB at any price. The USPS does, but its ground service
only, and it takes 4-6 weeks to arrive (and isn't cheap...I have
shipped stuff this way).

Case Study #2: a laptop on an overnight business trip to

Depart my office in the afternoon, to catch the 5pm flight outbound.
Toss laptop to secretary...good luck! Arrive early evening without a
laptop to work on in the hotel the night before the meeting. Meeting
starts at 9am...where's FedEx? Meeting ends by 5pm...toss it to a
secretary at whoever's office I was visiting...will they (a) do me the
favor of mailing it back to me promptly? (b) and even if they did,
will FedEx have it back to my home office by 9am the next day?

Short answer is "It ain't gunna happen". Regardless of cost, because
this is the very definition of travelling light and fast.

-hh

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