Airtravel experts

[Kernuak]

Also, I've never flown through Frankfurt, though I've done Schiphol, Heathrow, Gatwick, Stanstead, Luton all often enough that I wouldn't bother.

I've had the "pleasure" of transferring through Frankfurt (can't remember where I was going). It may have been because of the building work that was going on, but it certainly wasn't pleasant. It was worse than Heathrow for crowds, resulting in very cramped conditions for refreshments. Also, most of the toilets were closed and the ones that were in use were disgusting, totally different to Munich, which is a much more modern airport. I've never had to transfer through Heathrow, as it was always my starting/end point. I've transferred through Schiphool a number of times, either between the UK (usually Gatwick) and Thessaloniki or one one occasion to Chicago from Thessaloniki and back. I got the third degree at Chicago incidentally, because I didn't have a return ticket to the UK. It took me several minutes to persuade the check-in clerk that I didn't need one as an EU citizen living and working in Greece. I think she was planning on deporting me back to the UK, instead of Greece, but then it was December 2001... All of those transfers were without camera gear though, the only transfer with camera gear has been through Oslo Gardemoen, the other flights with gear have been direct, mostly Easyjet.

[leGreve]

I got the 1510 for my gear in case I need to carry a load. The 1510 is guaranteed to fit in any cabin hold, and I don't think it exceeds the weight limit even with gear in. I think most countries in Europe have a 10kg limit.

Otherwise some of the lowe pro runner bags are also worth considering. They can hold quite a lot and fits nicely in any hold.

[Narcolepsy]

Consider Dublin - fairly small nice airport. Aerlingus allow 10kg hand luggage plus other small items such as cameras etc...
23kg for checked baggage. As long as you are close enough, I have never had any hassle...
The best thing about Dublin is going to the USA - you go through US immigration and customs in Dublin - and land at the domestic terminal with no delays (especially helpful if you are not a US citizen).
If you do use Dublin, don't use Ryanair for onward travel - they are terrible about both checked and carry-on luggage.

[danski0224]

I am not a travel expert, but Red Oxx has some nice travel and general purpose bags that are worth checking out.

[neuroanatomist]

I got the 1510 for my gear in case I need to carry a load. The 1510 is guaranteed to fit in any cabin hold, and I don't think it exceeds the weight limit even with gear in. I think most countries in Europe have a 10kg limit.

Depends on the gear, right?  On a trip to China early in 2011, my loaded im2500 (Storm version of the Peli 1510) weighed 34 lbs (15.5 kg). 

One other consideration is that different carriers/countries obviously have different policies.  China's limit for carryon is 5 kg, but they never weighed mine.  Also, no limit on number like in the US - people carried on 4-5 shopping bags. They did weigh checked bags, but interestingly the weight limit did not apply per bag but to the group, so our group of four had an 88 kg allowance, even though on bag was over the 22 kg limit by a couple of kg (thanks to an inequitable re-packing), the other three were under so it wasn't an issue.

[neuroanatomist]

Forgot to add - I use a pair of these locks for my case while traveling.

[Old Shooter]

Forgot to add - I use a pair of these locks for my case while traveling.

+1!  Just bought two!  Paid the same amount for a pair of Brookstone locks at the airport that will b-a-r-e-l-y close on my Pelican latches!  Really like the tamper/search indicator too!  Thanks, Neuro!

[Old Shooter]

I've been traveling a lot in the last two years; nearly 200,000 Skymiles to date...  Mostly in the Middle East, connecting in Atlanta, and then down to Central America...  I've lugged my Pelican 1500 with me the whole time...

The plucked foam looked good when I set it up, but in normal handling the foam breaks loose and you lose your perfectly designed compartments...   I'm glad I read this thread because it guided me to the Pelican website and I found out I could replace the foam fingers with a divider set for just $55.99 at B&H!  Thanks, guys!

But, back to travel...  One of the airline counters had a red, "FRAGILE - Handle With Care" sticker that they put on the side for me...  When I carry it on, even lugging my backpack, no one has ever said a word...  The best part about a hard case; you don't stress out when people jam their briefcases and other junk on top of it in the overhead bin - you know your stuff is safe...  When I have boarded late, due to a tight connection, I've had the flight attendants offer to stow it in first class for me...  People just seem to respect those cases; I guess it conveys that you care about your gear...

That Pelican 1514 and Storm iM2500 both look real nice!  When I treat myself to a FF it might be time for an upgrade! 

[Harley]

I've seriously been considering the Kiboko and the Chobe from Gura Gear for the express reason of overseas travel usage.  I recently read a review:
http://dancarrphotography.com/blog/2011/12/05/gura-gear-chobe-review/
that had some good info on travel restrictions.  Go down just past all the photos to a spot where they start talking about bag dimensions and you'll see that portion. 

[pp77]

+1 on the EasyJet once you get over there, book long enough in advance and pay like $10 a seat, the unlimited-weight-as-long-as-you-can-carry-it-yourself has proven more than useful for me in the past.

Also, I've never flown through Frankfurt, though I've done Schiphol, Heathrow, Gatwick, Stanstead, Luton all often enough that I wouldn't bother. You're probably better off going to Frankfurt for any continent-based travel, then hop on a german ICE fast-train, book up to 90 days in advance and you can generally get anywhere between NL, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Poland, Austria, Switzerland for as little as €30, much preferable to flying and take all you can carry (also, you get as much leg-room as business class on a plane).

Unfortunately the times are almost gone when you could easily get a 0.10, 1 or 10 Euro ticket (+ taxes) from the low fare airlines in Europe, rather calculate with 50 to 100 Euro for each flight now. If you choose a connection flight with one of these airlines check their luggage policy carefully, some charge a lot for each individual piece of lagguage or based on the actual weight. Avoid Ryanair, they have a horrible pricing system. You will have to pay to pay your ticket with a credit card, you even have to pay for check-in. Ryanair is thinking about replacing seats with some kind of stools and they even plan to charge you for using the on-board toilet.

Be aware, that some of the low fare airlines (e.g. Ryanair) call they destination London or Frankfurt or watever, but actually they use airports which are far outside the city centers which takes a lot additional time for transfer. Often these airports are not the main airports with the intercontinental connection flights, e.g. coach transfer London Stanstead (Ryanair) -> Heathrow will need up to 2 hours during rush hour.

In general, I would recommend to book your flights from a single carrier, than you are on the safe site with your luggage size and weight.

IMHO Heathrow is ok if it is your final destination or if you are using BA and a connecting flight also with BA. Then you do not need to change terminals (BA has a new one and the luggage problem from the opening time seems to be solved), but it might not be a very good idea if you take a different carrier to Heathrow.
Many do not like Schipol, I think it is fine. Normally the queues are short, but the food corner could profit from some extension.
Frankfurt has meanwhile finished most of the terminal reconstructions which was necessary because of the introduction of the A380 fleet to Lufthansa, I can not say anything bad about this airport. The railway station is convieniently located next to the terminal building.
If you are using Delta/Skyteam, Paris might be the first stop in Europe. It would be wise not to choose tight connecting times there, it usually takes a little bit longer there (long walking distances!).

But if you found a flight which looks good to you,  just take it, enjoy and have fun!

[7enderbender]

Forgot to add - I use a pair of these locks for my case while traveling.

Saw those when looking at the cases. Great idea with the TSA access. Have to get some of those for my dad who is still obsessed with locking or cable-tied regular luggage - which will get your zippers and locks destroyed if they want to open it.

In any case, is there any chance that you can put a 580EXII or 430EXII standing upright and/or in their protective sleeves in either the 1500 or the 2500? And are you using the Pelican organizer for the lid? Worth it?

[neuroanatomist]

In any case, is there any chance that you can put a 580EXII or 430EXII standing upright and/or in their protective sleeves in either the 1500 or the 2500? And are you using the Pelican organizer for the lid? Worth it?

A 430EX II will fit standing up in my Storm im2500 with the dividers.  It would fit in the Peli 1514, too - that case is 0.4" deeper. But, the 580EX II is close to 1" taller, so I don't think it would fit upright in either.

I don't have the lid organizer for my im2500 carryon - when I travel with it, it's usually with the loaded Flipside 400 AW, or with gear in multiple smaller bags (e.g. Lowepro Toploader Pro and some Lowepro Lens Cases).  Those cases have pockets for lens cleaning supplies, etc., so I've never felt the need for the organizer (nor the padded dividers - I have them, but haven't used them, though I would for home storage if I outgrow my other 3 hard cases).  I do have the lid organizer for my Pelican 1604, and it's handy for storing the little stuff.

[dr croubie]

I've had the "pleasure" of transferring through Frankfurt (can't remember where I was going). It may have been because of the building work that was going on, but it certainly wasn't pleasant. It was worse than Heathrow for crowds, resulting in very cramped conditions for refreshments. Also, most of the toilets were closed and the ones that were in use were disgusting, totally different to Munich, which is a much more modern airport.

I've also been through Munich and Berlin (the new one, whatever that's called), both perfectly nice airports. And yeah, i've got nothing really against Schiphol, certainly used it often enough (the re/construction should be done by now).
But it kind of depends where you're going. Schiphol for Netherlands, Belgium, maybe bits of western Germany (and for a day or two stopover before taking the Eurostar to London).
Berlin for Berlin, Poland, and East Germany.
Munich for Bavaria, Austria, Switzerland.
Frankfurt for northeast-France, East Belgium, Luxembourg, west NL, Switzerland, pretty much all of Germany.
Købehavn is nice too, but every time I go I get confused and take the train to H instead of the tube to my friend's place. Also good for southern Sweden, it's miles further going from Stockholm.
Also, for really long trips, go to Paris Charles de Gaulle, get a lease/hire car from Renault (or Peugot, always confuse those two), it's a brand-new car like buying and selling it back to them when you're done. If you're going for over 2-3 months or so it works out half the price of renting a car from a rental-agency.

[lol]

In my (European) air travel experience which work throws me on now and then, I've never had a case where carry on was denied being taken on board providing size requirements were met. Sometimes I've seen business people with wheely cases being diverted to an in-between state, where their carry-on baggage is loaded in a separate area on entering/leaving the plane which isn't exactly cabin nor cargo. On the airlines I've travelled on you can store both in the overhead and under the seat in front of you, at the possible cost of some legroom if you're particularly tall. I've never tried exceeding the size limits so don't know what might happen in that case.

If you're carrying on, I think a peli is overkill. A regular camera bag would suffice assuming the kit fits in one ok. On my last trip I didn't even bother with a camera bag, just threw the 7D and 70-300L (all I needed then) in my laptop bag, which I measured and weighed to be just within the allowances. Oh, the sizes and weights do vary by airline. I was a little disappointed that Lufthansa were much less generous in size than BA for example.

If you're brave or stupid enough to check it into cargo, then I think a peli would be mandatory as they do abuse stuff worse than parcel delivery companies! But you would need separate insurance if you go that route as I understand the mandatory compensation for lost luggage when travelling between different countries is basically worthless.

Oh, personally I'd avoid having connecting flights at all costs. The cost saving is usually not significant compared to a direct flight if you plan in advance with plenty of time, which is a lot less hassle and much faster. Only if there isn't a direct route possible would I consider it.

On Heathrow, my experience of it as a start/end point is that it is much like any other busy airport. Once you've got through check-in and security it is much the same as any other airport. I don't think I'd want to transfer in it though, as there are too many terminals of which two are miles away from the others.

[Michael_pfh]

I travel a lot for work and have fortunately never experienced any problems regarding the weight of either carry on or check in baggage (I am holding 2 gold statuses with 2 Star Alliance carriers, that raises the weight limit for me).

In order to protect my precious 400F2.8L while traveling I am checking it in using a Rimowa Tropicana 384.03 which is a very sturdy piece of luggage. It comes with some flexible set of dividers that allows you to customize the interior lay-out according to your specific needs.