So why do some travelers schlepp onto an airplane loaded down like pack animals with enough bags for a monthlong safari, while others breeze along relatively luggage-free?
Planning and common sense, the experts say, are the key to being able to hit the road for up to two weeks-on business or pleasure trips-with as little as one carry-on bag.
”The reason to travel with only carry-on luggage is not so much the possibility of losing luggage as the flexibility it gives the traveler,” says George Brown, author of ”The Airline Passenger`s Guerrilla Handbook,”
(Blakes, $14.95). ”It lets you get out of the airport fast. And if the plane is late and you`ve got a connection to make, or if the flight is canceled and you have to change to another airline, then you don`t have to wait for your luggage.”
In the last year and a half, Jane Nicholl Sahlins, executive director of the International Theatre Festival, has packed a single carry-on suitcase for the more than two dozen trips-between Israel and Hungary-she`s made to search out plays for this spring`s festival.
”I`ve even done a black-tie in England,” says Sahlins, who swears by the versatility of a black canvas expandable suitcase that fits into overhead compartments. For especially long hikes through airports, she`ll strap a set of luggage wheels to the piece.
Sahlins` luggage choice echoes caveats from other travel pros: If you`re going to stick to one piece of carry-on, they say, choose one that is durable, light, expandable, has a shoulder strap and fits within most airline configurations.
So how do travelers make the most of that one suitcase? They make the clothing they pack count.
”First-time travelers pack one huge bag,” Brown says. ”They don`t realize that they don`t need 10 pieces of underwear on a 10-day vacation. And they bring clothes they like rather than those that will mix and match.”
Brown makes a long list of everything he needs for travel and keeps it in the suitcase. ”The week before I leave, I make a second list of things needed specifically for this trip.
”Do some role playing,” he says, ”deciding what you plan to do on your vacation. So much of this is common sense and asking yourself, `How can I do this more effectively?` Put variety in your accessories, not in your clothes.”
Kelli Questrom also swears by lists and versatility. ”I write down the occasions I am going to-just like you do a shopping list. Then I make a calendar, particularly on long trips, and look for the common denominator,”
says Questrom, who accompanies her husband, Allen, chairman and CEO of Federated Department Stores Inc. and Allied Stores Corp., on most of his business trips.
”If I`m going to a not-too-terribly black-tie event and also a dressy lunch, part of what I wore at lunch I may use at dinner.” She will mix and match elegant separates-a pair of silk pants with a Romeo Gigli jacket at lunch, and then dress those same pants up for evening with a velvet bustier and high heels.
”The first secret to packing is shopping right. If you don`t have the right things in your closet, you won`t have the right things in your suitcase,” Questrom adds.
Let the versatility of the clothes you pack extend to your traveling clothes as well, says Tribune fashion editor Genevieve Buck. Her traveling outfit: Black wool gabardine coat, trousers, sweater. ”If it gets cold, I can layer a jacket underneath the coat or add a shawl.” She adds that a well-tailored black suit-jacket and trousers, for example-can be easily dressed up for evening, with the addition of jewelry, gold scarves, silky camisoles, etc.
”People don`t understand you don`t need a lot of clothing-remember you won`t be seeing the same people,” Sahlins says.
So much for basics, but if they don`t all fit in one bag, what goes into that all-important carry-on?
Brown`s advice is simple: ”Whatever you need to survive a weekend without your luggage. Even if you check a (second) piece, that single carry-on becomes virtually the most important piece you take.”
”Pack important things,” says United`s Joe Hopkins, ”including the things you really need, such as toiletries, anything valuable, eyeglasses, jewelry, prescriptions. Also include in that piece what you would wear to your first appointment.”
Chicago Tribune travel editor Al Borcover usually travels with two pieces. ”But the things that I absolutely include in the carry-on,” he says, ”are sweater, shaving kit, camera, film, any medication and valuables, a clean shirt, my tape recorder and underclothing.”
Says Sahlins: ”I always put my jewelry, passport, camera and important papers in my handbag. Then I keep my clothing to a single color.” She then adds a black shawl over her shoulders (which doubles as a blanket on the airplane but is elegant enough use as an evening wrap) and a nylon satchel, which folds up easily when not needed.
When it comes to parents traveling with infants, Midway Airlines` David Henry, father of an 8-month-old, says: ”Generally, when parents check in, the gate agent can tell you if it`s a full flight. Then the parents make the choice between carrying on support equipment for the infant or a garment bag. ”Then I try to pack everything my son needs for the trip in the diaper bag. On a four-hour flight, I figure he`ll need a diaper an hour, toys, the necessary bottles and formula and some clothing changes.”
Some other tips from the travel pros:
– Pack all your valuables in your purse (or carry-on). Never pack your jewelry, house keys, passport, medicine and prescriptions, etc., in your checked luggage.
– Keep your favorite toiletries packed in the appropriate cases and ready to go. There`s less chance then that you`ll forget the toothbrush, dental floss, etc.
– If you travel with small disposable bottles of shampoo, lotion, etc., consider packing them in self-sealing plastic bags. When the bottles are used up, you can toss the empties and the bags-and thus free up luggage space for souvenirs.
– When you`re on a business trip with several stops-and accumulating brochures, etc., enroute-consider packing the material and sending it home by mail.
– Do not lug entire travel guides along with you. Instead, take photocopies of only the pages you`ll need.
– Have a sensible hairdo-one that doesn`t require all sorts of equipment and hair-care products to look good.
– Stick with muted colors, adding brightness with accessories.
– ”Roll the clothes and stick to two pairs of shoes,” says Mexicana`s Kathy Lorenzi.
– ”Most importantly,” Buck says, ”carry with you the phone number and address of the hotel at which you`re booked so you can call to notify the hotel if you are delayed.”
– Most hotels have dry-cleaning services and, Brown adds, you can wash your own clothing (especially if you include some items with a percentage of polyester in the fiber mix).
– ”Pack clothing in the garment bag or folded in the suitcase within the dry cleaning bag,” Questrom says. ”Except for the most fragile chiffon, you`ll have things virtually unwrinkled.”
