Planes, bags and automobiles
Hi all.
Well, two interstate shoots and two very different experiences.
First up was Adelaide.
Flying Qantas out of Devonport I am allowed 23kg of stowable luggage and 7kg of carry-on.
I decided to pack the majority of my gear into my Pelican 1510 hard roller case and load that into my standard suitcase with my few pieces of clothing, toiletries and tripod and stow that in general cargo…I really don’t like sending my gear in general cargo but I have no option but to trust the Pelican. The rest …including spare batteries, which by law have to travel with you, went into carry on. It’s the carry-on weight limit I always struggle with. It doesn’t take much in the way of professional quality camera gear to add up to 7kg. One camera body and lens can easily wipe out 3kg…and then there is the weight of the bag you put it in.
I have an airline approved, Think Tank Takeoff roller bag. It’s a great bag, but I can’t get anywhere near to using all of its space without totally blowing the weight limit.
There is also another issue I discovered. Even if I somehow manage to stay underweight, the “approved” bag wont fit into the overhead storage and if stowed under the seat in front, you end up with absolutely no legroom (this is on the regional leg only…no problem on the Melbourne-Adelaide leg). Airline staff on the smaller planes always want me to check the Takeoff…which legally I can’t as it contains spare batteries.
The good news is that everything arrived in Adelaide with no issues. On arrival back in Tassie a few days later, I discovered a zip pull on my suitcase had encountered enough force to bend it in half and the grip on my monopod had a large tear. I think both were caused by the Pelican case moving inside the outer case. I thought I had everything pretty well jammed in…but obviously not.
The next shoot was Melbourne based and the client decided to fly me out of Wynyard. The bag limit with REX is only 15kg so I let the client know I would have excess baggage. No problem, they would reimburse me.
After the Adelaide experience I decided I need to try another bag configuration (the planes out of Wynyard are even smaller).
The bulk of my gear was again packed into my Pelican case with the intention of it travelling as-is. My clothing, toiletries and tripod in a small overnight bag would be stowed in general cargo with the Pelican. Spare batteries and a few small items would travel with me as carry on.
Good plan…or so I thought.
Upon check-in I was advised that it was a full flight and my bags (being overweight) could be offloaded. At this point I’m sure all blood drained from my face. WTF! I explained the contents of my bags and that without my bags there was no point in me going to Melbourne…”sorry sir, those are the rules. I will come and let you know if your bags need to be offloaded.”
F*#K!
I’m sure in the following hour I could feel the stomach ulcers growing…sooo stressful.
Time ticked around to when we were meant to be boarding... an announcement was made that the flight was delayed. This would normally be a bad thing, however for me it meant that everyone had checked in and I hadn’t received a tap on the shoulder…relief :)
But... (yes there usually is a but)…the delay kept being lengthened…things were going to be tight.
I arrived in Melbourne about 2 hours later than expected…aaagh…retrieve bags and get my hire car…fast!
Yeah…sure. All the in-terminal hire car counters were unmanned with notices redirecting customers to a central location…yay. I arrive to be met by a queue stretching out the door…so much for making my appointment on time.
As it turned out, so much for making my appointment at all!
It took an hour to get my car (the bulk of the queue was made up of Chinese, who spoke or understood very little English, in town for the Chinese New Year).
So finally, I am in Melbourne with all my bags and my hire car…but I am still at Tullamarine and my shoot is a 2-hour plus drive away at Colac.
I ring my client (again)…message bank. I find a number for my contact at the shoot…message bank.
I can do no more. Everything that has happened today has been totally out of my control…super stressful…super frustrating.
I decide to drive to Colac and hope like hell I can reschedule the shoot for tomorrow…fingers crossed at some point someone will return my calls.
A couple of positives…due to shortages of “normal” cars, I have a very swish BMW to drive and my accommodation was all sorted and they were expecting me :)
To be continued...