I always travel with a pilots case with integral digital locks. Large and sturdy. If it were me I would carry them both in my pilots case and of course with me. No packaging as you can simply lay paperwork etc in between. I always get searched so an extra laptop aint going to make any difference. My laptop isn't particularly light so you could find that you have weight issues with two heavy laptops, maybe. It is only on the odd rare occasion that I can't get the case in the overhead locker. Usually on UK domestic flights..... That way they would be secure and safe.
it's going to be heavy so you could push your hand baggage limits, I would definitely try to carry them as hand baggage if you can, you can make them a good bit lighter by taking the batteries out and shipping them in your hold luggage, although apparently you now have to store lithium batteries carefully and declare them if you have them in hold luggage, so bare that in mind. I'm taking 3 laptops next time, one for my son, one to replace the family computer that is now dead as a result of the floods and my work machine. Two of them will be in bubble wrap in the hold baggage with hard drives and RAM removed, the RAM and drives will travel in my hand luggage, I do this because I buy the laptops second hand but I usually upgrade them with much better parts, the parts are usually worth more than the actual laptop.
Umm, no! Lithium batteries can not be placed in hold baggage! How quickly you forget, Jim, as you expressed your dismay when I posted "Lithium Batteries and Flying" just a few days ago! And, in fact, I don't believe you can pack a laptop in hold baggage at all; it must be hand-carried and powered-up if requested by security personnel.
I don't want to turn up at the airport if I can't take them, some people say you can and some say you can't, maybe better to phone airline up and ask...!. The reason for taking is the same has Oss Wife's PC wait tit's up and was so old also going to cost too much to repair, so one for her, and the other one is for my Son. There also two mobile phones to go, my Wife's phone was taking from her on the train, and the phone that I got when I was over there for my Son wait the same way as the PC and will also cost too much to repair, I can get new one's here less the they can over in Phil. I did send one over by post and it never got there, and the cost of shipping them out is more then the cost of them, so that's out of the question, so better if I take them over. So let me get this right, I can take them with me, that's what I want to do that way I know they will get there...! and that I can leave the batteries in. The two of them together the weight is 4.5g I can always put the power pack's in the hold baggage. I don't have a problem with anyone wanting to boot them up there is nothing on them apart from the OS I built them so I know. I don't want to remove the hard drives and RAM's unless there is a good reason, like will the x-ray kill them...? Thank you all for coming back on this.
Laptops can pass through the X-Ray machines without harm, including the more advanced ones that detect the various changes in material type. You should, however, check with the airport you intend to fly from whether their security will permit you to carry more than one laptop. I flew out of Cardiff last time and spent well over 10 minutes persuading them to allow me to bring both my laptop and netbook - both were in the same carry-on. Both did have to be powered-up though and proven to be working (that in itself caused a problem as I hadn't recharged either of them recently). Why not pack them securely in bubble-wrap and place them between protective layers of clothing and send as a Balikbayan Box?
I had a fit when you posted that a few days back my reaction did not say I agreed with it I wasn't having the fit at you by the way just at what was being said! Have a look here :- http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/1219/srg_dgo_WhatCanICarry20120321.pdf Page 5 says you are right, also the note says "Carriage should be as carry-on baggage" so yes you would be correct. However same page fourth section So tell me where the sense is in that? All my batteries are less than 90 Wh and for the older laptops Anthony is probably taking over I would guess it's the same, so should one believe that high capacity laptop batteries in excess of 100 Wh are safe for the hold when low capacity less than 100 Wh batteries are not? Seriously? Don't you think someone has slipped up a bit on the definitions here? Also check page 1 again supports what you said, but how can the Page 5 statement for lithium powered devices with 100 Wh to 160 Wh be reconciled with Page 1, it's just nonsense. I'm taking my spare laptops in the hold with batteries removed. The terminals will be taped up and batteries will be in secure packaging, I will declare them and if they object I will ditch the batteries, the laptops have external power supplies anyway and are intended to be used as fixed computers, so batteries are not really needed. Page 10 IATA Guidance Document http://www.iata.org/whatwedo/cargo/...ent-on-the-Transport-of-Li-Batt-2012-V1.1.pdf This appears to clarify the under 100 Wh exception (a little bit) but still leaves it open to interpretation because although the 100-160 Wh clause refers to checked and hand baggage the caveat highlighted above refers to carry-on baggage once more. I am going to print out all this IATA and CAA stuff and if they question me at check-in there is going to be a very long delay for the passengers behind me. Furthermore from a chemistry viewpoint I do understand the risks but I will repeat here my question, how many flights have fallen out the air as a result of a lithium battery fire? Regards not being able to put a laptop in the hold, I can't find anything that specifically prohibits a disassembled (battery removed) laptop from being in the hold. To be honest if in doubt, as you say Anthony, call your airline and ask the direct question, can I take a laptop without battery as a present in my checked in luggage.
I remove the drives and RAM because of their value to me personally, they will get x-rayed anyway in my hand luggage, there is a tiny chance of x-rays flipping a bit on a disk but nothing to worry about to be honest. The other reason is to spite the thieves if our laptops do get nicked they have to spend money to make them work, plus even these ones for my son and for the family will have disks that are pre configured with our personal data, I set up a lot of stuff in advance, our old computer 7 years back (a desktop) was built by me in the UK disassembled and rebuilt from the parts once I got there, UK parts were and probably still are much cheaper than in the Phils.
Yes different airports have different rules, I have flown out of Liverpool several times to Poland on business with two laptops (a 14 inch and 15 inch) in my hand baggage and never been questioned, as ever they just want them separated into individual trays and scanned. Not sure I would trust laptops to get there safely in a Balikbayan box but would be happy to hear of any success stories as I have a shed load of old monitors that I want to send over.
Thank you Oss makes very good reading, but still leave's one at confuse.com...! the two batteries are 11.1volts one is 5200mAh and the other one is 4000mAh so am not sure where they come into the above, I don't want to go the Balikbayan Box way if I can help it, because I feel it may not get there, and also I'd like to be there to set up the pc's and make sure that they up and running for them you know internet and all that, anyone into PC's will know what I mean by this. and if am going over there why send them by ship that is costing more money, if and I say if I can take them with me on the flight, I feel its better to give money to wife to pay a bill or two....! I've not made my mind up yet about shipping the box so may have to go that way.
And why is it that by the time I type a reply here I keep having to logon again before I can post it........ anyone out there need to do this...or is it just me...?
Have you checked the "remember login" option Anthony? Not sure what it's called as I for one don't have this problem and it's a long time since I explicitly logged in. You might have a problem in general with cookies, are you getting this on other sites too?
Power = Volts times Amps P = VA Result is Watt's 11.1 volts times 5.2 amps is about 57 Watt's 5.2 amp hours makes it 57 watt hours So you are like me travelling with fairly low capacity batteries. I totally agree sir, I would not want to send by Balikbayan box as I would be worried about final delivery too, and I would also want to be there to configure everything and make sure it was all working, I'm a software engineer by the way so I know exactly what you mean. If you do the same as I am planning, with a nod to the current new restrictions as pointed out by Mark, then remove the batteries carry them in hand luggage (not the hold as it would appear I was wrong) put the laptops in your checked baggage or put one in your checked baggage and carry the other one in person, if anyone complains point them at the links I posted earlier the IATA and CAA links. I've carried lots of kit in the past with no problems whatsoever, it is always the luck of the draw, your bags can always get lost you never know what will happen but lithium battery fires are one of the more remote possibilities. It's always a gamble carrying anything of value in your baggage but for me the worst that ever happened was that my bag containing the kids Christmas presents was lost for 4 or 5 days in 2010, could have lost a lot of things that mattered to me but in the end they found them and passed them on to us. Apart from anything else batteries are carried every day as air freight by hundreds of airlines for commercial purposes so I would not worry about it.
Re the logon only seems to be here, by the time I read the post and the reply back I have to logon again and its getting a bit of a pain, its says am still log on but when I try and post up nothing, then I have to reload page and logon again, thanks for the update about batteries, I'll will make sure they are charge up because I'll be putting the power packs in the hold, and has one post said you maybe ask to turn them on. good thinking of you about one in baggage and carrying the other, and also tape over the end's of the batteries. thank you all for your help.
The site appears to be working fine so I don't quite understand what's going on? Kuya is the man to ask as he runs the site, I'm sure he will be along shortly
Interesting discussion on Lithium batteries. My old employer used to use them (and still do) to power electronic downhole tools when drilling wells. These always had to be treated with the utmost respect and care owing to their hazardous potential. They even had a nasty explosion and fire incident in their warehosue a few years ago. I am guessing that it is all down to the output / potential / charge of the respective lithium battery however?
Having just last week done a refresher Dangerous Cargo course I know Lithium batteries need to be declared in hold luggage. But if part of a laptop you will be fine. Apparently we were told that when shipping mobile phones as cargo the law states the batteries must be taken out. But nobody enforces this as it is virtually impossible to check with the amount of phones coming and going.
Big job in an iPhone.... What about watches? "CORRECTION 1/20/2013: An earlier version of this story stated that batteries would be banned from all flights, including within carryon luggage. This is not correct. It appears that the ban only affects cargo. This story has been updated to reflect new information. Just a few days ago, flights across the globe were canceled as concerns mounted over a January 7 fire in a Boeing 787 at Boston’s Logan International Airport. The fire was caused by faulty lithium-ion batteries built in to the plane. Now it appears that the International Air Transport Association, a trade organization, wants to ban shipment of such batteries in the cargo of Cathay Pacific flights, according to one expert. “I received an IATA notification yesterday saying that Cathay Pacific is stopping all shipments of lithium-ion and lithium batteries on cargo aircraft,” battery quality assurance expert Kevin Elsdon told me tonight. “And then another one saying that British Airways was banning the shipment and carrying of lithium and lithium-ion batteries, period.”" Read more at http://venturebeat.com/2013/01/19/b...s-after-boeing-787-fires/#FFfeGtt2lBsyibfw.99
In the end I took four laptops over with me two are still there for the kids, two were transported in hold baggage the other two (the ones I use personally and for my work) were transported in my hand luggage. No questions asked regards me pulling out two laptops from my hand baggage at inspection in the UK or Schiphol, all arrived safely and after a day of acclimatisation I switched on the ones transported in the hold, they were frozen and suffered heavy condensation when removed from my suitcase however ThinkPad's are built to survive that kind of mistreatment. Next time I will leave one more laptop over there as the kids games and general usage of the machines was slightly more demanding than I had foreseen, the lovely wee IBM T43 that I took over turned out to be a bit under-powered for them.
