ARmy Rumour SErvice

Cheers all. Some good tips. Found this about packing suits - thought I would share.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkW-...layer_embedded

Also found this for carry on

Red Oxx Air Boss Carry-on Bag Designed for 1 Bag Business Travelers.

Sleeping on plane not an issue, as I will be in business class I will do what I normally do and change in to PJ bottoms and T-Shirt, get the seat flat and sleep. People look at you funny but I get a good sleep and clothes still fresh.

Look at Victorinox luggage. I've a small wheeled carry on back I've had years. It's enough room for a few days kit and lap top. Very smartly organised and wheeling is better than carrying.
Keep a small set of toiletries always in your bag. Small eye bath and optrex or witch hazel is useful.
I hope they're giving you business class flights or you'll soon get very grumpy.

Originally Posted by jarrod248

Look at Victorinox luggage. I've a small wheeled carry on back I've had years. It's enough room for a few days kit and lap top. Very smartly organised and wheeling is better than carrying.
Keep a small set of toiletries always in your bag. Small eye bath and optrex or witch hazel is useful.
I hope they're giving you business class flights or you'll soon get very grumpy.

My laptop bag is a Victorinox backpack rig. One of the best pieces of luggage I've ever bought.

1 Travel in uniform as suggested and always wear your white, tropical kit, even if travelling to Alaska. I'm told the gay flight attendants might give you a free upgrade if you look a bit like Tom Cruise out of Top Gun. Hopefully, a "free upgrade" just means you change cabins and isn't some euphemism for bizarre, gay sexual practices.

2 To save on packing underwear, simply cut the legs off the trousers from a NBC suit and wear the remainder underneath your uniform. Thanks to the activated charcoal lining, you can wear these "NBC pants" for weeks and nobody will notice the smell.

3 Keep a spare cell phone charger and electricity plug adaptors in your case so you don't forget them.

4 Switch off data roaming on your phone. It costs a fortune abroad and you can use WiFi in your hotel.

5 Download some videos to your laptop in case the in flight movie is no good.

Never, ever fly British arrseways.

You'll struggle to get 1-2 weeks worth of kit into cabin baggage. To stand a chance, use vacuum bags - the travel type which you expel the air from by rolling - e.g. "Vac Pack" Vac Pack Travel at JML Direct

I'd also take a cup-sized water boiler and tea bags and sachets of coffee (Nescafe 3 in 1 is handy - you'll get used to the taste). We take it for granted that hotels have tea and coffee making facilities but most foreign hotels seem not to bother - you either do without or hang around for room service. A Beijing 5 star hotel provided guests with a thermos of hot water each morning...

I second Speedy's multi-pocketed jacket recommendation but make sure that the pockets are zipped. Lots of pockets allows the X-ray operator to see what the items are - loads of stuff in only a few pockets will see you being brought back to spread the contents out in a tray.

Wear a belt with a Fastex buckle - something less that you'll have to remove.

I rarely check in a bag, just because of the fuckabout it can cause - particularly if passing through one country en route to another. I also hate the 3 hour wait at the baggage carousel.

For travel gear, I suggest jeans, trainers, shirt with breast pocket and jacket. Reasons being:

- Wearing a belt is a fuckabout at security
- Often shoes other than trainers have to be removed at security
- Jackets are handy for putting keys, watches, sunglasses, cash, etc. into on your way through security.
- Shirts with a breast pocket are ideal for storing passport/boarding card

Always take water (buy after security) onto the plane as dehydration can be a nightmare when they offer you a thimbleful of water every 5 hours.

Buy an iPad. Battery life is stated as 10 hours and isn't far off that. Can be a lifesaver on flights with shit entertainment.

Remember, you will have to remove any iPad or laptop from your bag on your way through security. A zipped compartment suitable for such things can save time and stress.

A lot of airports (Bham, UK for example) offer a 'fast track' through security for a fee. At Bham, they verify you've purchased it with a little sticker, and it's not recorded in any way. Smile sweetly at the checkin desk and they'll normally give you a sticker, saving you potentially a fuckload of time.

You can also join something like airport angel (https://www.airportangel.co.uk/airportangel/) for access to business lounges when travelling. They can be a lifesaver if you have a long stopover.

Congrats on the Gucci new job!

Originally Posted by Glad_its_all_over

What they all said, plus remember that decent hotels have very quick turn around laundry and suit pressing available. Worth considering travelling in a suit in order to cut down on checked baggage, provided you're confident you can get it refreshed on arrival.

I try to minimise my carryon to what is absolutely essential - I hate those dickheads with all their worldly goods in tow who then take up all the overhead locker space. Kindle, laptop, duty-free fags, phones - everything else is replaceable if your checked bag gets lost or delayed.

By all means get noise cancelling headphones, or alternatively activate the squaddie reflex and just go to sleep once you're on the plane. It may not be restful, but it does make the time go. I try not to eat on planes and stay off the alcohol - just water to keep the kidneys working; decent scoff is wasted, in any case, as the pressurised cabin affects your taste buds badly.

Sign up for one frequent flyer programme from each of the major alliances, oneworld and Star Alliance - plus some of the independents, especially if you're in and out of the Gulf. I'm with BA for oneworld and Singapore for Star Alliance, your mileage might vary depending where you're likely to be flying most often. I'd sign up for hotel loyalty programmes as well, especially if you have a corporate travel policy which sees you using the same chains a lot.

Sorry but it is of absolutely no use to me to arrive in some remote craphole without the stuff I need to do my job, which includes a mapping GPS, laptop, mini binos, camera, mobile phone, condoms, electronic inverter (to give me 1kw at 220v for charging laptop, phone, GPS etc from a vehicle) as well as a change of clothes, notebook, passport, wallet, pens and so on.

I once arrived in Manila to interview thirty blokes for a contract in Oman and Thai air lost my baggage for 48 hours - disaster!

So I use on of these. It's made by Victorinox and trundles along on two wheels, it has a telescopic handle for pulling it along, has more pockets than a stage magician, is acceptable as carry on baggage and holds everything I need to do my job, so I can step off the plane and get cracking immediately.