Multiple Carry On Laptops & External Storage HDDs - How?

[crashnburn]

So, I have a situation. Flying international from Houston, TX (IAH) to Bombay, India (BOM). I am making a one way move from IAH to BOM so a lot of my "KEY" electronics have to travel with me versus a lot of other stuff is getting shipped.

Note: A little not so heavy on my poor back please.

I have:

Laptops
- 17" Dell Laptop (Personal) - Heavy
- 14" Thinkpad (Work) - PRIMARY
- 14" Thinkpad (Work Demo "ONLY" Laptop) - SECONDARY
- 15" HP (Old Personal to gift to mom) - Heavy
+ Power adaptors for each

External HDDs:
- 3.5" External USB / Firewire HDDs (Quantity: 4).
- 2.5" External USB (Quantity: 1)
+ Power adaptors for each

Phones:
- T-Mobile MDA (My normal usage phone for 2 years)
- T-Mobile Dash (Backup - Unused)
- Alltell PPC6700 (For heavy local usage on Cricket Mobile)
- iPhone (new purchase)
+ 2/3 Power adaptors / chargers that are "Common"

MINI ACCESSORIES + MISC:
- Bluetooth Headset + Charging Cable
- Passport, Currency, Papers, Some Documents etc.

Now I cannot checkin any of the above equipment or ship them. They are:
- Fragile
- Important
- Critical for usage when I get there

OPTIONAL
PS: Maybe add a Thinkpad Docking Station with adaptor.

Is there a good way to spread this "with reasonable padding" between a carry on and a laptop bag / backpack for the IAH to BOM one way Continental Flight?

I've done 3 laptops in the past including the 17". I did the 17" + 2 x 14" laptops before spread between one of my carryons and the laptop pack - Packed in a towel in the carryon. I cant remember though which particular carryon it was (maybe one that got lost by CO during the Liquid Fiasco).

I know that there certain CARRYON BAGS larger than the official carryon SIZE that actually fit perfectly into the overhead bins.

The flight is IAH > EWR > BOM
IAH (Houston) > EWR (Newark) : Flight: CO152 Aircraft: Boeing 757-200
EWR (Newark) > BOM (Bombay): Flight: CO48 Aircraft: Boeing 777-200ER

I'd really appreciate some suggestions here.

Please do not use this thread to BASH me on trying to push the edge on carryon baggage.

PS - Please do not advise me to ship. Please focus on packing material, techniques, bags and relevant ideas.

Thanks.

[whizkid]

1. Hardly anybody knows airport codes besides ones they use a lot, so we don't really know where you're leaving or going.

2. Ship them. Really.

Personally, I'd take just the hard drives with me and pack up the electronics carefully and ship them (overnight if need be). After all, they were shipped in cardboard boxes to you.

If they really are so very precious, buy a large hard case and have custom foam pieces cut for travel.

If any one piece of hardware going missing or breaking will stop you from getting work done, you're not taking care of your business.

My two cents.

And carryon bags are supposed to fit under the seat in front of you.

[crashnburn]

1. Hardly anybody knows airport codes besides ones they use a lot, so we don't really know where you're leaving or going.

2. Ship them. Really.

Personally, I'd take just the hard drives with me and pack up the electronics carefully and ship them (overnight if need be). After all, they were shipped in cardboard boxes to you.

If they really are so very precious, buy a large hard case and have custom foam pieces cut for travel.

If any one piece of hardware going missing or breaking will stop you from getting work done, you're not taking care of your business.

My two cents.

And carryon bags are supposed to fit under the seat in front of you.

Again - I am asking for advise on packing this and not shipping it. I've done part of it before - 3 laptops with 1/2 external HDDs. I know there's a better efficient way to do this.

Why dont I ship it? possible damage and waiting time. Cant afford it.
Another reason.. Customs Duty.

I recently (couple of months back( had someone mail me my OWN .. OLD blackberry 7100T that I used to use 1.5 years ago from my apartment to me in India and had them identify it as USED OLD PERSONAL PROPERTY.

They charged me 100$ duty on it.

SO CAN WE GET BACK ON TRACK - PACKING ADVISE PLEASE

[Brad]

I have a Targus case that holds two ThinkPads. If you take one like mine and then a large laptop bag you may get away with all four laptops.

Brad

[crashnburn]

I have a Targus case that holds two ThinkPads. If you take one like mine and then a large laptop bag you may get away with all four laptops.

Brad

Which case is that? Link please?

[joe19812]

maybe you could get a ~20inch roll-aboard suitcase and some laptop padded sleeves. Put the laptops in the padded sleeves and put these into the suitcase with some towles or something for extra cushing support.

[Volker]

Bubble wrap is very light and good at cushioning.

Consolidate your old external hdds onto a 1TB drive and check old laptops, old hard drives, and all chargers except one for your work thinkpads. Apply bubble wrap and packing tape until its one large blob thats harder to identify & steal

[egibbs]

I'm sure you know this but they tend to be stricter WRT carry-ons on international flights. What makes it onto the Houston to Newark leg may not make it onto the flight to Bombay.

That said, a first or business class ticket can ease the rules a bit.

Ed Gibbs

[crashnburn]

I've taken all this typically on international flights. Never had to do it local.

And the only place I got any grief at all was Paris (CDG) where I had to explain the work I do for them to realize.

[crashnburn]

Would the padded sleeves be better or bubble wrap? From both the following angles:

- Protection / Padding
- Ability to remove & reinsert at the airport security. I do not expect to do this more than once - At Houston only I guess. If it was Paris they would do it again. I believe Newark will trust my transit passenger status.

[bill bolton]

- 15" HP (Old Personal to gift to mom) - Heavy

My suggestion about your PACKING problem is that you need to take a long hard look at what is crucial to your livelihood and absolutely must be hand carried and what isn't.

Also, just because you managed to get multiple laptops (etc) onto an international flight previously doesn't mean you will next time. Anything could happen between now and when you depart and you could be facing a very different security situation than you have assumed.

Remember, you basically have no real rights in terms of what you can take aboard a commercial aircraft, no matter what you might think. If the aircrew/airline perceives there is flight safety issue, they can deny boarding of yourself or your carry-ons, and will worry about sorting out any regulatory issues later.... I have had this happen several times in my global travels, more so over the past 5 years, so its not a theoretical scenario.

Cheers,

Bill B.

[fuscob]

And carryon bags are supposed to fit under the seat in front of you.

This would be my biggest concern. A carry-on has to fit beneath the seat in front of you or in the overhead compartment...I'm not sure that any bag carrying (securely, safely) all the stuff that crashnburn listed would fit in either space.

[mpcook]

- 15" HP (Old Personal to gift to mom) - Heavy

My suggestion about your PACKING problem is that you need to take a long hard look at what is crucial to your livelihood and absolutely must be hand carried and what isn't.

Also, just because you managed to get multiple laptops (etc) onto an international flight previously doesn't mean you will next time. Anything could happen between now and when you depart and you could be facing a very different security situation than you have assumed.

Remember, you basically have no real rights in terms of what you can take aboard a commercial aircraft, no matter what you might think. If the aircrew/airline perceives there is flight safety issue, they can deny boarding of yourself or your carry-ons, and will worry about sorting out any regulatory issues later.... I have had this happen several times in my global travels, more so over the past 5 years, so its not a theoretical scenario.

Cheers,

Bill B.

I would reiterate what Bill said. I travel quite a bit internationally. Going business class will help a good deal. Also, my experience is that EWR is one of the more stringent airports for international travel, vs the others I have flown out of. YMMV. (I have little experience with CO as carrier).

I would also not trust a checked bag with anything valuable. More and more are getting lost. I would consolidate to the laptops you can easily carry on, remove the hard drives from the others and carry the drives on as well. Carry on has tightened up only recently. There is a certain unpredictability as Bill mentioned. Plan for the worst. Carry on sized hard case with foam is a good option. Good luck. Let us know how it goes.

Mike

[Brad]

I have a Targus case that holds two ThinkPads. If you take one like mine and then a large laptop bag you may get away with all four laptops.

Brad

Which case is that? Link please?

That case can be found here.

I can have two 15" 4:3 ThinkPads in this roller case that will fit under your airline seat. There is also a third zippered section that I use for spare adapters and portable hard drives. I can fit an amazing amount of stuff in this case. Even a fight with an escalator at Seatac last month revealed that this case can protect ThinkPads.

I recommend it.

Brad