The new, British-imposed rules on carry-ons start throughout the EU next month. One and only one carry on bag per passenger leaving a European airport. That flight could be within Europe, or to a destination that permits more than one carry-on. Doesn�t matter. Your carry-on could be a purse, could be a cosmetics case, could be a laptop, could be a rollaboard. But NO combination of these.

The increase in lost checked luggage, not to mention the delays waiting for bags to appear on the carrousel, mean that many of us will do almost anything to continue to fly with carry-on luggage only.

FT members are an ingenious lot. Please use this string to add to a very basic listing of strategies:

Take full advantage of the permitted rollaboard size � 56 cm x 45 cm x 25 cm. Most rollaboards are 56 cm or more tall, but are not as wide or as deep as permitted.

Originating your travel in the EU? Pack a smaller carry-on inside your rollaboard, then buy any tee-shirts, underwear, sox, or other sundries you will need, in the US. You can then bring two carry-ons back to Europe.

Stay at hotels with laundry facilities, and use them.

Use same-day laundry and dry-cleaning service at your hotel.

Wear multiple layers of clothes onto the plane.

A very welcome thread.

That's only useful if you are not connecting to another flight through an airport with the "one carry on only" rule.

How this goes is more dependent on the airlines. If they have the intestinal fortitude to take on the increased misconnects and costs involved all around.

Do the weight restrictions on the one carry on still exist? When I flew Virgin into London last June, the weight restrictions were something like 13lbs (6Kg) - which was what my empty carryon weighed! (they had changed the rules since I bought the tickets, and I didn't double check).

If so, I will be carrying my video camera and digital camera in my purse - which they seldom weigh.

If they weigh it and it passes at check in, would they weigh it again at security? I can fit my video camera in a pocket until they 'tag' it cleared at checkin, and then transfer it to the carryon at security

For years I've used a travel vest - a vest with very numerous pockets. Most travel gear and outdoor clothing companies -- Travelsmith, Tilley, Magellan, Filson, and others -- make them. I especially like Tilley: expensive but well made and last forever.

These vests have so many pockets that you can stuff the equivalent of an extra carry on bag into them. You may end up looking like the Michelin man and waddle a bit , but you can get on the plane -- a vest is an article of clothing, and there's no rule against having a lot of stuff in your pockets. So far at least no security gate has ever said anything about my vest, though I have to put it on the belt since it usually has stuff in it that will set off the metal alarm. But once through security I just put it back on again.

If you don't like vests, some of these same companies make travel sports jackets or blazers which also have a lot of pockets you can stuff things in, though not as much as a vest.

I believe that any weight restrictions on carry ons are up to the individual airlines.

Are we going to be subjected to the same stupidity at all EU Airports that LHR makes passengers go through if a passengers arrives from the USA with two carry-ons and is connecting to another flight in Europe? That is, will a passenger be sent to the airline check-in counter outside immigration and forced to recheck the second bag and then have to go back through security, etc.?

Any information would be useful as we are connecting from a KLM flight from the USA to a KLM flight to the UK at AMS on May 2.

You should have a look at this thread

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...=647882&page=5

Where this totally accurate quote appears from SmilingBoy:

ONE BAG! ONE BAG! You need to put your camera in your ONE BAG! No shoulderstrap bags allowed if you already have another bag! ONE BAG means ONE BAG! No laptops. No purses. No hand bags. No laptop bags. Only ONE BAG!

(this only applies to flights departing from the UK. Arrivals but not transfers are fine.)

(If you plan for anything else - blame yourself for not following this advice. I would say that the few reports of additional items allowed are mistakes by the agents.)

(And I don't like it either.)

SmilingBoy.

I believe that, despite the EU-wide rule, it will be enforced with varying degrees of severity. Two carry-ons, almost certainly not permitted. But one slightly oversized will probably pass muster in Spain, possibly Italy, but never, ever, ever at LHR.

If you have enough time. Put one bag into left luggage, go through security and leave bag one in the lounge. Go back out to left luggage and bring in bag 2.

Assumption are of course that you have lounge access, and can enter the UK again(easy with an EU passport)

Reference, please. I don't believe it. As far as I am aware, the rules to come into force will only restrict the size of the luggage and not the number of pieces. But I am happy to be told otherwise (actually, I would be very unhappy).

SmilingBoy.

Yes, the new EU wide rule is indeed ONE piece of carry-on only.
No, the new rule will not come into force on May 6. It has been postponed due to of pressure from several EU countries. Actually, quite a few members of the EU parliament are pushing yor a RELAXATION of the current War on Moisture.

But where does it say that? I have looked and looked and can't find any official EU reference. Neither can I find anything on any EU airport websites (except UK of course).

Good to hear that. I'll keep my ears open in Brussels...

SmilingBoy.

A Google search reveals many articles and advisaries stating this.

Mike -- do you think the airlines themselves won't be enforcing this, just the local TSA?

Good idea - I actually used this once, for India...

Anyone interested in some decent clothing with multiple pockets, see this website:

http://www.scottevest.com/