Luggage arrived in Perth soaking wet flying QF from MEL -> PER.

[sinophile888]

My son and his family flew from MEL -> PER on QF today. There was very heavy rain in Melbourne and the flight was delayed by about 45 minutes. When he collected their luggage in PER, the car seat, stroller and the clothes inside their suitcase were all saturated. It was very difficult to cope with as there was no other way to transport the baby without the car seat. So she had to travel in a wet seat. He then had to put the family's clothing into our clothes dryer. He doesn't seem too worried, but I am very annoyed on his behalf.

 

[esseeeayeenn]

Luggage is routinely transported to and from aircraft on open trailers and exposed to the weather. If it rains, it gets wet.
Perhaps you could put car seats and strollers inside plastic bags.
I am not sure why the clothes inside your son's suitcase would have been wet.
Suitcases should keep their contents dry.

 

[sinophile888]

Thanks for your reply esseeeayeenn.
I am not impressed that luggage is transported open to the weather. I have never really taken much notice of luggage during inclement weather. We usually sit on the left side of the plane. Possibly luggage is loaded on the right side.
Next time, I will recommend that they have their luggage wrapped.

 

[Bodie]

Another option is to wrap clothes in scented bin liners - we usually use lavender- even wrap toiletry bag- so if anything leaks it doesnt go on clothes- take couple spares for dirty laundry - when get home just put the bag of dirty clothes in laundry and clean clothes are kept seperate - we just then reuse bags for their normal use. Mrs Bodie also takes the hotel soap if wrapped in bottom of bags as well. We havent had any issues re wet clothes - using that method.

We one saw a bag of luggage get dropped in grand canal in venice - being transported to hotel - so things happen.

 

[FrankP]

We one saw a bag of luggage get dropped in grand canal in venice - being transported to hotel - so things happen.

OUCH!!!

 

[kpc]

On my return to Sydney last month from Krakow, my bag went missing for 5 days....when I finally got it back, all the clothes were damp suggesting the bag had been exposed to the elements! Everything went into the washing machine!

 

[robtemt]

We got rid of all of our suitcases with zippers. In Seattle, someones bottle of hot sauce (it must have been a 1 or 2L of franks or something) broke in their bag, and leaked through the zipper in ours.

As we were waiting for the shuttle bus to the car rental plaza I could smell hot sauce, and I commented that I was in the mood for mexican food, then looked at my +1's bag and said it looked like there was blood on it. We started to wipe it down, and reliased it was hot sauce, and I said "some baggage handler must have used our bag as a table for his lunch". We opened the bag at the hotel, and OH. MY. GOD. There was so much hot sauce in the bag. The lining was saturated. Luckily, it was our bag for all the stuff we were buying during our 3 week trip in the US, and we had put everything in zip-lock bags.

Alaska Airines reimbursed us the full retail replacement cost for the replacement of the bag, in USD, which was nearly $200USD more than we paid.

Oh, my point.... We only use the samsonite clip-closure hard cases now for our checked bags.

 

[tgh]

samsonite clip-closure hard cases now

+1

The "lucky" bag on top of the pile on the trailer often gets drowned frozen baked or peppered with hail

 

[ffhound]

Its all part of Qantas's new free hydration service - keeping your clothes hydrated and fresh when you travel!

 

[Pushka]

Adelaide had the same bucketing of rain in the last couple of days and MrP reported all the luggage from his flight ADL-MEL came out drenched. His case is a hard case so it was fine. But there’s nothing that can be done really.

 

[kookaburra75]

I fee lfor your son and family, as I remember what it was like to travel with kids.
I've seen it happen more than a few times over the years,including my son when he was on his way to our wedding a few years ago - his suit was ruined and we had to rush out and buy a new one for a couple of hours to go. In his case, there was a flash storm hit Melbourne and the bag handlers had to take cover and leave everything where it was.. I use the bin liner trick to pack my bag, as you never what could happen.

 

[Quickstatus]

My son and his family flew from MEL -> PER on QF today. There was very heavy rain in Melbourne and the flight was delayed by about 45 minutes. When he collected their luggage in PER, the car seat, stroller and the clothes inside their suitcase were all saturated. It was very difficult to cope with as there was no other way to transport the baby without the car seat. So she had to travel in a wet seat. He then had to put the family's clothing into our clothes dryer. He doesn't seem too worried, but I am very annoyed on his behalf.

Major thunderstorms hit MEL on Saturday. Once this happens, the people on the ground have to desist and seek shelter. Nothing can be done unfortunately

 

[MEL_Traveller]

...but I am very annoyed on his behalf.

Yeah. I can empathise with this. It is annoying and can be mostly avoided by having covered luggage trailers and covered conveyors between the trailer and the plane... just like they do in places like India where rain is common.

Or try and fly wide-bodies or Airbus where luggage is often containerised.

 

[Antoallison]

Can I also suggest spraying soft sided luggage and back packs with a can of Scotchgard or Selleys fabric protector from Bunnings $10.

I spray all new luggage before travel, then top up in between trips.

Water repelling treatment helps, and the garbage bag trick sounds good too.

 

[Austman]

Or make sure your travel is on an A330 or an A320, B787 etc that use containers for luggage.

The 737s and other smaller jets don't.

 

[jase05]

Or make sure your travel is on an A330 or an A320, B787 etc that use containers for luggage.

The 737s and other smaller jets don't.

Unfortunately they are not 100% waterproof either but it’s as you said it’s a far better option

 

[Quickstatus]

Unfortunately they are not 100% waterproof either but it’s as you said it’s a far better option

May not be waterproof. But highly water resistant unless the ULD has a fabric/soft door.

 

[jase05]

May not be waterproof. But highly water resistant unless the ULD has a fabric/soft door.

Yes, the AKH’s still let in plenty of rain if there is a sudden downpour. In really bad weather they can also be wrapped in plastic which does a brilliant job

 

[kpc]

Can you imagine how wet the bags will get if there was a thunderstorm?...at Mel airport 30mins ago...

 

[jpp42]

Is Australia the only major country that still uses these completely open baggage trolleys? I've never seen these anywhere else.