Airline travel with suits

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DrRobert

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I've never traveled on an airline with suits before. When you guys interviewed, how did you make sure that your suit didn't get messed up?

I bought a suit garment bag. But it would get all smashed if I checked it along with the other luggage.

I asked the airlines if they had a bar to hang garment bags on, and they said no.

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I've done a decent amount of flying with a suit. I wouldn't check it; here's why:

1) My garment bag has always fit just fine in the overhead compartment so there's no need to check it.

2) I don't trust the airline not to lose checked baggage, and a lost suit would be a catastrophe on an interview trip.

3) You get in and out of airports a lot faster without any checked baggage.
 
Technically, they're lying.

They've got closets for jackets and whatnot cause I always have them store my wheelchair there. :D
 
Agree 100% with Hercules. That is exactly how I traveled during the interview season. The ONE exception to that was when I was heading to the East coast for a four day interview stint. I checked my bag. Connection was delayed out of O'Hare. My bag didn't make it to Pennsylvania. All I had was what I was wearing. Ended up having to reschedule an interview and prolong my trip.

Amxb...

Love your avatar. Boomer Sooner.
 
DrRobert said:
I've never traveled on an airline with suits before. When you guys interviewed, how did you make sure that your suit didn't get messed up?

I bought a suit garment bag. But it would get all smashed if I checked it along with the other luggage.

I asked the airlines if they had a bar to hang garment bags on, and they said no.

Thanks for any advice.

Companies make carry-on luggage with "suiters" to separate your suit from your other clothes. You do have to fold it in half or thirds, but it should stay wrinkle-free, which is the important thing. Plus, you will have exactly one piece of luggage to deal with, instead of lugguge + garment bag.

For example:
http://www.ebags.com/skyway/escape_...suiter/product_detail/index.cfm?modelid=16120

You can get creases out by hanging your suit in the bathroom while you take a hot shower. Wrinkles are a different story and don't come out nearly as easily with that trick.

And like everyone else said, travel with only carry-on luggage. Life will be simpler and less stressful. For more info on traveling light, see this site: http://www.onebag.com.
 
It will fit. The conveyers can handle quite large bags.

I don't know about other airlines, but American, for example, puts a restriction at 62 linear inches. That means the sum of the length, width, and height of a bag cannot exceed 62 inches, but even if it does you can still take it. It will just cost you extra.
 
Amxcvbcv said:
It will fit. The conveyers can handle quite large bags.

I don't know about other airlines, but American, for example, puts a restriction at 62 linear inches. That means the sum of the length, width, and height of a bag cannot exceed 62 inches, but even if it does you can still take it. It will just cost you extra.

Interesting. Most golf bags are roughly 46x12x12, which comes out to 70 linear inches. I've never had a problem checking my golf clubs before without any extra charges. Maybe there are exceptions. :confused:
 
I'm guessing they're not very strict.

I know my wife and I have a bag that's pretty big, and we've never had to pay extra.
 
whatever you do, dont check that suit bag. Only did it once, suit didnt make it to the destination with me. it DID finally arrive at 4:45 in the AM. Needless to say, I didnt sleep so good that night and I probably didnt interview as well as I could the next day. Any way you slice it, if you show up in street clothes, it looks like poor judgement (the airline lost the bag, but you gave them the opportunity to lose it).
 
Are lost bags that common in US domestic airports? You've got me worried :eek:
 
Retinamark said:
Are lost bags that common in US domestic airports? You've got me worried :eek:

No it's not all that common (it won't happen on every other flight you take), but I promise it will seem way too common the first time it's YOUR bags.
 
For what it's worth, I've never lost bags and I've been flying fairly regularly all my life - at least one to two flights per year.

The one time we thought we lost our bags it turns out they somehow made an earlier connecting flight and beat us home. I still don't see how that was possible!
 
DrRobert said:
I've never traveled on an airline with suits before. When you guys interviewed, how did you make sure that your suit didn't get messed up?

I bought a suit garment bag. But it would get all smashed if I checked it along with the other luggage.

I asked the airlines if they had a bar to hang garment bags on, and they said no.

Thanks for any advice.

I would also suggest not checking in any baggage. You probably won't need anything that wouldn't fit in a carry-on (some clothes, various personal things).

As for the suit, most airplanes have a little coat storage section near the first class portion of the plane. If you ask nicely, they'll usually let you use it. If not, try hard to put your suit in *last* in the overhead compartment. You don't want stuff squashing it.
 
This is incorrect, I believe. Almost all airlines have a small open closet between the first class and coach class sections which contains a rack specifically for hanging suits and blazers.

It is mainly designed for first class section. If you hang your suit there, the steward/ess will not care though, although if you voluntarily ask them they might disapprove. I advise choosing a airline seat closer to the front, in case something happens to it (Someone could potentially grab it while exiting the plane).

The only caveat is that for short flights (props or little jets) this feature does not exist; although you may be able to sweettalk the steward/ess into letting you use the stocks closet. Since little flights tend to be more spare, you will also probably be able to drape it over the empty seat next to you or in front of you.

Another side note for professional/business flights: Since you probably have carry-on, try to avoid boarding the plane late, to get a good overheard spot nearby your seat. If you are doing red-eyes, bring sleeping pills, ear plugs, and eye shades. Red-eyes are actually the most difficult flights to sleep on, because families use them to save money. Plan out aspects of your flight (food to bring, water bottle, reading material) so you feel refreshed and rejuvenated when you step out of the airport, vs. weary and frazzled. Don't stampede to reach the baggage claim, no one will bother with your luggage unless you have matching Italian leather cases; and it takes about 20 minutes to be unloaded anyway.
 
I agree with what many said above.

-Carry on if at all possible. If they don't have somewhere for you to hang it on the flight, you could always keep in on your lap, or lay it neatly in one of the overhead bins on top of the luggage.

-If you MUST check your suit: Many flights, especially smaller commuter flights have a "gate check", which is where you check your bags right at the gate just before you get on. This is infinitely better than the traditional way of checking your bags because you can actually WATCH them putting your stuff on the plane. Then you pick it up as you get off the plane. There's no way for it to get lost.

-I brought a small portable iron/steamer with me just in case my suit got wrinkled on the flight.

-Every single hotel I stayed at on the interview trail had an iron and ironing board in it. (So I never actually had to use the portable iron I brought, which is just as well because it was sucky anyway.) If you are staying overnight, it might be helpful to call ahead to your hotel and find out if they have one.

Hope this helps.
Good luck with interviews.
 
All good tips above...at any rate, even if the suit DID get squooshed on the flight, nearly all motels/hotels (even the cheap ones) have an iron in the room or one you can borrow from the front desk. Most of the portable ones I've not found to be very good, but a little touch up with a regular one should have your suit looking very nice for interview day.
 
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