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Pack light - but smart

Headed on a business trip? One frequent traveler offers some tips on how everything you need can fit into this one suitcase.

By STEVE HUETTEL
Published November 1, 2006

ADVERTISEMENT [Times photo: Ken Helle] The government's August ban on liquids and gels in plane cabins caused long lines of confused fliers and tons more checked luggage.

Everybody's got stuff they just can't do without, even far away from home. Maybe it's a special shampoo or skin cream. Or the iPod loaded with tunes that take the edge off airline travel.

The challenge for light-packing business travelers is balancing what they need with what they want and making it all fit into two carry-on bags.

Here are a few items I'll bet never made your list:

- A rubber sink stopper,

- A hand-held electronic book that holds two dozen novels,

- A knife, fork and spoon made of super-strong Lexan plastic.

Douglas Jensen of Boston won't leave home without them. The 63-year-old expert in real-time computing spends 100 nights a year in hotels and won't check a bag with the airlines.

Jensen meticulously packs dozens of work necessities and creature comforts into a wheeled suitcase and nylon bag that he carries on the plane each trip.

After emptying his bags, Boston airport screeners were awestruck that everything fit inside. In Killeen, Texas, a screener asked if he was coming back again soon.

Just don't when I'm on duty, she told him.

Jensen describes himself as "a very careful traveler" who doesn't like surprises. Who else takes extra batteries and a manual toothbrush on a two-day trip on the chance his electric toothbrush might die?

Still, he has plenty of tips that business travelers can adopt to smooth out those bumps on the road. More details shortly.

The last few months have been tough on road warriors.

The government's August ban on liquids and gels in plane cabins caused long lines of confused fliers and tons more checked luggage. Little wonder that 437,000 bags were lost, delayed, damaged or stolen in August, the most ever in a single month.

Airlines recently reported how much revenue the change cost them last quarter: $50-million for No. 1 American, $40-million at Southwest and $30-million to $40-million at US Airways.

At AirTran, where lost revenues reached $12-million, bookings slowed considerably after the foiled terrorist plot to bomb airliners and didn't recover for weeks, said chief executive Joe Leonard.

Jensen stopped flying initially but is back now. He's noticed that flight attendants still won't cut travelers - even elite-level fliers like himself - much slack when it comes to extra carry-ons or ones that are slightly oversized.

He swears by two tough carry-ons: a Swiss Army bag that goes under the seat in front and an Andiamo roller bag for the overhead bin. Jensen packs each with precision, even for a brief trip.

An extension cord, chargers and laptop stand go in the zipped compartment at the bottom of the Andiamo.

Then, a pair of slacks, one shirt and a jacket in a suit bag.

Next, the laptop in a Neoprene cover for protection.

Pockets hold 17 types of medicine - eight prescription, nine over-the-counter, plus pharmacy instruction sheets - various toiletries, a handheld GPS mapping device and a complete printed itinerary of his trip.

The Swiss Army bag holds things he might need on the plane: his iPod, two cell phones, noise-canceling headphones, electronic book, antiseptic wipes, aspirin and antihistamine.

Jensen is very big on anticipating the unexpected. He brings a self-winding watch to back up his battery-powered one. He always keeps a second pair of glasses on hand.

He even brings stuff that would seem easy to buy at any Walgreens, like little foil packets of Woolite.

"Sometimes you can buy these things late at night," says Jensen. "But what if it's raining? What if it's not open 24 hours?"

Here are some other tips:

- Put a business address on your bag tag and leave a trip itinerary in an open pocket. That way, the airline should return the bag to you on the road, not at your vacant house.

- Wear your heaviest pair of shoes, pack the lightest.

- Wrap shirts and pants individually in a dry cleaning bag. It keeps them from rubbing together in the suitcase and wrinkling.

Steve Huettel can be reached at huettel@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3384.

[Last modified November 6, 2006, 09:47:43]