I am looking at our mountain of clothes, food and insulin supplies and am wondering how we are going to get them into our bags for traveling overseas this week. I was hoping to bring enough supplies for 5 days as carry on but then I would really like to pack the rest as checked baggage. Does anyone know if AA will allow you to travel with a 2nd checked baggage for free if it only contains medical supplies? This situation was not listed on their baggage website as an exception to the second bag fees and the waiting time to speak to an actual person is currently at least 27 minutes.
I'm sure if you argued it enough (and with the right person) you could probably direct back to the Americans w/ Disabilities act and get them to waive the fee, but I think whomever you speak with at the service desk may not have that kind of wherewithal...so it's going to be an uphill task? To play the devil's advocate though, space is space in the underbelly of a plane, so seems a bit of stretch that "2 bags" does not equal "2 baqs", just because of the contents?
Perhaps someone else on here has some personal experience w/ this and can answer your question more definitively.
It's a little dangerous to put insulin in checked bags. The cargo hold may not be heated or cooled and the insulin could overheat or freeze (more likely the latter). I'd carry on the insulin in the cabin if aat all possible.
From the following Clinical Diabetes journal article " All medications and supplies should be packed in carry-on luggage rather than in checked baggage. This is not only to prevent loss from bags being misplaced, but also because baggage stored in cargo holds can be subject to extreme temperature changes that may alter the potency of insulin.
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I know many people claim it is safe in the cargo hold....but even if so, it could sit out in the cold or heat on the tarmac on a luggage cart, and in this winters weather (depending on where you are) it could go below 40 F .
The insulin vials will be with us in a frio bag in our carry on bags, as will all the supplies we will need for the first 5 days or so. In addition to this are all the extra supplies and food. It would completely fill at least one carry on bag, may be a second so I would prefer to check it. I have had no problem checking extra supplies/food in the past, especially for long overseas trips. My concern this time is purely space as we have never travelled in winter before, i.e. winter boots take a lot more space than flip flops and there are a few added Christmas presents too :-)
I guess if we can't fit everything into our allotted one checked bag/person, we will just take an extra bag and pay the $50 fee to check it.
I practically spend my life on planes, traveling easily 45 weeks out of the year. I would NEVER check my insulin or any of my supplies. That's a huge risk. I travel overseas regularly for up to two weeks at a time and get all the insulin/needles/pumps/supplies, etc easily into the same carry on I carry with my clothes. The last thing you need is to arrive somewhere only to find out your bags are lost...or are cooking somewhere on the tarmac.
I'm curious as to how much supplies you need for 5 days? I could carry enough for 5 days with 5 extra days in my pocket. I also travel a fair amount and have never checked supplies. I carry my spare insulin bottle loose in a pants pocket at room temperature.
Because I only travel by myself with a personal item (computer/ipad/purse), and a carry on bag (clothes, etc), I add a padded lunchbox bag that holds my insulin, pods (1 per day), cgm sensors, fruit, 1 box juice and sugar. (On my last trip TSA gave me grief over the juice, but usually it is ok.) I tend to have high BG's especially on long plane rides, and go low as soon as I get off the plane - so I started carrying a juice. My bags are black so they don't draw attention, and I hook the lunchbox to the bags with a large clip. When asked, I tell them it is 'medical'. That does it. If it is close to a meal, I also usually take a bag with some more food/fruit. I usually also wear a 'fanny pack' that I use for my PDM, Dexcom, phone, cash, ID and more sugar.
I suspect that you want to have a bag to fill with items you purchase (a vacation - how fun!!!!).
