current carry on weight limits and rules

Leaving next week to Gangga and Lembeh on Singapore Airlines.

Their site states a max weight on carry on luggage at 15 lbs and only 1 allowed in coach.

I called them and they stated that for "security reasons" the weight is limited and that they will weigh each bag and I should be OK up to 25 lbs and that the "second bag can contain a camera only.

My issue is that I usually carry my ports, strobes, lens, arms in a backpack and I pack the camera in its housing plus 2 lens and put that in a small camera bag 12x8x8 inches and carry both on. The back pack weighs in at 30 lbs.

Do they really weigh the carry ons??

Do I need to rethink my what I am taking?

Do they relax the rules in person?

Are they stricter on the way back flying out of Singapore?

Thanks for your help and input and yes, I just ordered a photographers vest.

Leaving next week to Gangga and Lembeh on Singapore Airlines.

 

Their site states a max weight on carry on luggage at 15 lbs and only 1 allowed in coach.

 

I called them and they stated that for "security reasons" the weight is limited and that they will weigh each bag and I should be OK up to 25 lbs and that the "second bag can contain a camera only.

 

My issue is that I usually carry my ports, strobes, lens, arms in a backpack and I pack the camera in its housing plus 2 lens and put that in a small camera bag 12x8x8 inches and carry both on. The back pack weighs in at 30 lbs.

 

Do they really weigh the carry ons??

Do I need to rethink my what I am taking?

Do they relax the rules in person?

Are they stricter on the way back flying out of Singapore?

 

Thanks for your help and input and yes, I just ordered a photographers vest.

++++++++++

We fly Sing/Silk Air frequently to Manado, Sorong, ...out of LAX.

We normally each have an approved size roll case on and a medium sized back pack. Have not yet been weighed yet leaving or returning. So Far!

At LAX, the TSA security inspection is seperate from the Sing check in counter. Tell the TSA you have dive gear, all U/w lights have the bulbs removed and if you have a Spare Air that the head has been removed and the bottle is open.

I usually take the SIA direct LAX-SIN at least 6 times a year (sometimes in the premium economy class). They have never weighed my bags at LAX or EWR ( the 2 times I took the direct flight there). In Singapore, they don't weigh either. LAX did limit my carry-on pieces to 2 once due to a full flight in premium economy. I usually carry my housing, cameras/lenses and laptop.

We have been traveling LAX to SIN 2 or 3 times a year on Singapore Airlines since 1999, and this May we made the mistake of sitting in the front of the boarding area because DebF had knee surgery about 3 weeks before the flight and we needed to have early boarding so she would be able to board without problems or getting run over by small women in a hurry to board.

BIG MISTAKE, they nabbed my roll-a-board because it was a tad heavy at about 19 kilos. I unloaded it into my backpack and her 2nd carry on and gave them an empty roll-a-board which they supposedly gate checked 1 hour prior to departure. IT was not on the flight with us to SIN and then on to Bali.

The gate Nazis also hassled 2 elderly women in wheel chairs and took their carry ons away from them at that time. One of them was traveling by herself and she was in tears. There was absolutely no need for her to get hassled.

I watched as the 350 or so passengers got on after we did and there were many with back packs almost as large as my 2 checked bags that had to weigh 25-30 kilos each, some folks had 4 carry ons, many of them larger than the one they made me give up and they had absolutely no problems whatsoever.

This is the first time either of us has been hassled about the number of, or the weight of our carry ons.

We did get my carryon delivered to our hotel in Ubud one day after we arrived in Bali thanks to the lost baggage service in the DPS aiport. It is 1000% better than American Airlines (AA) at finding missing luggage and forwarding it in a timely manner.

IF your luggage goes missing on AA the best thing you can do is search all the luggage areas at all of the AA gates, you will probably find it there, AA will never will.

So to summarize: Stay in the middle or back of the boarding areas for Singapore airlines, don't look at the agents, just be cool and you should be good to go with 2 carryons, possibly 3.

Just realized you are in MD and probably flying out of EWR. I think the check in process at EWR is better albeit more crowded. LAX changes its baggage procedure on a whim at Tom Bradley. Sometimes it's check-in first then screen your bags at TSA counter, but also reverse that order sometimes. Last year from Sep to Jan they switched it 4 times. I know, I was there each time and was caught twice. So call ahead to find out the rule of the day.

flying out of JFK

Thanks for the advice. Hopefully the gate nazis leave me alone. My lowepro weighs in at 13.5kg and I have the housing and camera in a separate carry on that is MUCH smaller.

Bought a photographers vest. If they get me, I will start loading up the pockets and pass things off to my wifes backpack.

Travel is getting to be a real PITA.