Okay... anyone know if I fly on South Africa Airlines... can I have a carry on and a personal item if I fly economy class? I can't find anything on the SAA website... other than I can have one carry on as long as it is under 18 pounds.
I want to have my meds (my daughter NEEDS to have her meds) but I don't want to have to root in an overhead bin if I NEED to get her meds... I've never been on an airline where I have to worry this much about how much my backpack weighs... Anyone???
Figment, did you use a TA to book this? Maybe you could ask them about it. Also, every flight I've been on, if you have 2 items you will ave to put one overhead. Best to make sure your most important items are right at your feet if you need quick access.
We decided to carry everything on. My DH was so panicked about this being strictly enforced that he literally packed his camera backpack (which is the size of a good sizes roll aboard suitcase) and then tried to pack his clothes in a "personal item" sized tote. It was ridiculous packing 2 weeks worth of stuff in a bag the size of a ladies tote bag, but he wanted all his photo gear as his top priority!
We flew Delta to SA from Atlanta and they never checked anything, so when we got to the airport in SA, he bought a large duffle for his clothes (very nice with the SA flag, that he now uses it when traveling to hot spots so he doesn't advertise he's an "American").
So here is our one experience: no one on SA airlines for our flight to Botswana even looked twice at the size of the bags, and he was really carrying 2 carry on sized things rather than one carry on and one personal item. We had the same experience flying back. This was during the Olympics, so I have no idea if rules were more relaxed, but that was not our experience in SA; we thought security was extremely high at OR Tambo during that time, and still no one looked twice at what size the bags were, although they were checked through many times!
Of course I have no idea if you will have the same experience; the problem with security and baggage rules is that they are enforced by different people every time, and I have never found them to be consistent! Thats why I would try to find an answer from someone official rather than taking advice here. It worked for us, but I'd hate for you to be disappointed.
