I am planning to do a shoot on the Island of Dominica. The regional airline, LIAT, has very severe limitations, 1 bag, max 15 lbs and 36inches LxHxW. Does anyone have experience with flying in the region? Any advice would be helpful. I plan to be doing bird photography principally as well as general travel work. I would like to carry my Nikon 200-400 f4, plus 3 other lenses, tripod flash TCs etc.

Ideally I would like to get as much equipment as possible into the cabin where I can keep an eye on it.

BTW if I've posted in the wrong forum, pls let me know. Thanks

Jean

Jean, I've not flown with this carrier but have carried similar stuff on others - most recently to the Galapagos a week ago. Here's what I do:

1. Put tripod, cables, chargers and other similar stuff in checked baggage.
2. Make sure I can fit camera and lenses in a suitable sized carry on bag. This has been a challenge at times but by sharing equipment storage with my wife we have been able to manage.
3. This has left us with 20-25 lb bags (of correct size) which is well over the 12-15 lb wt limit. To get around this - first most airlines don't worry about this wt difference and rarely weigh the bags. It is less than the difference in wt that they assume for each passenger anyways. Secondly, I've used Michael's approach and wear a shooting vest on each flight. If the bags are going to be weighed I can pull out the camera with my heaviest lens attached for around my neck and dump several lenses in pockets.

This leaves my (almost empty) bag with computer included weighing in at about 10 lb's and the rest of the stuff in pockets....

The system works for me!

Jon,
Thanks for giving me the benefit of your experience. The photo vest idea is brilliant!

Jean

I like the photo vest idea and it seems to have worked for other photographers, including Michael.

In other developments, you should know that LIAT is not the most reliable airline (but then there is not much else from which to choose when flying to those islands). So be prepared, just in case, for delays of several hours in length. Otherwise the staff are friendly and the pilots competent.

Sean

Decades ago in the Caribbean they used to name-change LIAT "Leave Island Any Time" - but that was because they usually left ahead of schedule. Nowadays however, their website is kind enough to warn travellers of delays due to delays in the delivery of additional aircraft, and they post the cancellations and re-arrangementss, so best to bookmark it and check it up to the time you travel. LIAT uses Dash 8 aircraft, which have very limited carry-on storage capacity, so you can expect the carry-on situtation to be restrictive.

Thanks Mark and Sean,

I now feel better prepared and am praying mightily that the airline people show some flexiblility...
Jean

I agree with Mark on this one. But also check at the LIAT counter from time to time when you are in the airport, just in case there are delays. Carry a book with you so you can read in case of delays. I presume that you will be travelling from Barbados as that used to be LIAT's hub - its a nice airport to be stuck in for a few hours as the washroom is clean and works and the food is edible but expensive.

Let us know when you get back how things went and perhaps a website with your Dominica photos. I have never been to that island but it is supposed to be nice and hope one day to visit.

Oh, and its the tail end of the rainy season in the Caribbean so please carry a raincoat w/ a hood just in case....and you may wish to consult satellite maps of the Eastern Caribbean (available on the web from the US national hurricane centre:

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/east/tatl/vis-l.jpg

This way you can see the cloud patters east of the island and that's all you have to worry about - rain as hurricane season is over. Weather forecasting is so simple in the islands. Not like in North America. <sigh>

Have fun!

Sean

Hi Sean,
Thanks for the heads-up on the weather. Actually, I am flying in from Antigua, which is the current HQ of the airline. I definitely will have a little reading material with me.

Jean