carrying electronics from usa to india

[sanket sable]

hi guys I am a pursuing my studies currently in US I want to know whether we can carry woofers, car kits, after market exhaust to India via flight. Please help me out with the things i can carry without been taken away from custom officers in Mumbai.
Thank you in advance

 

[GeorgeO]

I've brought 12 inch subwoofer drivers many times with no problems whatsoever. I havent bought car kits-what exactly are these, or exhausts so I cant' comment on them. On the face of it, if they fall below the value limit and if needed you may have to prove it-you shouldnt have a problem with customs. Weight is another issue-subwoofer driverss are not exactly lightweight.

 

[reubensm]

I've hand-carried turntables for myself and low wattage amplifiers for my friends on my trips from the United States. Never encountered any problems and never paid anything what-so-ever for duty.

@GeorgeO, there are loads of confusing reports on what the limits are, kindly share some facts about this. Thanks in advance.

 

[GeorgeO]

I will be able to give you a definitive answer by next week on the duty free exemption limit on baggage..

 

[CeeKay]

I will be able to give you a definitive answer by next week on the duty free exemption limit on baggage..

That would help George, apologies for being OT, much appreciate your help if you could one more query, For the Cabin baggage can I carry a trolley bag as well as a back pack, will both the items be weighed for the cabin baggage allowance? This assuming I am full with the quota of 23Kg in the Check In baggage.

OP apologies again for sneaking in to your thread.

Cheers

 

[reubensm]

That would help George, apologies for being OT, much appreciate your help if you could one more query, For the Cabin baggage can I carry a trolley bag as well as a back pack, will both the items be weighed for the cabin baggage allowance? This assuming I am full with the quota of 23Kg in the Check In baggage.

OP apologies again for sneaking in to your thread.

Cheers

Think I can share my experience on this aspect. The limit for hand baggage is usually 7kg. When I was traveling from the United States to India, I usually carried my laptop bag, a small strolley and a TT/Amp (so that would mean 3 pieces. However the total weight was never over 7Kg. I usually fry Emirates. However, once when I was flying from Dallas to Houston on American Airlines, they objected to the 3 pieces of hand baggage and hence, I had to put my laptop in my main strolley which was checked in. They allowed only the TT and the laptop bag. Hope this helps.

 

[GeorgeO]

Charan

You can carry on two pieces of baggage a small carry on suitcase weighing not more than 7 -8 khs and either a backpack or a laptop bag or a garment(suit) bag. I have found that the backpack is never weighed-I brought an Optoma HD 20 in mine on a trip recently.

 

[rjstyles]

That would help George, apologies for being OT, much appreciate your help if you could one more query, For the Cabin baggage can I carry a trolley bag as well as a back pack, will both the items be weighed for the cabin baggage allowance? This assuming I am full with the quota of 23Kg in the Check In baggage.

OP apologies again for sneaking in to your thread.

Cheers

Charan you need to know that most airlines who operate trans-Atlantic offer a baggage limit of 40+ kgs. Emirates at-least for sure offers 46kgs with 2 check-in bags not weighing more than 23kgs each. I don't think this has changed and IIRC BA, Qatar et all offers around the same numbers.

To answer your query about cabin baggage , you can carry a laptop bag and a small trolley and their combined weight shouldn't exceed 7 kgs.
Now in case you think you have exceeded the limit simply check-in 4 hours before your flight and in all likelihood you wont get charged for extra baggage. Has worked for me umpteen times and during my last trip, my baggage was over weight by 6kgs and was let to checkin without paying an extra penny.

 

[CeeKay]

Thanks for your replies Reubensm, George and Rjstyles

Think I can share my experience on this aspect. The limit for hand baggage is usually 7kg. When I was traveling from the United States to India, I usually carried my laptop bag, a small strolley and a TT/Amp (so that would mean 3 pieces. However the total weight was never over 7Kg. I usually fry Emirates. However, once when I was flying from Dallas to Houston on American Airlines, they objected to the 3 pieces of hand baggage and hence, I had to put my laptop in my main strolley which was checked in. They allowed only the TT and the laptop bag. Hope this helps.

Thanks again for sharing your experience, I have travelled with Emirates with more than 2 pieces of hand luggage, only once I was not allowed to carry only 2.

Charan

You can carry on two pieces of baggage a small carry on suitcase weighing not more than 7 -8 khs and either a backpack or a laptop bag or a garment(suit) bag. I have found that the backpack is never weighed-I brought an Optoma HD 20 in mine on a trip recently.

George, Thanks a lot, I will be traveling to UK not US. So I assume it must be just 23 Kg from Bangalore. It is good to know an item like Projector is allowed in the Cabin baggage, have never tried that. I will try to carry a DAC this time. But these days the cabin baggage we bring in is also scanned in Bangalore. Was not so in 2008 and 2009.

Charan you need to know that most airlines who operate trans-Atlantic offer a baggage limit of 40+ kgs. Emirates at-least for sure offers 46kgs with 2 check-in bags not weighing more than 23kgs each. I don't think this has changed and IIRC BA, Qatar et all offers around the same numbers.

To answer your query about cabin baggage , you can carry a laptop bag and a small trolley and their combined weight shouldn't exceed 7 kgs.
Now in case you think you have exceeded the limit simply check-in 4 hours before your flight and in all likelihood you wont get charged for extra baggage. Has worked for me umpteen times and during my last trip, my baggage was over weight by 6kgs and was let to checkin without paying an extra penny.

RJ styles, thanks again, I have had very similar experience with Emirates, used to get away when I used to check in before 3 hours and most of the time I had 3 pieces (Trolley+Backpack+Laptopbag) trolley was always inside 7kg, but other items there were never weighed by the Airport authorities used to weigh more than 7kg apart from the trolley. Once I got late checked in 45 minutes before the departure. I was not allowed more than 7 kg for the cabin had to send back my stuff.

Would welcome experiences of check in in Heathrow airport.

 

[just4kix]

Liniency shown by airline staff has nothing to do with checking early or late. Basically they know the flight load factor. If the flight is heavily booked or overbooked, they will not be tolerant at all.

But when you are late in check-in, they may have let in few last minute and now the flight may be fuller than usual. Hence they become stricter.

 

[rjstyles]

Would welcome experiences of check in in Heathrow airport.

Pretty well organized compared to what it used to be 3 years back. Now in case you are travelling British Airways then be ready for baggage delays.
BA =British Airways = Baggage Afterwards .
Before someone can flame me I speak from experience. Well not just me, but my wife too. She dreads the very thought of flying BA.

 

[giddavr]

now a days the baggage allowances are so variable among the airlines that u just cant generalise the baggage allownces. even when flying between usa and india and the same airline, u may face different situations. for eg. emirates allows 2 checked in pieces upto23kg. this holds good if u are departing from the usa in an emirates flight, but if u start ur journey on a local flight and connect to an emirates flight the rules of the first airline apply for baggage allowance. so it is always better to contact the airline for the latest info.

 

[GeorgeO]

Maybe better organized now at Heathrow but horror stories of their mishandling baggage are legendary. My son lost a bag travelling BA a few years ago, and swore he wouldnt travel on them again. LH is far far better-in my experience of travelling on LH for about 12 years, I have never faced a baggage problem. Maybe the traditional Teutonic efficiency at work!

 

[CeeKay]

BA =British Airways = Baggage Afterwards .

That was nice :lol:

Before someone can flame me I speak from experience. Well not just me, but my wife too. She dreads the very thought of flying BA.

I will probably fly by Emirates then

Maybe better organized now at Heathrow but horror stories of their mishandling baggage are legendary. My son lost a bag travelling BA a few years ago, and swore he wouldnt travel on them again. LH is far far better-in my experience of travelling on LH for about 12 years, I have never faced a baggage problem. Maybe the traditional Teutonic efficiency at work!

George, guess what I am currently working for the organization that has worked and tweaked the baggage handling system for T1 in 2009 and screening systems for T2 & T3 of Heathrow in 2010. So some of the credit for good experiences in Heathrow should go to us as well