International flights with 21' IMAC as hand luggage

[Traviscottrell]

Hi,

I recently Traveled from Siouth Africa to Australia with my iMac 21' as hand luggage with Qantas.
The reason I am posting this is because prior to my departure I could find very little info or people that have done this.

I decided that the original I mac packaging was far too big and bulky to take as hand luggage.
So I went to the local box supply store and purchased some double wall pieces of card board. Unfortunatly I don't have pics of the boards but the were about 1.5m X 0.7m and I had four.

I went for a matchbox style box as you need to take the computer out of the box at the security scan points, the box allowed the mac to be exposed but still protected in a 'cup' of cardboard and bubble wrap.

As you can see the new box made it into the hand luggage bin and was dead on 7kg which was within allowance for Qantas.

Once it was inside the storage area above the seats there was plenty of space and the box could have acualy been a bit larger.

The dimensions of the box are

length across - 56cm
width bottom - 20cm
width top - 6cm
height - 53cm

Its important to note that these dimensions are for the 'external' match box piece
the internal match box piece slid into it nice and snuggly.

I bought some nylon strapping which i sewed together around the box swell.

If you are going to try this just be careful when handling the box as it will slide out if it is tilted at an angle.

So it is possible to travel with the IMac 21' as hand luggage.
I also carried my camera bag which weighed 8kg and I had no issues ( I did dent ask at the check in if I was allowed to take two items as hand luggage, because it then gives them a reason to tell you its not allowed.)

I wrapped everything in a few layers of bubble wrap too which was super important to absorb the vibrations and impacts.

I hope you find this helpful.

 

[MadDane]

Very good and useful post! I looked into this a few months ago, and could not find much information either. I am sure this will come in handy for many people

 

[kilon]

impressive, great work

 

[maflynn]

Good luck, personally, I'd be nervous that the bubble wrap would be inadequate. I see how people jam things into the overhead compartments for my domestic flights, I would assume they do the same for international.

Hopefully everything works out for you.

 

[Traviscottrell]

Good luck, personally, I'd be nervous that the bubble wrap would be inadequate. I see how people jam things into the overhead compartments for my domestic flights, I would assume they do the same for international.

Hopefully everything works out for you.

Thanks Maflynn. I traveled at the beginning of the month with the iMac, I may have been lucky. I also had no issue on the domestic flight in South Africa which is notoriously small and packed. The design allowed for a bag to be placed on top of the box once inside the over head compartment , I used this space for my girlfriends hand bag so that other bags could only be placed on either side.

I wish I had taken more pics of the Mac wrapped in bubbles and inside the box.

 

[Maxout]

Thanks Maflynn. I traveled at the beginning of the month with the iMac, I may have been lucky. I also had no issue on the domestic flight in South Africa which is notoriously small and packed. The design allowed for a bag to be placed on top of the box once inside the over head compartment , I used this space for my girlfriends hand bag so that other bags could only be placed on either side.

I wish I had taken more pics of the Mac wrapped in bubbles and inside the box.

[doublepost=1532339582][/doublepost]Thanks this helps out a lot, you're right even in 2018 there's absolutely nothing to help you repackage your iMac.

 

[ondert]

I wonder the same thing for 27". Any idea?

 

[Maxout]

I wonder the same thing for 27". Any idea?

Well I don't have any tools to do this because I'm moving, so I'm thinking of going to a UPS store or to Apple store and have them repackage my IMac, I will bring the photos from this post.

 

[Hawaiian Starman]

Thank you. Was wondering the same, but about the 27". I live part-time in South Africa. Customs can be tough, especially bringing in large tech products. Curious what you encountered when going through Australian customs?

 

[Maxout]

Thank you. Was wondering the same, but about the 27". I live part-time in South Africa. Customs can be tough, especially bringing in large tech products. Curious what you encountered when going through Australian customs?

Well if it fits into that dimension for the carry-on luggage then you should not have problem, unless their regulations or different come up but I wouldn't think so.

 

[carol hyland]

Very good and useful post! I looked into this a few months ago, and could not find much information either. I am sure this will come in handy for many people

This cabin bag will fit a 21" iMac although older models will still be slightly overweight. It's available on Amazon:

5 Cities easyJet/British Airways / Jet2 56x45x25cm Maximum Carry On Cabin Approved Hand Luggage Trolley Bag 56x45x25

 

[AdrianaG]

Hi,

I recently Traveled from Siouth Africa to Australia with my iMac 21' as hand luggage with Qantas.
The reason I am posting this is because prior to my departure I could find very little info or people that have done this.

I decided that the original I mac packaging was far too big and bulky to take as hand luggage.
So I went to the local box supply store and purchased some double wall pieces of card board. Unfortunatly I don't have pics of the boards but the were about 1.5m X 0.7m and I had four.

I went for a matchbox style box as you need to take the computer out of the box at the security scan points, the box allowed the mac to be exposed but still protected in a 'cup' of cardboard and bubble wrap.

As you can see the new box made it into the hand luggage bin and was dead on 7kg which was within allowance for Qantas.

Once it was inside the storage area above the seats there was plenty of space and the box could have acualy been a bit larger.

The dimensions of the box are

length across - 56cm
width bottom - 20cm
width top - 6cm
height - 53cm

Its important to note that these dimensions are for the 'external' match box piece
the internal match box piece slid into it nice and snuggly.

I bought some nylon strapping which i sewed together around the box swell.

If you are going to try this just be careful when handling the box as it will slide out if it is tilted at an angle.

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So it is possible to travel with the IMac 21' as hand luggage.
I also carried my camera bag which weighed 8kg and I had no issues ( I did dent ask at the check in if I was allowed to take two items as hand luggage, because it then gives them a reason to tell you its not allowed.)

I wrapped everything in a few layers of bubble wrap too which was super important to absorb the vibrations and impacts.

I hope you find this helpful.

What airline allowed this? I’m flying American Airlines and their carryon size allowance is 53x36x23 (22”x14”x9”). My 2021 iMac measures 21.5”w x 18.25”h. (UPDATE - American Airlines allows a garment bag of L + W + H = 51”. Will be looking to pad my mac for travel. Fortunately will be flying first class and may have more leeway.)