Seeking advice on International travel (US-Germany)

[Frank Weeks]

I could use the collective knowledge of our esteemed brotherhood as I prepare to venture overseas for a shoot in Germany. I've been doing this for 30 years but international travel on a tight budget is something new.
I know there have been a number of threads about airfare in general over the past few years but they can be tough to hunt down.

I know enough to ship batteries to avoid any of the potential problems they present.

I will be traveling Delta and will attempt to restrict my cases to 4 checked and 2 carry on. The size and weight restrictions of checked baggage is not always clear but I believe it's 50lbs and 63in total (height+length+width).

Any suggestions on possible problems would be appreciated.

I'm also trying to find a rental house in the Munich area that could provide a small jib and rails for the 2 week shoot.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[Nick Gardner]

Delta is brutal, and wickedly stupid. Pint this out -

http://www.delta.com/traveling_check...ndex.jsp#media

Take it with you. Have a laminated card with your picture and the name of your company and the word media on it. If you are connecting in a European airport, be prepared for them to yell at you about the two carry ons. Be patient, and explain what they are. Ask at the ticket counter in the US for a tag for your carry ons. Some times they give you a first class tag to put on there so nobody bothers you.

I would make sure to have a plan for suicide as dealing with Delta is often worse than death, and if I had had access to the sweet embrace of the Angel of Oblivion, I would have taken it many times.

Nick

[Frank Weeks]

Thanks Nick. Fortunately I have a direct flight from the US to Munich.
BTW I brought up the Media Baggage noted on the link above to phone support at Delta.(3rd-25th checked bags 50 USD/CAD* each if under 100 lbs. (45 kg) and 115 total linear inches**) They were clueless about it an insisted that the limit was 50lbs and the cost was $200 per bag. I was sent $220 in vouchers from the producer in Germany but have not yet booked the reservation. I will continue to weigh the options. US Air is actually cheaper but the vouchers gave Delta the slight edge.

Delta is brutal, and wickedly stupid.

Appears to be an accurate statement.

[Shane Kelly]

Look into getting a carnet as well or you may have issues getting your gear back into the country.

[martinnoweck]

as far as you are looking for rental houses - contact licht&ton and say hello to mario or thorsten

http://www.lichtundton.tv/start/

0049 89 856 356 33

if you don't find what you are looking for there contact Ludwig Kamera
http://www.rental.de/

best wishes and kind regards,
martin

[Ulf Krentz]

Frank, for rental you might also take a look at:

www.fgv-rental.de

Enjoy your time in Germany!

Cheers, Ulf

[Frank Weeks]

Look into getting a carnet as well or you may have issues getting your gear back into the country.

Thanks Shane, I'm clueless about the carnet. Is it obtained here in the US or when arriving in Germany?

Thanks Martin and Ulf. I'll check out your suggestions. I hope they understand English as well as you guys.

[William Albertini]

Thanks Shane, I'm clueless about the carnet. Is it obtained here in the US or when arriving in Germany?

Thanks Martin and Ulf. I'll check out your suggestions. I hope they understand English as well as you guys.

http://www.uscib.org/

I have done this and it is a real pain in the ass, unless you really enjoy filling out forms. If you are worried about getting your equipment back into the States I would recommend taking all your purchase receipts, with their original US shipping address as proof that it originated here. It took me almost 2 years to get back my carnet security deposit, 20% of the value if i recall.

[Frank Weeks]

Wow. That does sound like a real pain. And not cheap on an already tight budget. I'm glad you mentioned bringing the purchase receipts.

I'm curious. Have any reduser pros had real problems getting equipment back to the US? Particularly from Germany. It's a problem I never considered and one of the reasons I started this thread. Thanks for the heads-up William.

[Miles Heckendorn]

Look into getting a carnet as well or you may have issues getting your gear back into the country.

+1
I actually haven't flow into the US with large amounts of equipment, but having the correct carnet paperwork has helped out tremendously in Europe and Asia.