Re: Been there and done that, but in far nicer circumstances
I too had a similar experience., but this was for oceanographic research facility out on a tiny island in the middle of the Pacific. The equipment I was setting up came in two pieces about 45 pounds each. The company I worked for decided that to save money, rather than shipping the equipment, I would stow it in my check bags (I was carrying 2 checked bags, a stuffed-to-the-gills duffle bag for my own stuff, and my backpack for my electronics and toiletries). They paid for the extra bag fees and then a little extra.
The flight schedule was horrific, though: I was stationed in Hawaii at the time, and had to go to an island ~100 kms from Guam, yet the flew my the most indirect way possible (The direct Honolulu-Guam flights were fully booked). My flight ended up being HON-> LAX -> ICN -> GUM and then onto a small seaplane to take me to the research station. All-in-all, I figured that the round-trip was close to 4 times the distance as it would have been if I had a direct Hawaii to the station flight (got First Class seats the whole way, so that made up for the time in the air)...
Biting the hand that feeds IT
