Here’s some more on Suitcase Psychology from expert Judi James and Virgin Atlantic:
DESIGNER TRUNKS
This luggage defines the ultimate PM traveller (as in: ‘Pretentious? Moi?’), a competitive perfectionist with delusions of old-style First Class grandeur who loves to flaunt his/her success, but in what they see as a tasteful and non-tacky way. For them this luggage defines their achievements and their status in life and all standard class passengers should stand aside in respect as they sweep through the airport in true A list style.
This is the Greta Garbo of holiday makers, someone who is outwardly saying ‘I want to be alone’ although with all the matching designer gear and huge, blackout designer shades what they’re really saying is ‘Look at me! Aren’t I rich and famous!’
This traveller likes their creature comforts too much to be remotely adventurous so yomping and roughing it are firmly off the menu. Their love of pampering means the journey might be more important than the destination so their holiday will start the minute they put on the eye mask and recline their seat to the sound of champagne corks gently popping as the complimentary Champers and canapés get served. They love the bustle and shops of New York or a designer sun lounger alongside an infinity swimming pool in St Lucia or the Seychelles.
THE CORPORATE CASE
There’s a whiff of the double-bluff about this traveller, as though they’ve done the designer thing once but then shunned it for something more practical, low-key and ‘real’ in terms of their working class roots. For them the sign of real power and status is a horror of all things pretentious or snobby. They know they’ve made it so there’s no need to be flashy, especially during the financial crisis when it might seem crass to flaunt your wealth.
There’s a very practical side to this rather focused and determined person, too, meaning a time-managed flight that includes working on the laptop or catching up on some well-earned power-napping rather than putting on the headphones and chilling in front of a movie. Impatience is a problem for them so delays en route can cause outbreaks of panic and even anger. The corporate look of their luggage suggests heavyweight work meetings rather than a beach holiday, which in turn implies they like to mix business with pleasure. This suggests their destinations tend to be capital city-based or somewhere where they can park the family on a sandy beach while they rush off to make deals for the next TV series or the next season.
This is a long-haul traveller but their love of keeping busy means they’re more likely to be heading for the west or east coast of the US rather than the foothills of the Andes. If they do intend to soak up the sun rather than soaking up a business proposal they’ll be likely to be heading for somewhere smart in places like Dubai or Thailand.
CRAZY COLOURED LUGGAGE
Attention-seeking and slightly scatty, this is the noisy, dramatic traveller who will hold up the queue while they hunt for their passport or dash off to get a burger just as boarding has been announced. Their lives are chaotic but fun because they lack the part of the brain that deals with forward planning and consequences. They’re the zany friend you take on holiday only to wish you could tip them off the pier on day two of your break, although by the end of the first week you’ve probably given up fighting it and bought the same sombrero and fluorescent bikini and started to join in the fun.
This person is flirty and funny and although they have delusions of being a high-maintenance diva (They’ll pack more pairs of killer heels than flip-flops) they’re surprisingly resilient when it comes to an adventure holiday rather than a luxury break. They’re up for any new adventure, whether it’s chatting up the waiter in Cyprus or bungee-jumping in middle of somewhere remote. Their easy-going nature means they’ll often fit in with the crowd in terms of destination. If there’s a noisy hen night in the offing it doesn’t matter if it’s in Malibu or Manchester.
THE HOLDALL
This is the Secret Squirrel of travellers, the one who manages to pack everything they need into one piece of hand luggage, finding space for things the rest of us forget like adaptor plugs and baby wipes, and yet still having room for a different bikini for every day of the holiday. Frighteningly practical and terrifyingly confident this optimist will tend to be the most seasoned traveller of the lot because for them it’s all about low drama planning rather than last-minute panics.
Control is important for this person and even if they travel with a brood of kids they’ll somehow manage to look like Mary Poppins on one of her calmer days. When they’re holidaying with the kids they’ll be happy to stick to conventional beach spots that can accommodate a bucket and spade, but on their own or with a partner they can be relatively fearless, especially if their exploration or adventure is done for the sake of charity or good cause. They will rarely make a fuss and they’ll mix in with almost any surroundings although they might get restless on a more indulgent holiday and yearn for something more physically active, stretching in terms of self-enlightenment or straightforwardly educational.
An African safari would go down well for this person, especially as they could probably manage to pack a collapsible camp bed and a mosquito net into one normal-size holdall.
THE RUCKSACK
Still living in the glory days of their gap year and Glastonbury experiences, this traveller is unashamedly the eternal teen, loving to imagine that they can lead the freewheeling, commitment-free lifestyle forever. They hate being pinned down or pressured into any form or responsibility and they like to think they can go anywhere the wind decides to blow them. They cherish their good causes but they can also have a tendency to be tactless or unfeeling at times, usually with the excuse that ‘I was just being honest’ or ‘I was just being myself’.
On a good day they’ll be true explorer, a stout-hearted adventurer who will make the best of any situation but when things do go wrong they have a tendency to blame the rest of the world rather than taking any responsibility themselves.
Like most eternal teens this person will like to think they’ll go off exploring the farthest reaches of the globe but being a big kid at heart means they’ll be more likely to pick a package holiday to Phuket and pretend they’re holidaying off-piste, or take the trail to the nearest well-managed rock festival somewhere in Europe.
MULTIPLE SUITCASES
This traveller is less of a tourist and more like a space invader, harking back to Victorian times when trips abroad were planned more like a military campaign and you took most of your worldly goods along with you to ensure you were never in any risk of compromising your home comforts or lifestyle. This person is also the ultimate ditherer and worrier, someone decision-adverse who makes huge lists when doing their packing and then adds to the list last-minute rather than trying to whittle it down. For them a holiday is less about embracing change and experiencing new things as an uprooting of the existing lifestyle and planting it in a different location.
This traveller can be deeply egocentric and irritatingly narcissistic even though their main aim is to be liked and admired by as many people as possible. Their self-esteem is as tough and resilient as a small piece of marshmallow, meaning they’ll be constantly checking themselves in the mirror or asking for flattery and reassurance.
The sheer weight and bulk of their luggage tends to limit their options in terms of destination. In some ways they could pitch up anywhere as their collection of tea bags, clean sheets and two wardrobes of clothes will be as much use in the middle of the Rainforest as a hotel in Ibiza, although paying armies of porters to carry the luggage to any destination can be expensive, meaning a small coach ride from the airport is about as far as this traveller can usually stretch. They like the security of knowing what to expect when abroad so they are most likely to stick to well-trod paths in places like Marbella or Greece, or they might be flying out to meet up with a cruise ship large enough to stay afloat once their worldy goods have been decanted.
To find somewhere to go with your luggage and to book flights try www.virginatlantic.com or call 0844 2092 770.
Which one are you?
Reblogged this on AirportsMadeSimple.