UnDiplomatic Wife

  • About TDW
    • Contact
    • FAQ
    • AS SEEN ON
    • Collaborate
    • Policies
  • Diplo Picks
    • Diplo Beauty
    • Diplo Mama
    • Diplo Home
    • Diplo Tummy
    • Diplo Tips
    • Diplo Travel
    • Diplo Style
    • Diplo Baby
    • Diplo Inspiration
  • Living in
    • GENEVA
      • good to know
      • food & drink
      • shopping
    • Berlin
      • Good To know
      • To Dos
      • food & drink
      • Shopping
    • MANILA
      • good to know
      • to do
      • food & drink
      • shopping
    • JAKARTA
      • good to know
      • to do
      • food & drink
      • shopping
  • TRAVEL DIARIES
    • Finland
    • France
    • Greece
    • Germany
      • BERLIN 2022 ITINERARY
      • Willkommen in Berlin
    • Indonesia
    • Italy
    • Japan
    • Malaysia
    • Myanmar
    • Netherlands
    • Philippines
    • Poland
    • Spain
    • Singapore
    • Switzerland
    • Taiwan
    • Thailand
    • Vietnam

What is Unaccompanied Air Baggage or UAB?

April 9, 2022

Aside from SEA FREIGHT OR SEA SHIPPING, expats/diplomats can be given a UAB allowance. Unlike SEA FREIGHT, this goes on a plane & is much quicker than SEA SHIPPING (est. 2-3mos). But please take note that this is not the same as the luggage you bring on the plane. That’s why it’s called UNACCOMPANIED AIR BAGGAGE.

Once it leaves Manila by plane, will only take 2-3 days depending on how fast customs clears.

You can pack it yourself, but we learned from experience that it is much better & more convenient if it is packed & processed by a THE SAME MOVER.

We asked the CROWN RELOCATIONS the same mover handling our SEA SHIPMENT to simplify our lives. We were already living in an empty apartment & subsisting on borrowed things because a sudden lockdown delayed our departure for our 3 weeks.

The pictures you will see is the reality of moving. MOVING IS SUPE MESSY, but hiring the right people to help you will reduce your stress by a lot.

CROWN left boxes & packing material to be used for the UAB

What are the advantages of asking your SEA FREIGHT mover to process your UAB for you? You can see 7 reasons below!

7 REASONS TO USE CROWN RELOCATIONS FOR YOUR UAB

  1. They will provide their special super sturdy boxes with their branding on it & environmentally friendly packing materials, so no need to stress yourself out buying enough. The boxes you find sometimes can be flimsier.
  2. They will check with the AIRLINE & DESTINATION COUNTRY, what is allowed & not allowed in the UAB. If you do not know this, many of what you pack can be confiscated before it leaves the country, & you will just be dismayed when your UAB arrives & stuff are missing.
  3. They will pack the items for you. A few days before our flight they came over. This time we packed one of our TVs in UAB & it was convenient that they dismantled & packed it for us.
  4. They will weight & measure the volumentric weight for you so you do not exceed your UAB allowance.
  5. They picked up the items from our home. Imagine if you are about to fly & you still have to bring your DIY packed boxes to a courier?
  6. They will also UNPACK the items for you when they deliver. They removed our TV & assembled it for us.
  7. They will also TAKE AWAY THE BOXES & PACKAGING for FREE. This is super convenient in places like Germany & Vaud where you will need to have a car to take your waste to the recycling centers & may have to pay for recycling.

Weighing scale for boxes

UAB ALLOWNCE

We were given a 150kg allowance – whichever is higher volumetric or actual weight – by the DFA. This limit is totally dependent on your company or Foreign Service.

Some don’t have this benefit. We are really lucky to have this because we can place some clothes & things that we need immediately, that would be too expensive if we had to pay for overweight luggage in the plane.

CROWN packed it for us with as much love as they packed our sea shipping. Team Leader Beng helped us MAXIMIZED our allowance while making sure things were SAFELY packed.

WHAT WE INCLUDED IN OUR UAB TO SWITZERLAND

  1. STOKKE Tripp Trapp chair
  2. Extra clothes that are too bulky to go into our airplane luggage
  3. Bags
  4. Velvet Hangers
  5. Cutlery or flatware except knives
  6. Small kitchen appliances
  7. Coffee maker
  8. Silicone glasses
  9. Plates
  10. A pot & pan
  11. Vitamins & supplements
  12. TV
  13. Some snack foods
  14. Dog food
  15. Sewing kit – minus sharp objects
We were packing our luggage + UAB

WHAT IS NOT ALLOWED IN THE UAB TO GENEVA

Please note that this list VARIES according to the airline you are using & destination country. We were informed by CROWN RELOCATIONS that these were not allowed:

  • Anything sharp like needles. scissors, knives
  • Anything with a battery i.e. AA battery, rechargeable vacuum
  • Toolkit with screwdrivers, etc.
  • Liquids like toiletries & sanitizers
  • iMac – I was really sad about this!

Having done the UAB packing list for a Move Coaching client, I know that it’s not the same for all destinations/shippers/planes so it’s better to TRIPLE CHECK so nothing gets confiscated.

My Move Coaching client from the US Embassy was able to bring a good set of knives & tools to help them settle down faster. This is how I know that it’s not the same for all moves. Very important to check with your MOBILITY ADVISOR.

The great thing about using CROWN is that they are super responsive to all our questions. So we were able to pack accordingly.

WHAT I WISH WE COULD HAVE INCLUDED IN OUR UAB

I really wanted to bring my toolkit with all the screws & tools that I would need to settle down, a set of good knives,liquid toiletries, dog shampoo & conditioner. But this is not dependent on CROWN. Rather they are the rules that are set by the airline & destination country.

I was a bit sad when the CROWN RELOCATIONS team was done packing & loading our UAB because they were such a great crew who were so capable & handles our things with love. You could tell that they love their jobs & have been with the company a while. I am forever grateful to Beng & his team together with Robin, Rea & Abigail.

Once you experience CROWN RELOCATIONS‘ service, it’s hard to imagine going backwards.

CONFISCATED ITEM

I made a mistake coz I thought an item was not battery operated BUT IT WAS & sure enough it was confiscated. Totally my fault for not really inspecting the product. I thought it had a base that helped create the sanitizer then the spray was manual, but apparently the base was connected to the spray so it was battery operated.

I was just so tired and also managing to sell/dispose the items that we couldn’t bring that I had one of those #mommybrain moments! I was really sad about my mistake because I was so looking forward to using it! Sigh.

But I am happy that CROWN RELOCATIONS informed us of what happened. It did not just disappeared without us knowing. That’s excellent support & coordination with a client!

#DIPLOTIP

If you are doing UAB, is to make sure that the quote given to you is ALL-IN DOOR TO DOOR, because some extra charges might pop up.

OUR UAB SCHEDULE

We try to schedule UAB PICK UP it close to the date so that we only have to 1 or 2 nights to worry about where we will have no basic necessities. We do not get hotel allowance for this so usually we either stay with lovely friends/colleagues or luckily in Manila we had family, so we stayed with my in-laws between 15 to 17 April!

  • 15 April 2021 – UAB pick up from our Manila home
  • 17 April 2021 – Flight to Geneva
  • We asked them to store while looking for a flat (see below)
  • 11 May 2021 – A few days after we gave our address, they delivered it

SAFE & FREE STORAGE

We did not know how long it would take us to find a flat in Geneva. Geneva is notorious for how hard it is to find a flat. It took my BIL 4 months & I see some people in the Geneva Expat groups who still haven’t been accepted for a flat 6 most after they arrive.

So we kindly asked #CrownRelocationsPh not to send the UAB yet. CROWN RELOCATIONS stored out UAB while they waited for us to find a home & an address. I think they gave us 30days free storage.

We were so so lucky that we loved & applied for the first home we viewed & 2 weeks later we were accepted. Though we could not move in yet, because it was under construction.

Once we signed, had an address to ship to & an estimate date for move in, TD informed CROWN & they scheduled shipping.

ARRIVAL OF OUR UAB IN GENEVA

On 11 May 2021, CROWN SWITZERLAND delivered the UAB to our 1st floor flat. Here in Switzerland like in Germany, one floor up is called the 1st floor – unlike for us in the Philippines (or USA) where it is called the 2nd floor.

GOOD TO KNOW: Each time we lived in Europe we always make sure to live on the 2nd floor or 1 floor on top of the ground coz we know that this level this is free & included in the moving delivery fee. If you live on a higher without an elevator that can carry your furniture, you will most likely be charged extra. In the DFA, we would have to personally cover these extra charges.

COVERAGE OF UAB DELIVERY

I get asked this a lot. Do the movers bring up items? Do they deliver to your door or inside the home? Do they unpack for you? Here’s the low down:

  • CROWN SWITZERLAND delivered the items to the CORRECT ROOMS
  • They REMOVED our items from the boxes
  • They ASSEMBLED the same items that they dismantled for us in the Philippines like our flatscreen TV and @diplobaby’s Stokke Baby TRIPPTRAPP high chair
  • They then took the BOXES/PACKAGING with them to bring to the recycling center

It was done very quickly and professionally! We are always so amazed at how fast professionals do it compared to us!

Imagine if they didn’t take away the packaging, we would need a huge car & numerous trips to the deccheterie (garbage dump) to get rid of them. At that time we didn’t have a car yet so this part of the service was essential.

I hope these details are interesting for you or help with a future move!

How about you, have you done UAB and what was your experience like? Do you have any tips or tricks you like to follow for UAB?

Moving is one of the most stressful things we will do in life, but doing it during a pandemic is so much more complicated so I’ve been wanting to document this unique time in history and also my experience with CROWN RELOCATIONS. So far I’ve written:

13 TIPS ON HOW TO CHOOSE A MOVER DURING A PANDEMIC
CROWN RELOCATIONS’ PRE-MOVE CUSTOMER SUPPORT
PACKING UP OUR HOME DURING A PANDEMIC

So please check out these super informative posts!

OTHER MOVING RELATED POSTS:

Delivery of Our Shipment & Unpacking Our Lives
The Importance of Getting Transit Insurance #CrownCare
What is a Mobility Advisor?

CROWN RELOCATIONS

Get a quote today!

MANILA

+63 28 822 1123 • manila@crownrelo.com
Mon – Fri 8:00am – 5:30pm • Sat 9:00am – 1:00pm
Lot 5 Block1, Phase 7-A,
Laguna Technopark – Special Economic Zone, Binan, 4024 Laguna,Philippines

CEBU

+63 32 520 7206 • cebu@crownrelo.com
Mon – Fri 8:30am – 5:30pm
Warehouse 9 Forestview Realty Development, Kapaz Road, Brgy. Catarman, Liloan, Cebu

I hope you find this post helpful for your future moves! Please feel free to share it on Social Media & with friends who might need to read this too!

Leave a Comment · Expat Life

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Welcome

Hello! I’m Ayessa, trailing spouse to a diplomat, mama to DiploBaby and DiploDog and founder of Declutter MNL. I love talking about how to achieve a minimaluxe lifestyle one step at a time.

READ MORE
 

LET’S GET SOCIAL

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

TRAVEL DIARIES: Fischer’s Fritz Zürich

Summer hack: Portable Neck Fan

Summer hack: Leguano Barefoot Wet/Dry Shoes

Excellent Chinese Food at Le Tsé Fung in La Réserve

AirPod Anti-lost Accessories Philippines

DISCLOSURE

I am an Amazon affiliate, but all opinions are my own. The content of all my blog and social media posts are products and experiences that I truly enjoy and I only work with brands that fit my life and style.

GOOD TO KNOW GUIDE

FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM @UNDIPLOMATICWIFE

HOW NEAR IS @geneveaeroport? We are very lucky th HOW NEAR IS @geneveaeroport?

We are very lucky that the Geneva Airport is very near because it is located 4 km northwest of the city centre. It takes us less than 15mins by car & is easier to get to than airports outside the city.

BUT also means that many of the Geneva residents suffer from AIRCRAFT NOISE POLLUTION. 

In some parts of Geneva, like Vernier, Meyrin, Bellevue, Versoix, etc will have the airplane pass on top of you or very near you. This is something to consider when you are MOVING TO GENEVA & looking for a home.

When we were in @bioparcgeneve recently, it felt like airplane after airplane was going overhead every few mins. The poor animals were screaming each time.

A  report by the European Environment Agency(EEA) in 2017 said that 12% or 73,500 Geneva residents have their hearing disturbed by aircraft noise. Probably the figures have risen with the natural increase population & travel?

“The EEA describes noise as a pervasive pollutant that directly affects the health and well-being of humans and wildlife. Populations exposed to high noise levels can exhibit stress reactions, sleep-stage changes, and clinical symptoms like hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. All of these can contribute to premature mortality. The World Health Organization (WHO) reckons that humans exposed to noise levels above 40 decibels at night experience adverse health effects.

Across Europe it is estimated that noise contributed to at least 900,000 additional cases of hypertension in 2011.” - @le_news_ch 

DID YOU KNOW that owners of homes affected by the noise can request for soundproofing to be paid for by GVA? 

Check if your home meets the conditions for FREE SOUNDPROOFING c/o Genève Aéroport here:

https://www.gva.ch/en/Site/Geneve-Aeroport/Questions-Reponses-FAQ/Bruit#

SAVE or SHARE this now with someone you know who might be moving to Geneva or is already suffering from aircraft #noisepollution. 

#UDWinGeneva #UDWgenevagoodtoknow #expatingeneva #diplofamily #expatlife #genevaswitzerland #expatingeneva #filipinoingeneva #pinoyingeneva #movingtogeneva #movingtoswitzerland #movingtogeneva #genevaexpats #switzerlandexpatlife #geneva #genevaswitzerland
MERCADONA HAUL Whenever we go to Spain, we love t MERCADONA HAUL

Whenever we go to Spain, we love to go to @mercadona. It might be small but has a good affordable selection. It’s my thrifty Spanish MIL’s favorite.

We were so lucky that we had a @mercadona right beside our hotel Marina Badalona. Very convenient.
Our favorite things to bring home are:

☕️ frozen porras (bigger than churros)

🐑 baby lamb chops (the only lamb I eat coz it’s not malangsa & all you need to do is fry till crispy in olive oil with S&P) it’s called Chuletas Cabrito but TD calls it lechal 

🐽 chicharon or crispy pork rinds

🥔 Homemade potato chips. The best potato chips for me are from Spain. I don’t know how it’s so much yummier! The olive oil???

🎣 canned Sardines & tuna for me and Yaya B

TIPS:

🧊 For frozen items, we usually ask the hotel before we buy if they can put it in their freezer until we fly.

✍️ I usually bring different sizes ZIPLOCK BAGS, MASKING TAPE & MARKER when we travel so we can put everything in, label with our name and room number.

📸 then I take a photo so we can just show it to the staff and they can easily find it in their freezer.

✈️ When it’s time to pack, I placed our beach towels around the frozen packages coz I know they will SWEAT & I don’t want our other things to get wet 💦 

What  grocery do you usually like to shop for when in Spain? Where do you buy them?

#udwinbarcelona #udwinbadalona #udwtraveldiaries #udwtraveltips #udwtraveltip #diplofamily #filipinotravelblogger #pinayblogger #diplowife #diplomatswife #filipinoabroad #tdwtraveldiaries #takekidseverywhere #travelblogger #travelvlogger #travelvloggerph #filipinoblogger #filipinablogger #filipinavlogger #filipinoineurope #welltraveledkids #expatwoman #pinayblogger #familytravelblog
FREE GEAR RENTAL @boxup.app + OUTDOOR GYM at ISW C FREE GEAR RENTAL @boxup.app + OUTDOOR GYM at ISW Calisthenics Park 

📍Chem. des Tuileries 140, 1293 Bellevue

After the lovely BIOPARC we headed across to this chill park with ample PARKING that had so many things for kids & anyone who wants to move & work out:

⚽️ The kids wanted to kick around a football so we borrowed a ball from @boxup.app (they also have pumps, 🏓, 🏐, 🏀, etc) just download the app & turn on your Bluetooth & follow instructions! Return after 3hrs.

👟 Outdoor gym - this was a huge hit with the kids

⚽️ football - this too!

🏀 basketball court

🏓 Ping-pong 

🏐 Beach volleyball court

🤸🏻 Monkey bars

🛝 small playground

Thanks for the wonderful afternoon guys @lidia_otilia_botezatu! 
How lucky are we to have these beautiful, clean open spaces. And the free rental gear is AMAZING! so convenient.

This is in Geneva, about 15mins drive from where we live.

SAVE THIS on your list of PARKS to visit!

⚠️ WARNING

it’s in the airplane path so there will be loud noise from that. It’s not as close as the bioparc but bring earplugs/earphones if you are sensitive.

#udwingeneva #genevaswitzerland #genevaforkids #diplobaby #diplofamily #filipinotravelblogger #pinayblogger #diplowife #diplomatswife #filipinoabroad #tdwtraveldiaries #takekidseverywhere #travelblogger #travelvlogger #travelvloggerph #filipinoblogger #filipinablogger #filipinavlogger #filipinoineurope #welltraveledkids #expatwoman #pinayblogger #familytravelblog
BIOPARC GENÈVE Yesterday was a holiday in Switze BIOPARC GENÈVE

Yesterday was a holiday in Switzerland (except for Geneva). It was raining & miserable so I wanted to take @diplobaby out for a few hours. Thankfully midafternoon it stopped raining.

We met with our friends @lidia_otilia_botezatu in @bioparcgeneve and had a lovely time in this volunteer run zoo.

TIPS💡

🆓 It’s free for families on your FIRST visit!

🦢 you walk inside animal enclosures so wear shoes that you don’t mind getting dirty/stepping on poop. We wore boots & happy we did

🅿️ there’s parking inside on wood chips, if it’s full there’s another pavement parking (free up to 4hrs) across the roundabout 

🦔 Do not feed or touch the animals no matter how cute they are

🗺️ There are 2 routes (purple & blue) and 1-1.5hrs #diplshould be enough 

❎ Park closes at 4pm

SAVE THIS NOW if your looking for a fun & not too you can do in well und2hrs. It’s nice that you can go inside unlike most zoos so it’s quite unique.

⚠️ WARNING

it’s in the airplane path so there will be loud noise from that. @diplobaby who is super noise sensitive did not mind as much as I thought he would because he was so entertained by the animals.

#udwingeneva #genevaswitzerland #genevaforkids #diplobaby #diplofamily #filipinotravelblogger #pinayblogger #diplowife #diplomatswife #filipinoabroad #tdwtraveldiaries #takekidseverywhere #travelblogger #travelvlogger #travelvloggerph #filipinoblogger #filipinablogger #filipinavlogger #filipinoineurope #welltraveledkids #expatwoman #pinayblogger #familytravelblog
MARINA BADALONA HOTEL At first we were going to MARINA BADALONA HOTEL 

At first we were going to stay in the heart of Barcelona, where we stayed 8 years ago (I didn’t even know that @diplobaby was already in my tummy at 2 weeks old) but the “hotel” is now expensive with no amenities & small rooms. So TD found a hotel in #badalona - a 20min taxi ride from Barcelona city center - that was so fabulous & slightly less expensive.

SAVE THIS NOW for future trips to Barcelona

WHY I LOVED marinabadalona
🤍 All white interiors was so beautiful & calming
🤍 Gorgeous view of the Marina 
🤍 Everything was so aesthetic, even where you tap your card to enter the room
🤍 Massive bed
🤍 Electric curtains
🤍 Lots of closet space & hangers
🤍 2 TVs
🤍 Refrigerator
🤍 White/cream Nespresso & kettle
🤍 Architecture & interior design is sooooo me!
🤍 Small rooftop pool with unbelievable views (need to do a separate post)
🤍 5min walk to the beach
🤍 Gorg esplanade
🤍 Yummy restos beside
🤍 Mercadona right beside - so convenient!

FEW RECOS FOR IMPROVEMENT:
✌️ Loved the textured wall paper, but it’s difficult to keep clean inside the bathroom
✌️ The bathroom surface area was a bit small & our stuff kept falling off the sink
✌️ Not a single chair in the family room so when we had room service we had to eat standing
✌️ No salt & pepper with room service so we called to ask & were told we would be charged for them taking it up. After TD clarified that there was no S&P with our meal, they said they would bring it up. The person brought a small bowl of of salt & pepper combined. The salt was for DiploBaby’s salmon, but he can’t eat pepper, I wanted both for my pesto. Had to run down in my slippers & the resto staff were very apologetic coz who serves a mixed S&P ever? They gave me individually packaged ones which I really appreciated.
✌️ Since the hotel has a pool & is by the beach, I wish there was a place to hang & dry swim suits. Our suits & watershoes did not dry in the tub.

All in all the value we got from staying in this hotel was so high compared to a more expensive hotel in Barcelona. No hotel stay is perfect.

Now, would I stay there again? YES PLEASE! Would you?

#udwinbarcelona #udwinbadalona #udwtraveldiaries
Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2023 · Designed by Fancy Girl Design Studio.