|
|
Post by Adelard of Bath on Oct 25, 2023 13:49:16 GMT -5
Some of you might ask, "Didn't this guy start a pointless and somewhat lengthy discussion on the old site about carry-on dimensions?" You'd be correct. But now I have a broader, more general realization:
I checked Delta, United, and American, and they all list 22x14x9 as their max dimensions for carry-on. So I suspect the FAA came up with this dimension, or it could be the TSA.
Anyways, you shop for luggage, and I'd say 50-75% of carry-on luggage lists their 9" dimension as slightly larger than 9. i.e. 9.25, 9.5, 9.8". This includes major brands commonly seen at that airport, such as American Tourister and Samsonite.
I just want to say, "what's up with that?"
I'm "this close" (holds thumb and forefinger maybe more like two inches apart, so not like super-duper close but getting there) to getting new luggage and I don't want to get screwed down the road. But as someone pointed out last time I brought this up, I don't seem like the type to be making noise at the airport, so most likely not drawing the ire of a gate attendant who would otherwise throw my bag in the sizer to show me who's boss. And as I recall, the bags go in the overhead bins on their sides, meaning the bins are at least 14" in height so a bag that's 9.8 thick (or whatever) should fit the same as one that's 9.0 thick.
But back to the generalization - it's crazy to me that a huge portion of the bags sold wouldn't even fit in that little sizer thing they have at the gate.
|
|
|
|
Post by ermindy1133 on Oct 25, 2023 14:09:36 GMT -5
I recently flew with a carryon in the overhead compartment for the first time in years. I normally use a small one that fits under the seat in front of me (I’m closer to the ground than to the overhead bins…) Anyway, in addition to the regular luggage depth, my soft-side has an extra zipper that will allow me to expand it just a little more. You would not believe the fight I had getting that thing into the overhead bin on my return home!!! Was literally standing in my seat wrestling with a chubby bag over my head. Not cute! I really missed my 6’2” ETERNALLY PATIENT hubby! So I have to agree, it’s crazy to sell someone like me luggage that can be overstuffed for those bins!
|
|
|
|
Post by nickys on Oct 25, 2023 14:17:26 GMT -5
Just to add to the confusion, many European airlines have an even shorter “3rd dimension” of 7.8 inches. “Generally, most of the European airlines limit carry-on luggage to a maximum size of 55 x 40 x 20 cm ( 21.6 x 15.7 x 7.8 in); however, a few airlines do accept bags up to 25 cm wide (9.84 inc) or do not accept more than 35cm tall (13.7 in)”. Source: eu.travelpro.com/en-gb/pages/guide-to-carry-on-luggageSo you should always check the rules for the airline you’re flying with. |
|
|
|
Post by helenabear on Oct 25, 2023 15:02:06 GMT -5
I have one carry on that can only go on SW per their dimensions. I have 3 other of varying sizes that all fit on most airlines with one baby under seat size one. I'm always checking before i leave which to take though.
|
|
|
|
Post by Adelard of Bath on Oct 25, 2023 15:19:44 GMT -5
my soft-side has an extra zipper that will allow me to expand it just a little more. You would not believe the fight I had getting that thing into the overhead bin on my return home!!! Was just telling my wife today that they probably shouldn't make that style of luggage...I was more thinking that if it was a checked bag, it's just several more places for the thing to pop when it hits an obstruction down below. But they seem quite common, I suspect most people say "I'm gonna buy the one that gets bigger; I'm always out of space" |
|
|
|
Post by captjacksfamily on Oct 25, 2023 15:49:08 GMT -5
If there ever was a "your mileage might vary" thread this would be it. Every airline lists luggage sizes on there web pages so that would be the place to start. We typically check bags when we fly because we are going for 10 days to a month so all we need for a carry-on are medication and a couple of days worth of clothes in case luggage is lost on the way out. We are currently doing a lot of European travel so we have smaller sized carry-ons. You may think you will be on a large plane but you never know if they will swap out a plane and you wind up on a smaller plane. We are currently using Traveler Maxlite 5 International Carry-On Spinners and they fit in anything. Lately we have notice more airlines requiring the carry-ons into one of those size gauges before boarding, sometimes I think they do it to reduce the bags and force more to be checked. It also depends on what cabin you are flying, they never give you a second look if you are in the front of the bus.
We use soft side luggage, we would prefer hard sided but they are all clamshell designees and since we don't always unpack the non-clamshell design takes less room since you only flop the top open. Also when we are cruising, the soft side seem easier to fit under the bed for storage. We do have one hard side but it a wine suitcase that carries a case of wine, great for those trips back to California...
I would also recommend using tracking devices such as those sold by Apple, they have saved our bacon a couple of times. Your luggage may still get lost but you can tell the airline rep exactly where it is which seems to speed the recovery process.
|
|
|
|
Post by Adelard of Bath on Oct 25, 2023 20:28:59 GMT -5
we would prefer hard sided but they are all clamshell designs Actually, I've been seeing a few of the hard bags that have the "open in the front" design, instead of the clamshell. The main ones I'm looking at are this design...I think I want to go this way for packing reasons. It will be more like packing a box instead of two flat boxes that get folded together. And my wife wants a carry-on spinner in the airport so I can retire my backpack, so this design will allow us to unzip that front panel and get paperwork etc out, while keeping the bag standing upright. |
|
|
|
Post by nickys on Oct 26, 2023 1:44:27 GMT -5
we would prefer hard sided but they are all clamshell designs Actually, I've been seeing a few of the hard bags that have the "open in the front" design, instead of the clamshell. The main ones I'm looking at are this design...I think I want to go this way for packing reasons. It will be more like packing a box instead of two flat boxes that get folded together. And my wife wants a carry-on spinner in the airport so I can retire my backpack, so this design will allow us to unzip that front panel and get paperwork etc out, while keeping the bag standing upright. The other downside is if it is slightly too big for the airline’s carry-on limit, there is no way to remove a couple of things to make it fit in the size checker thing. |
|
|
|
Post by brp on Oct 26, 2023 9:08:52 GMT -5
We've only ever had one bad experience with luggage and that was some years back at LGW. We went through security before a bunch of other folks, so the security were clearly looking for infractions. mrs. brp's bag was deemed maybe 0.5" too long and we were forced to check. As we went further, I saw the bag not fa away, seemingly in a no man's land. I thought about sneaking over to get it,but didn't.
Sure enough, it was forgotten and the entire trip to Amsterdam (I think) she had no bag and had to buy things and call BA repeatedly , back when international calls cost real money. Never showed up until we got back...but the did finally reimburse.
Since then, never even been checked. We do tend to fly F, but I've seen people in coach entering with clearly oversized bags.
We're close, but maybe slightly over, especially for a longer trip since we don't check unless really long and we're bringing cooking stuff that can't be carried on.
Cheers.
|
|
|
|
Post by Adelard of Bath on Oct 26, 2023 23:12:34 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by bakerworld on Oct 29, 2023 12:18:56 GMT -5
In September we went on a 8D vacation and I wanted to use our mid-sized hard sided suitcase but DH nixed it. We measured it and it was 9.5 inches deep, 12 inches wide and 24 inches long. He didn't want to get all the way to the gate and have to check a piece so everything went into three smaller bags. At the airport I was looking around and it seemed like everyone had our mid-size bag as their carry on but I do admit it would've been hard to get that thing over our heads. Generally we use two 'under the seat' carry ons, as our vacations are usually 6D. On SW only my bag fits under the seat because Dan likes the aisle seat and, for some reason, the under the seat area is smaller.
I should just donate that piece because, at this rate, we're never gonna use it. LOL
|
|
