mareh

I'll be flying LH soon, and want a rolling carry-on as I can't carry a tote of any weight for long due to arthritis. Even my 19" suitcase is too deep and too heavy for LH, so I ordered a new one online. Brand is Dakine. It's lightweight, and has a frame but the front has no support to it. It's almost like a rolling backpack but with no straps.

I'm sure it will have to be checked on the tarmac in FRA for the connecting flight. I could also get unlucky and have to check it the whole way, even though it easily meets the requirements. Is it too risky to check a bag of this type if it doesn't have breakables inside? I've only checked more solid suitcases in the past. I wanted a lightweight hardside suitcase, but they were all too deep.

HMPS

If it meets regulation (weight too?) then should not be a problem for the main leg. As to teh dangers of checking in, I often check in my carryon if I have a connection. Of course you want your valubles and meds in your possesion at all times.
Because of variations from airline to airline, I have now bought inexpensice lightweight bags, so if I have to throw them away after a couple of trips, I dont't have to cry !

oldpenny16

I carry Red Oxx bags as carry ons and a relatively inexpensive EBags Motherlode 25 inch bag for my checked bag. I don't check anything that is breakable. So far so good.

I also have a wheeled duffle that I often check. A really cheap one that I bought at a grocery store. I fill it with jackets, fleece stuff and boots for trips when that gear is needed. Also no problems thus far.

mareh

Thanks for the input! I guess I will give it a try. I'm not quite 5', and losing all of my clothes would be really difficult as I'm hard to fit. Good point about buying cheap carry-ons. I'm amassing quite a collection because of all the different requirements.

slawecki

i have done a number of tarmac checks, and never lost one. have not seen anyone around me complaining about a lost one. once when going on onto a small turboprop from muc or fra to vce or blq. they threw the tarmac stuff under the tail into an open bin. then pulled a large rubber netting up and over the open space.

RichP

I'm a little confused as to how a 19" carry-on is too heavy or big to fit on an LH flight. I fly with LH and LX quite frequently (2x short and long hauls with them in the next week) and usually take a 20" widebody Tumi plus a laptop case (brief-case style or backpack with camera gear as well as laptop). Even when switching to a smaller plane in FRA or ZRH and find that I need to gate-check the roll-aboard at boarding it hasn't been a cause for concern

mareh

My 19" Delsey is deeper than Lufthansa allows, plus it's over 9 lbs when empty. Lufthansa says the maximum weight they allow is 18 lbs, and maximum depth is less than 8".

N1120A

If you carry an IATA legal Rimowa bag, LH will generally leave you alone

mareh

Thanks. That brand is a bit expensive for me. I only fly 2-3 times per year.

tfar

Mareh, I'd try it. As long as you can stay within the weight limit it should be alright. LH in my experience is more of a stickler for weight than for size. I'd also trust them for gate checking. No worries there. A rolling bag would have the advantage that you could put your hand bag on it. This way you could have a relatively heavy hand bag at around 8-10lbs which you won't be able to carry comfortably otherwise (according to the arthritis thingy).

Till

mareh

Thanks, tfar!

airportairplane

I've had success with Samsonite's "Bright Lite." It fits in the airport sizers and I haven't had to check it on international flights. It weighs around 6lbs empty (maybe 6.6 if memory serves me correctly). Space is limited inside, but even as a woman, I was successfully able to do 6 days in Japan (in winter!) with it.