First off, you being jealous of your fiances luggage is certainly a good idea, it will make your spouse happy in the long run. Worth the investment.
I've never seen a gatekeeper look twice at it, though the GA's at my home airport do know me by now. And we never board late when space might be at a premium (don't know what I'll do someday in the future without status), so we've never had to worry about squeezing in. The bag can easily go in wheels first, and 2 inches of space doesn't seem like a big issue. Ours still looks rectangular and is not THAT extra wide.
Originally Posted by
shanshan
Thank you for this input. I too suspect if I get my fiancee the 20" wide and it has no problems -- I will have luggage jealousy. To expound on your comments, may I ask:
1) do gatekeepers etc. notice the extra width? based on the Victorinox dimensions it seems the luggage may appear more square than rectangular. E.G., squarish bags tend to be oversized garment bags etc. So I wonder if the extra 2" on the sides results in double-takes etc.? I haven't seen the luggage in person and will probably buy online from my luggage guy in NY (I live in CA now).
2) have you ever been in a situation where the width was not available in the overhead bins? where you felt even a pang of guilt because you weren't sure if there would be enough space for others? or where you had to "shove" in the 20" wide in because of bags to the left/right etc.?