Originally Posted by
Maxxan
I know. Let’s pretend I’m carrying a cabin bag full of expensive glass items, and I don’t want it checked in for that reason. Would a 55-40-23cm cabin bag fit in the overhead compartment of the Dash 8 between Toronto and Montreal?
That will be a very tight fit. I have one soft side that is 55x35.5x23 that does fit but requires some Tetris skills. If yours is hard side, it'll be more difficult to get it in. Unless they've refit them, there is a portion of the DH4 fleet that does not have next gen bins and won't fit these at all. If memory serves, those were fins 489-497. There is no way to know before the operational day which fin will fly the flight.
Originally Posted by
taupo
Getting a full legal carryon sized rollaboard into a Q400 bin requires a specific angle to get in and of the bin.
Has to go in N/S as opposed to E/W, tilted downward a little and with some persuasion.
In doing this, it can scrape on the latch and other parts of the opening.
This. Most casual observers would say that a full sized carryon won't fit into the bin. There is a technique to it and if you are concerned about scratches, you pretty much have to scrape the bag against the protruding latch to get it into the bin.
If bag integrity is of major concern, you can put it under your seat as well (aside from 1 A/C and 2 D/F) though it will take up all of your personal space. Larger carry-ons can protrude a little here so it does also depend on the FA and whether they'll allow it. I can't remember exactly but I seem to recall there are some positions that have a bit more underseat space than others.
Net-net, if this is a big concern, avoid the DH4. Personally, I will take less efficient routes and even extra connections to avoid them if possible because I really dislike the lack of space (both personal and baggage).