Dude, will that thing fit in the size-wize template things in the gate area? I bet it won't. You're being completely unfair to your fellow passengers. I hate your bag. :mad:

And the thing is, if I board late with my modest, compact hand-carry bag and have to gate-check it because the bins are all full... making me arrive home 45 minutes later than I had planned... it is because of bags and practices like this.

ZERO sympathy from me.

Exactly what mine does. It collapses into a flat panel that can be easily packed. I bought it just before my return for 20 kangaroo dollars.

Have clothes cleaned to avoid checking baggage
 

For longer trips - especially international - I take 3 to 4 days worth of clothes and have them washed to avoid checking luggage and avoid potential loss and to get through customs quickly (esp if I am lucky to get into WBC and off early). I did a 10 day China trip with carry-on baggage only that way.

My luggage costs about $25-$30 and I'm sure it's stronger than a duffle bag :p Do you have a picture or link to such bag?

I honestly never see a big deal to have two checked in luggage, let alone having a luggage to check in.
And the only time I would slightly worry about not finding my luggage at my destination is when I travel to Asia or Europe (overseas travel). Even then, I always have a good luck in finding my luggage in the conveyor belt (knock on wood).

Just make sure they're labeled properly, with your contact info, inside and outside.
Oh yeah, the luggage insurance may give you extra peace of mind as well :D

On the flip side, if I board late, save when I am sitting up in F, I fully expect all the overhead space to be taken around my seat. I've noticed more and more these days that the average pax is taking more and more carry-on. Plus, no one seems willing to utilize the space under the seat in front of them. People shove anything and everything overhead.

If I arrive late, I plan to take the first available slot overhead I see or plan to gate check. It's not the elites that are causing the problem. Remember, on any given flight, the % of elites is something like 5-10%, and likely many of them have been upgraded to F.

I agree -- it's usually the folks who lug a duffle, a backpack, two Hefty bags, a feather pillow and a guitar aboard. But they don't know protocol and the gate agents should set them straight. The guy with the oversized luggage that takes up half a bin definitely knows better.

Reminds me of the true story of the gal who went sightseeing in the Everglades, marched past a "Beware of Alligators: No Walking Beyond This Point" sign, and promptly got chomped by an alligator. Recovering in hospital she was visited by authorities who asked if she hadn't seen the sign. "Oh, yes," she said, "but I didn't think that meant me." :rolleyes:

Wonder what luggage she carries on.

CO allows larger bags as carryons
 

This topic also got started on the CO board this week by a flight attendant:

Interesting thing to note a major difference in policies within our alliance...

- Continental allows any carry-on within 51 inches of total linear space.

http://www.continental.com/travel/po...e/carry-on.asp

- Northwest (and Delta) allow only 45 inches.

http://www.nwa.com/travel/luggage/carryon.html

That would make many wheeled garment bags, like this one OK on CO, but not NW:

http://www.luggageonline.com/product...roduct_ID=6043

So, point to note...

Many of us fly both carriers. If you like to use these bags, do as I do, and stick with CO for most flying, as it's perfectly legal when properly packed. If you despise them...have fun fuming on Northwest, where it's perfectly within your perogative to police them.

If you don't like the CO policy, don't fly them. I only have NW status as a legacy from days living in MSP. Most of my flying is on CO. For what it's worth, when on NW I ask if the flight is full, and if it is, gate check.

Last week, while waiting for an UG at the gate at SFO, the GA told me to go ahead and board in economy as I was number 3 with only 2 seats left. Oh well, bummer, so I boarded the plane. As I was walking down the jetway the GA came yelling my name and handed me a FC boarding card. She said the guy who was number 2 must have boarded already and he lost the seat. As I was getting on the plane, the guy who's seat I now held was standing in the doorway and immediatly new I got his seat. He told me that he did not want to take a chance of losing overhead space should his UG not come through so he just boarded. He was pissed that he did not wait it out. I told him I had just got in from Shanghai and was going to Boston so at least it went to a good cause...me:)

I was number #5 on the upgrade list with 2 seats not checked in - told to board.....
 

I was number 5 on the list, so I boarded and sat in my seat in row 18 (aisle) I had to stow my rollerboard at row 16 ands then the GA came onboard and called my name. My position (number 5 with 2 seats) somehow cleared.

At this time there had been about 8-9 carryons gate checked due to the overhead bins being completely full. My upgraded seat was 1D.

After we arrived at the destination I had to wait until Y deplaned to go back and claim my rollerboard, have you tried walking against the pax on a 320?

RC

Happened to me for the first time at SFO last week (Sunday), except I was #1 on the list with 2 seats open. Being a 757, they started cattle-call about 45 minutes out. They told me to wait at the gate until the 30-min mark when they can officially release the seats for battlefields. So I watched as all of coach boarded and took my overhead space. Luckily, though, my UG cleared and FC overhead was not full. I did, however, get a nasty glare from the pax in 5D (I was in 4D) as I stowed my backpack above my seat. I, too, was returning from China. Well, Singapore, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, China, and Hong Kong. :cool: So, at least the UG was very appreciated by me.

Check ze bags
 

I always check baggage. Where I'm traveling, there's usually:

>a parachute competition, or
>scuba trip, or
>a class to teach

all of which require a hideous amount of stuff. I just check it.

All I carry-on in my rolling tote are the "essentials"...you know, a book, laptop, Bose headset, slippers & eyeshades, contact lens stuff.

Overnight international, I add a garment bag with a single change of clothes, just in case of wine-into-lap.

I'll agree that it is great to zorch through the airport without recovering bags, but this seems to fit the "5 days" profile, and I'm always out there at 10 days +.

All the best, James

I almost always check luggage because:

1. I have limited upper body strength and an old hand injury that makes it very difficult to use that hand to lift even a moderately loaded rollaboard, or to manipulate other people's luggage to make room for mine in the overheads.

2. I have chronic anxiety about finding space for my carry-ons: I've been on too many trips where rollaboards have to be gate-checked anyway, and sometimes if I don't make sure I get on early, I can't even find space under the seat or in the overhead for my carryon backpack which contains my laptop, medications and other vital items (e.g., as in aisle seats with compressed underseat space, bulkheads, IFE equipment interfering with leg room/storage space etc.). I don't want to aggravate the lack of overhead space with yet another carryon.

3. Many of my trips are a combination of business and pleasure, or to climates where the weather is unpredictable, so I need a variety of clothing and shoe types (e.g., dress shoes and bulky hiking boots, business blazer and waterproof parka, etc.)

I think it's great if people can cram everything they need into the regulation sized carryons, but unfortunately I see way too many people bringing on things that are too big, or too many items at one time per pax.

I travel with a Costco 22" rroller and small computer portfolio (I'm downsizing every year -- learning to live with less). I'm a gadget guy but travel with the most compact accessories possible. (Flat Nike running shoes)

Advantages -- able to be flexible for bumps and certainly save time in possible lost / delayed luggage. I just got back from a week in Japan and am certainly glad I travelled light -- using the rail system daily etc. I don't know what I would have done with a large bag.

I have absolutely NO problems with people storing backpacks in the overheads...Actually I do it myself frequently. Just because I bring a smaller bag, I should suffer with less leg room?? I don't think so.

Or maybe I'm misunderstanding why you were on the wrong end of that glare, in which case, never mind :).

When I travel alone, it's carry-on only. I'm really small and can't manage a big bag on my own and going to places where I would have to rely on bellmen, porters, etcetera, would really inflate the cost of the trip -- so I just pack a small bag and a purse. Women's clothes, intimates and delicate tops anyway, should be handwashed, so the cost of washing them out and hanging them out is nil for me. A tip -- any cheap shampoo works about the same as Woollite and should be safe against the skin.

My husband is not a fan of efficient packing and believes that more is more, although he has occasionally traveled with just a carry-on in special situations. When we travel together, he is going to check a bag, so I might as well pack a little more and check a bag also. Of course, when I checked a bag in December, the airline promptly lost it.