AaronRih

Hello I am an Industrial Design student at Kendall College of Art and Design. I am doing some research on luggage design and would greatly appreciate your feedback. Please take the time to fill out this short and simple survey. Thank you in advance.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/7MSW2M9

Prospero

Welcome to FlyerTalk, AaronRih

I've moved your survey request into the Travel Products forum, where FTers flock to for info and discussions on luggage products.

Prospero
Senior Moderator

LapLap

AaronRih

I went to fill in your questionnaire and came across a HUGE hurdle almost instantly.

I'd suggest that you make it clear from the outset that you are only wanting (or expecting) answers from folks based in the USA.

moseslin

filled out the survey. how did you know OP only wants travellers from the US? I must've missed something.

cheltzel

Question #3

JLen

I did answer your survey questions, but you have left off much needed information if you intend to get meaningful results from the survey. This is a sophisticated and specialized group of frequent flyers. You may want to spend some time browsing around the luggage threads in this Travel Products forum to see what I mean.

There is likely no desire for any piece of luggage that is described as "oversized." It could be the most well-organized luggage ever sold, but "oversized" will get you a "no" every time. (And if you need to reference size at all, giving actual measurements would be important, because everyone here has their own personal opinion about what "size" is best for them. Everyone has differing needs.)

Weight, dimensions, construction materials, method(s) for carrying or rolling (or multiple options), exterior pockets, ease of access to needed items -- all of these features are carefully debated in the threads on this forum. Dip your toe in and look around here, a bit. You may be able to figure out how you can rephrase your main question on the survey so at you will get meaningful results about the organization aspect of your proposed bag. (No one here would want "oversized." We're all looking for the smallest, lightest, most convenient bag we can buy that can still carry what we need to bring on our trip.)

Good luck !!

Hachi Ko

Ditto.

Now, to the OP...

Organization on the inside of the bag is the least of the problems that I myself, and a huge number of FF's that I have met are concerned about. Almost all of us have developed a system that works for us.

I did fill out your survey.

To this very day, NO ONE has, in my opinion, created what I would consider an even close to perfect carry-on. Carry-on is the real market, IF you are targeting fliers.

I had an idea about a carry-on that I think would work great, but I have neither the time nor the inclination to start a travel company. If anyone ever sees this, feel free to give me 5% of your net if you try it and it works :P

1. A semi-rigid carry-on that flexes very little and retains its shape. I'm thinking very similar to TravelPro bags, except more rigid in not "plumping up" in the middle when overfilled.

2. Don't put any pockets on the inside or outside. A smooth, perfect shell (as it can possibly be), both inside and out. FF's will use their own bags as pockets IF they need them (there are plenty of these available on the internet). You could also sell "drop in" pockets that fit your bag perfectly.

3. No handles on the outside. Just a pull-up towing handle that has a locking position just one inch above the bag (operates as lifting handle). The towing handle would take up a little space inside the bag (a la TravelPro), but that would be the only thing to do so. When that handle is locked down, the outside of the bag is a perfectly smooth shape on all 6 sides (except for about a 1/4 inch protrusion on 2 sides for outboard inline-skate wheels, a la TravelPro).

4. The bag is specifically made to fit, with a minimum of clearance, an overhead bin of a specific aircraft.

5. The bag would have 2 identical "stripes" over the base color, circumnavigating the girth around 2 different axes. Visible from all sides. The stripes would be boldly imprinted all around with the words CRJ, B737, etc. (as the bag was designed for) Eliminates the need for identifying strap. Also, I had a strap made once that said "CRJ 900" on it, after repeatedly being told that I had to gate-check the bag. After that -- Carry-on worked like a champ, No Worries.

Bag that always fits snugly in the bin, minimum hassle, maximum capacity.

IsleOfMan

This is going to make it tough to lift a full bag up into an overhead bin...

Filmbuff

the design proposal is that the 'tow' handle will double as the grip.

regardless, i think this is a design shortcoming as there are times when you may want a handle on the longest side to shorten the bag's vertical height to make it easier to negotiate turnstiles (whether the bag goes under or over, acsending/descending stars (particularly for shorter people), and even just taking bags in/out of a car trunk.

Hachi Ko

I did consider this, and tested my own bag using this handicap. Yes, it is a bit more difficult, in some situations, to move and especially to lift the bag in certain situations.

There are drawbacks to any design, or course, and I do appreciate that such a bag would not be for everyone. But for someone who is packing a carry-on to maximum volume, without a preponderance of heavy items, I found that this idea works great. In most situations, the bag is on its wheels and works wonderfully. Lifting into the bin requires one hand on the handle, one hand on the bottom of the bag -- slide in and "snap" the handle in. Reverse procedure to get it out. Yes, I do have a working mock-up. Astounds the hell out of CRJ flight attendants.

Filmbuff

having thought about the handle positioning a bit more...using the tow handle as the grip has another shortcoming. because the handle/grip is not centered in the middle of the bag and due to the [longer] vertical axis, picking up a fully loaded bag up will cause it to pivot around the handle point and the bottom inside edge of the bag would swing inward toward your body (if you were holding the bag at your side).

this would force you to either hold the bag further away from your body if you wanted to move quickly or keep the bag in contact with your leg (and having an awkward gait). not a good thing...

Hachi Ko

You are correct sir. There is no way to pick up the bag near its center of gravity with only one hand. The bag would be a poor choice for high-weight users but a good choice for high-volume users that only have to pick the bag up at the bin and the taxi.

Side note on the volume issue: I ran this past a few mid-level execs at a few USA airlines as a way to waive carry-on fees and size restrictions and they were interested.

Filmbuff

the thing is though that high volume usually also means higher weight. unless you're stuffing the bag with down garments, a filled 22" x 14" x 9" carry-an can weigh 20lbs or more lbs easily with when packed with typical clothes, shoes, etc.

Hachi Ko

That is quite true. This bag would be targeted at a certain type of user. I came up with the idea primarily to maximize volume for those flying on aircraft with very small overhead bins, such as the Embraer and Bombardier regional jets. A smallish carry-on that could carry a relatively large amount of stuff and slide effortlessly, yet snugly, into a RJ bin. As I mentioned before, quite a few FA's have seen this and looked oddly at it, then when it slides into the bin as perfectly as a glove over a hand, they start asking questions.

Your comment actually leads to the point that I was addressing. A 22" X 14" X 9" bag is not designed for an aircraft bin. I am talking about a bag that would form-fit a bin. So it would not be a Cuboid, as most bags are. It would be a shape specifically designed for a smaller bin. Then, of course, it would fit easily into full-size bins.

I came up with the idea when I was based out of an airport that only had RJ service connecting in a hub city, missing a couple of flights because it took 20 minutes to get my "carry-on" from the gate check. The idea is to have a bag that fliers who regularly fly on RJ's could have, that they would not have to gate check.

You are correct, this idea does not work for a bag that is designed to fit full-size bins such as most B737 series aircraft. It's just too heavy. However, I did consider that a version for those anemic B767 center bins might work well.

Filmbuff

there might be a market for something you're proposing, but i consider it a very niche market. most RJ flyers have either resigned themselves to gate-checking the larger 18"-22" wheel carry-ons or they would take a small/mid size wheel-less carry-on of which is there a pretty wide selection out there and which do a much better job of filling the small OH bins while still giving them a good amount of storage space.

the GA's for such small RJs generally ask that any wheeled luggage be gate-checked so it would have to be quite small for them to make an exception. and when you go that small, the wheel-less option looks even more attractive from a cost/weight/convenience perspective.

what size(s) were you thinking of going with?