carry on only
#61
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: TUS
Programs: DL Gold
Posts: 91
I go carry-on only after having one bag destroyed, a couple lost for several hours, and had things stolen out of my bag twice. I'm getting closer to my goal of being able to pack everything for a week or longer in a bag that United would call personal-sized so I don't have to worry about bin space - it also helps I'm petite. I can readily pack for stricter airline weight requirements (LX and VS have weighed my bags). The advantages I see are not having to wait, especially after international flights, having everything under my control, and ease of using public transportation, especially when one just has a small backpack.
#63
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Bangkok or San Francisco
Programs: United 1k, Marriott Lifetime PE, Former DL Gold, Former SQ Solitaire, HH Gold
Posts: 11,886
"There is no need for them to charge people for flying other than to make more money."
I think it's funny that in the TV sector many people ask for a-la-carte service and despises the "choose between packages" way of doing things. "Why pay for all those useless channels I don't need?" but when it comes to flights people despise the concept of dividing the packaged flight service into smaller services that people can opt in or out of.
I think it's funny that in the TV sector many people ask for a-la-carte service and despises the "choose between packages" way of doing things. "Why pay for all those useless channels I don't need?" but when it comes to flights people despise the concept of dividing the packaged flight service into smaller services that people can opt in or out of.
My final straw to stop bringing checkin luggage, was on my trip back home, and wife talked me into bringing back my now empty checkin luggage. Flights got messed up, and I ended up sitting in the airport for hours because that checkin luggage was checked all the way to the home airport, so I could not change my final flight home. Sheesh! All because of an empty suitcase. I'm trying to figure out what everyone is putting in their carryon that weighs like 20 or 30 pounds. I just repacked my roller backpack for the upcoming trip, and the whole thing weighs less than 12 pounds. Even with some extra clothes and my medical supplies, it will still be under 15.
Check a bag when required.
Why carry stuff around an airport if I don't have to? There are regular lengthy distances involved so let someone else take the strain.
If the wait at a baggage carousel is going to affect me I should have got an earlier flight.
I'd rather have something and not use it than regret not having it.
I wouldn't wash clothes in the sink at home so there's no way I'm going to do it while away.
If I lose some clothes I can always replace them, and the airline or insurance will pay. So what if I have to wait a few weeks for the money.
Less stress about overhead bin space.
No valid reason yet on this thread to change my practice.
Why carry stuff around an airport if I don't have to? There are regular lengthy distances involved so let someone else take the strain.
If the wait at a baggage carousel is going to affect me I should have got an earlier flight.
I'd rather have something and not use it than regret not having it.
I wouldn't wash clothes in the sink at home so there's no way I'm going to do it while away.
If I lose some clothes I can always replace them, and the airline or insurance will pay. So what if I have to wait a few weeks for the money.
Less stress about overhead bin space.
No valid reason yet on this thread to change my practice.
Never checked a bag in my life. Upthread someone talked about how waiting for luggage is nothing in the grand scheme of things. OK, when we're both on that flight back to CMH that gets in at 12:35 AM, and I'm already warm in bed while you're still waiting at a spinning wheel in dingy CMH basement, it sure is a big deal.
#64
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Sydney Australia
Programs: No programs & No Points!!!
Posts: 14,222
No way in hell could I do carry on only. It's a big stretch to try and only half fill two suitcases so I have room to bring home purchases. Many a times I've had to buy a third suitcase for the return home.
#65
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Sydney Australia
Programs: No programs & No Points!!!
Posts: 14,222
#66
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Bangkok or San Francisco
Programs: United 1k, Marriott Lifetime PE, Former DL Gold, Former SQ Solitaire, HH Gold
Posts: 11,886
For me it's the other direction. Going to Thailand my wife will easily fill 2 large suitcases with goodies for her relatives. I check my guitar. That leaves 1 suitcase for all of our clothes. We were checking 5 or 6 sometimes but now we have to honor ANA's baggage rules so we're limited to 4 for free.
#67
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: SJC/SFO
Programs: WN A+ CP, UA 1MM/*A Gold, Mar LT Tit, IHG Plat, HH Dia
Posts: 6,284
For me the decision of whether to pack all in a carry-on or to check a bag (or multiple bags) is a completely practical one and thus is made on a trip by trip basis. My rule is to take what I need for the trip and as little else as possible. Often that fits in a roll-aboard suitcase and a briefcase. When I need more stuff, I pack it and I check a bag. I don't see the wisdom in making a rule out of what size bag you allow yourself. That's just playing games and bragging about the result.
#68
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 390
Im not sure if its popular.
But quite a few times now, I have brought a carry on only and shopped for clothes at my destination. I donated them to charity (shops usually but I did once give them to a happy homeless guy on the street) before I flew home.
But quite a few times now, I have brought a carry on only and shopped for clothes at my destination. I donated them to charity (shops usually but I did once give them to a happy homeless guy on the street) before I flew home.
#70
Suspended
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Ontario, Canada
Programs: Aeroplan, IHG, Enterprise, Avios, Nexus
Posts: 8,355
The second reason not to check is the potential of lost luggage. If it happens you have to go out and buy clothes which you are doing already. So you are going through the same exercise as someone whose luggage doesn't arrive each time you travel even though lost luggage is a quite rare event.
My rule is to take what I need for the trip and as little else as possible. Often that fits in a roll-aboard suitcase and a briefcase. When I need more stuff, I pack it and I check a bag. I don't see the wisdom in making a rule out of what size bag you allow yourself. That's just playing games and bragging about the result.
There is a whiff of smugness among the "I never check" crowd. I wonder how sophisticated and worldly they feel hunched over the hotel room sink scrubbing their soiled panties every night?
#71
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA Executive Club (Silver), Le Club Accor (Silver)
Posts: 680
I never ever check a bag. Always carry-on only (a 40L North Face rucksack, rather than a wheelie). It fits well inside standard hand luggage dimensions on most airlines and looks small enough not to be checked on the rest. I did get it weighed once on an Air Asia flight but the agent simply shrugged and said "that's fine" (it was around 1kg over). I've done three weeks in Australia and New Zealand like this, and often 10 days in the US, in all weathers. Usually, my bag is even half empty on the way out, but fills up as I collect stuff when away. Why do I do this? So my bag is always in my view, no risk of the airline losing it and straight out the airport upon arrival. When I'm dashing around sightseeing, the last thing I want to do is wheel a case behind me, or leave it somewhere where it could be tampered with. It'll even just about fit under the seat in front if the overheads are full!
I've managed to convince my girlfriend to do likewise on an upcoming 10 day trip to Asia... we'll see how that one goes!
I've managed to convince my girlfriend to do likewise on an upcoming 10 day trip to Asia... we'll see how that one goes!
#72
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Austin, TX
Programs: AA ExPlat, UA Silver, Marriott Lifetime Gold
Posts: 715
It's right. I guess it depends on the person. My mom even checks her carry on sized bag because she doesn't like to have to lug it around the airport.
I started flying with a large 21in bag and I'm down to a 14in rolling tote. For most trips, the full size carry on was half empty. I wouldn't have been able to jump on earlier flights or made alternative flights during IRROPS if I had checked luggage -or I'd have made it without my bag.
I have very few possessions (I could probably fit everything I own in three or four bags), so this light traveling suits my lifestyle and I don't feel restrained by it.
I started flying with a large 21in bag and I'm down to a 14in rolling tote. For most trips, the full size carry on was half empty. I wouldn't have been able to jump on earlier flights or made alternative flights during IRROPS if I had checked luggage -or I'd have made it without my bag.
I have very few possessions (I could probably fit everything I own in three or four bags), so this light traveling suits my lifestyle and I don't feel restrained by it.
#73
Join Date: Sep 2009
Programs: UA GS>1K>Nothing; DL DM 2MM; AS 75K>Nothing>MVP
Posts: 9,341
Rarely check bags. I usually just take a small business style (B&R) backpack. I keep a clothing cache at most of my destinations so I don't really need to pack clothes most of the time.
#74
Join Date: May 2004
Programs: BA blue, LH Senator, KQ (FB) gold
Posts: 8,215
Never checked a bag in my life. Upthread someone talked about how waiting for luggage is nothing in the grand scheme of things. OK, when we're both on that flight back to CMH that gets in at 12:35 AM, and I'm already warm in bed while you're still waiting at a spinning wheel in dingy CMH basement, it sure is a big deal.
More seriously, though, when I am traveling for work, my carry-on is filled with equipment necessary for work. I barely have space for the emergency kit in case my checked luggage is delayed. Even so, checking luggage really isn't that much of a deal for me. The 2 percent extra time on my 15 hour+ travel time (one-way) spent waiting for luggage at the carousel just isn't going to be a make-or-break for me. Frankly, if I could check more, I would. I hate having to tote around all the carry-on that I do have to bring on transits through massive European and Asian hub airports. I spend far more time transiting through airports than I do waiting for luggage.
I have never had a piece of luggage truly lost. I have had luggage delayed only three times. In all cases, it arrived at my home or hotel within hours of my arrival.
Sure, on a short, one or two-day trip I wouldn't bother to check, but I have very few of those.
#75
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 39
I dont feel smug about carry on only, but it is sure nice after a long flight to just head for the door. My pet peeve is the carryon only backpackers. Here the airline is scrutinizing all the rolling luggage, but in walks backpackers with a small backpack that just meets carryon size, and a bigger one about the size of a Saint Bernard dog. Good grief! It takes up the overhead bin almost!