Hi. I am a new poster to this forum, although I have visited before. I have a very general (perhaps dumb) question that intriques me and I was hoping for opinions? Why do 1st class passengers usually have very little in the way of carry-on luggage (or so it always seems to me)? Is it a matter of attitude or confidence, or are their items of luggage labeled/tagged and treated with much more care? My husband and I fly about 4 or 5 times a year, but rarely 1st class unless we are comped. I know very well of how frequently luggage is "misplaced" or delayed, so I usually carry as much on the airplane as is allowed. This is becoming a big hassle.

Thank you very much for any opinions.

Bonnie

Hi Bonnie - not sure where you are flying to/from, but many times FC is filled with business people on short (1-3) day trips where their suit is going to stay the same everyday so only shirts/ties/undies to pack with laptop and paperwork.
Other travelers have just learned to do with less. Certainly TSA restrictions have halved the size of my sponge bag, and I have learned how to coordinate many days/nights of business/vacation with 1 pair of shoes, a few dressy separates and a key accesory or 2. This means I can now swing a week long trip with a laptop and a small wheelie vs mid-size wheelie and oversized purse/tote. Although I wish that meant that I was always in FC - too bad for me all that efficiency is put into practice in coach more often than not.

Happy travels!

First Class flyers are required to go to a "learn how to pack light" school.

Seriously, though, most try to get by with as little as possible. Checking bags is a big hassle, so if you can get all your stuff into one legal sized carry on, and then a laptop, or other stuff in a small bag, you can generally get by for awhile. The last year or so, I can get by for up to two weeks with such arrangements (as long as there is a reasonably price laundry service at the hotel I'm staying at).

I also bring a handled nylon reinforced carry bag in my normal carry on. I can pop it out, and throw all non breakable stuff into it, and check it, if I buy things that I want to bring safely onboard.

I travel a lot personally and I understand that even on trips of more than several days that there is such a thing as dropping off laundry to be done. I am glad that airlines are starting to charge out of the ying yang for those who must pack everything that they own for a one week stay at grandma's.

Thank you to those who offered constuctive info. I actually was able to travel to Hawaii with one 14x21x9 roll-aboard and one "personal item" pack; did laundry @ the hotel. Evenstill, the plane from ORD-HNL (non-stop) could not comfortably fit the roll-aboard vertically as most planes can. I do not remember the size plane (757?), but each overhead bin on the sides of the plane would only accomodate one horizontally placed bag. My bag is a Travelpro and the dimensions above are the total overall size, inclusive of wheels/handles. I understand your comment, as many people are very rude and do NOT listen to the announcement that each person is allowed ONE piece of luggage in the overheads; all other items are to be stowed under the seat. Many people disregard this. Just curious as to how 1st class customers can be so confident about their checked bags actually arriving! In 3 of our last 4 trips we had baggage delays, and I am accutely aware of the abysmmal baggage handling of some airlines (US Air for instance). Whatever happened to "gate checking" a piece?

I think it comes down to several things.

They hope those priority stickers work for when they are taking long trips and they get their bags first.

They shipped their bags out ahead, though that's probably not as common as the shipping companies want you to believe.

They know that the less they have the easier it is to get on the plane, get through security, etc.

It's generally a short trip, where change of clothing, another pair of underware or whatever is all that's needed, so it all fits.

They understand that you don't need to bring your entire bathroom and three clothing closets with you, if you are gone for three days, you need three days worth of toothpaste, not the giant monster size from Costco

First class checked bags are usually tagged with some sort of "Priority Handling" tag, which are occasionally effective but frequently a joke. Some airlines are better than others, in my experience. NW priority tagged bags sometimes come out last. On CO, my suitcase came out first, and when my skis didn't show up, the baggage desk guy called the guys at the gate and mentioned that they were VIP tagged, so maybe they're actually kept in some separate section in the hold?

Mostly I think that folks in FC are just good at packing light and know enough to ship the really important big stuff in advance.

My recent experience with BA priority handling was excellent. Bags arrived very quickly. YMMV

Thanks for your replies. I was of the opinion that FC or VIP passengers had their luggage tagged accordingly, but I did not know that for certain. I know that FF's are much better packers overall. I have many color coordinated, travel outfits and am a fairly good (reasonable) packer. But I will not entrust my luggage to the airlines on the outbound flights; too many horror stories and a few bad personal experiences. It just made sense to me that the FC passengers not only know how to pack, but that their luggage is handled a bit differently - hence the confidence to not schlep your stuff aboard.