elsiemoo

For domestic flights, what can you get away with carrying on? Do any of you have the new backpacks that will hold both a laptop and a couple of cameras, and have you taken it along with your regular carry-on bag with no problem? I'm thinking that would be no different than a lady with both a carry-on bag plus a huge tote/purse? Haven't flown for a bit, and I know restrictions are not quite what they were a few years ago ... Thanks, all.

nytraveler

Airlines are getting strictter and stricter - but it does vary by airline, by airport and even by gate agent (they may ber more flixible if the flight is not absolutely full).

I have seen women with a carry-on and a huge shoulder bag (really another carry-on) forced to check one at the gate. Often they will ask for the purse to be put inside the carry-on so it counts as only one.

You can try it and it might work. But be prepared to be forced to gate check one of them.

Gekko

I fly often, too often, and in my opinion most people carry on WAY too much.

If you can't easily lift if over your head, check it.

If it barely rolls down the narrow aisle, check it.

Unless your time is so incredibly precious that you can't wait 15 minutes for a checked bag, check it.

Unfortunately, many/most people are too selfish to even consider such courtesies.


(Oh, and please don't whine about "lost" bags. The airlines mishandle less than 1%.)

toedtoes

You need to check with the airline for their exact size requirements. Usually the camera backpack will meet the larger carry on requirement. If a second carry on is allowed, it will have to meet the smaller requirement or you'll have to check it.

That means that you are very unlikely to be able to carry the backpack AND a 22" carry on bag, but you might be able to carry the backpack AND an overnight case or tote bag.

GoTravel

""If it barely rolls down the narrow aisle, check it. ""

No carry on pullmans roll down the aisle. Manners dictate you pick it up and carry it through the plane.

lcuy

I have a small/medium size wheeled duffle bag. In this are my laptop and any other small electronics, change of clothes, a bag of "stuff" for on the plane- neck pillow, book, ipod, shawl,sleep mask, meds, etc. - and my purse fits in there as well. This way I only have one thing to keep track of after security. When I get to my seat I put my "plane stuff" bag under my seat, lock the duffel (with my purse in it) and toss it in the overhead. Very fast and hard to forget and leave anything behind.

I also check one bag, and when I later retrieve it, the duffle can be belted on top.

J_Correa

Gekko - your advice about checking baggage would be wonderful if we could trust the airlines to get our checked luggage to our destinations on time and in one piece. Unfortunately, that not the case. Too often, luggage doesn't make a tight connection, just doesn't get on the plane, is damaged, and so forth.

For myself, I would love to check everything except what I actually need while I am on the plane, but on trips to my destination, I usually push the limit of the carryon restrictions. I don't exceed the limit, but I carry on as much as I am allowed. That way I know I will reach my destination with as much of my belongings as possible.

toedtoes

I have my carry on down to a 20" duffle this year. It holds all my camera equipment (minus the tripod which goes in checked) and anything else of value or that I will need on the plane. And because it's softsided (I use a smaller beltpack inside to protect the camera and lenses), I can fit it in under the seat easily.

Andrew

No way in hell I'm checking my camera and my laptop - I'm carrying it them, period. We're talking thousands of dollars worth of stuff (even if it weren't fragile). The airlines don't insure your bags for anything close to that.

So I always carry on both a camera bag and a laptop bag. Sometimes I put the laptop bag into another bag which gives me a little more room for books and some food. I've been able to get away with calling my camera bag (which isn't tiny) a "personal item." The little bag I plop my laptop bag into isn't huge, though, either.

As a result of all this, I am reluctant to fly into or through London anymore since as far as I know they are very strict since last August about what you are allowed to carry on a plane.

mikemo

Simply a back pack (goes under the seat) to allow for the ... - never a larger bag - that's way rude, imhpo.
M

toedtoes

I agree Andrew - I would never check my camera or other electronics. That's just asking for trouble.

But because I carry on those, I don't carry on as much of the other stuff. I don't try to carry on all my stuff for a 3 week trip - I'd rather have to buy a pair of pants, a couple tops and some undies (that with what I'm wearing can get me by for a week or more).

I also hate trying to run around the airport with multiple bags. With what I have now, I can carry just my duffle bag, or if I'm bringing home souvenirs, I can remove the camera beltpack (no bigger than a purse) from the duffle for more room.

mcnyc

Elsiemoo, I've seen one of those backpacks, and that would be considered your carry on, period. Don't bring a purse with that, place your purse on the inside of that bag and you will be ok.

It's like others have said above - really depends on many factors, most especially the gate agent. I know gate agents have attempted to get me to check my carryon (a 22" suitcase) at various points in time, but as long as I had just 1 item and it could fit into that little nasty crusty metal contraption by the gate, I've always been let through.

avagee

I try to carry on as little as possible - less to remember - and i fit it all into one carry-on which has lots of compartments and pack my handbag into my check in luggage. I always have with me anything i don't want to lose, my essential paperwork, my camera, a light magazine and my cellphone which usually has two books downloaded onto it - its a real luggage space saver.

gail

My husband is one of those rude people who carries onway too much - and has never been stopped or asked to gate check except on smaller commuter planes. He carries a too-big roll-on (way over size requirements of any airline) and an enormous briefcase with computer and god-knows-what-else inside.

While I think this is rude, it is also becoming more of the norm for business travelers who often can not spare the time to wait for lulggage - and it is rarely the 15 minutes one poster mentioned. On recent pleasure trips at 5 different airports, it was closer to an hour than 15 minutes.

People will continue to carry on whatever they can get away with - on a BA flight 2 years ago they were uniformly strict about carry-on luggage, and boarding and deboarding took 1/3 time on most other flights.

vinolover

We flew through London Gatwick last month and they are serious about the one carry-on per person rule.

Bags such as a camera bag, laptop bag, tote bag or purse are considered your ONE carry-on, if you have one of these you may not have another bag or suitcase.

The carry on bag may not exceed their metal sizer which sits next to the security gate. If you try to put an overstuffed suitcase in the sizer and it doesn't fit then they won't let you through with it.

You can put your purse, etc., inside your tote bag or suitcase but only if it doesn't make the bag bulge too much to fit into the sizer.

It would be a good rule if everyone understood that in advance but as it was it slowed down the line. Everyone was trying to stuff their bag into the sizer to prove to the guard it would fit. If it didn't they they had to step out of line and try to reconfigure which jammed up the line.

We had a small 21"x14"x9" bag that was okay but when I put my very small purse into the side pocket it would no longer fit into the sizer. I had to take stuff out of my purse and put it into coat pockets.

However, keep in mind that you can stuff your coat pockets full. We put the extra toiletries (non liquid), digital camera, guidebooks, into coat pockets in order to not have the extra carry-on bag. Once on the plane I took all of it out again and put it back into the tote bag. Seems rather silly but those are the rules.

AntInNewYork

15 minutes to get your checked luggage? Really??? That's not the norm, unfortunately. SFO is known to be in excess of an hour for some strange reason. That's an hour longer than I'd like to wait biting my nails to see if the bag even makes it..

You're fine with a carry-on plus a tote bag, just make sure that it can fit under the seat in front of you. I feel like for some reason that space has gotten a bit smaller.

brushfire

It's never been 15 minutes, always at least 30 minutes. Even longer when I flew into LAX the other day and there were SEVEN flights that were using one carousel. A nightmare!

I've always flown with a laptop bag and backpack (with books, jacket, etc). I lay the laptop bag down and put the backpack on top under the seat in front...usually fits no problem.

trippinkpj

If I'm checking bags, I keep carry on to a medium purse or smallish day pack.

trippinkpj

FYI, a medium purse to me is a 9'' by 12" by 3" deep.

Gekko

Yeah, I guess some people's time is precious and more valuable than everybody else's, so they can selfishly inconvenience others so they don't have to wait for their checked luggage.

Where do we get a list of who's "special" enough to be such an inconsiderate ass?