goldngirl

I have been having quite a bit of difficulty finding a bag that meets the BA requirement of 22in x 18in x 10in INCLUDING handles, pockets, and wheels. I am in US, but will be traveling to UK and Italy. The main problem is the height @22in as many lugguage companies list by interior dimensions rather than including wheels and handles, or don't specify. I have spoken with BA and they are very strict about the measurements. Can anyone advise about which carry-on bags will meet this requirement?

janisj

A 20 or 21 inch bag is usually 22 inches overall (unless it has very large wheels). But to be sure just take a tape measure when you shop for your bag.

Odin

They may have given the appearance of being strict when you spoke to them on the phone, but in reality, an inch or so out will make no difference.

crosscheck

We travel on BA often and have flown internationally in all four classes. Nobody has ever asked us to use the sizer, even when we brought slightly larger duffles for our safari.

The bag I usually use is this Lipault 22" spinner (French made, so works well for European standards). Astounding how much you can fit in it:

http://www.amazon.com/Lipault-Montma.../dp/B00632V24C

And Mr. Crosscheck uses a 21" Travelpro lite:

http://www.amazon.com/Travelpro-Lugg...lpro+maxlite+3

isabel

"an inch or so out will make no difference." - not true. Eight out of ten times it will get through, but they CAN be sticklers and often they are. It all depends on the check in agent and the gate agent and whether or not they had a bad morning. If the plane is "full" (which I think is a joke, since they are virtually all "full" these days) they may make you 'gate check' it. So you get by the guys at the check in counter (or better yet, check in on line so you can skip that) but at boarding they take your bag and 'gate check' it. Those with the 22" bags are the first to get their bags taken. At least if you are 'legally' within their limits you can argue with them - which sometimes works and sometimes doesn't.

It's also a question of weight. At check in they usually will weigh the bag and if it's over their limits you're out of luck. But there are lots of 'super light weight' bags. "Regular" weight bags can weigh 7 or 8 pounds empty and there's half your allowance right there. They can also be picky about the size of your 'personal' item. However, I have never had the 'personal item' weighed, so that's where I carry all the cameras, electronics and other heavy items.

Kwaussie

We traveled on British Airways recently and I could not believe how much cabin luggage people were allowed. In fact our plane was delayed because they couldn't fit it all on and had to stow some.

travelgourmet

I'm usually in business class on BA, but they aren't terribly strict. They are easily the most lenient of the European carriers. I wouldn't worry.

AlessandraZoe

I also recommend the Lipault. The size is right and it is superlight without being flimsy.

nytraveler

How strict the airline will be depends on which equipment is used for the flight and how full the flight is.

There are plenty of carry-ons that fit the smaller european rules - a whole different size that is listed at 19" - but do bring a measuring tape with you. I bought one when traveling frequently to a client in Switz - and saw many US travelers have their regular US size carry-ons gate checked since they just did not fit in the overheads on some planes.

goldngirl

Thank you all so much for the info - very appreciated!
@Isabel that is my concern - that BA can be sticklers although it sounds like low odds. Sounds like it can go smoothly as long as I measure and stay within that 22in height. @Kwaussie your comment sounds encouraging actually that maybe they're not so strict. Thanks for the recs @crosscheck and @AlessandraZoe! Thank you for tip on bringing along a measuring tape @nytraveler. So great to get all this feedback!

annhig

IME it is very much left up to the decision of the personnel on duty on the day. on an Easyjet flight from Bristol to Barcelona, they said at the gate that the wheels of my bag took it over the size limit and charged me to put it in the hold; on the way back the spanish employees couldn't care less about its size but they were stopping people bringing more than one item of hand luggage onto the plane, even if the second item was a camera round someone's neck.

I always take a tape measure with me if I am buying luggage and a set of scales when I travel, to weigh my case.

travelgourmet

<i>It's also a question of weight. At check in they usually will weigh the bag and if it's over their limits you're out of luck.</i>

The BA weight limit is 23kg for each of your carry-on and personal item. It would be hard to go over the limit with a carry-on.

ancl123

US carry on luggage is not the same size as European Size. I dont know about BA but my husband and I paid alot to gate check what we thought were carry on size and weight on RIan Air and another low cost carrier in Europe. We were so proud to have such small bags for out 10 day trip especially for an American haha. They werent impressed. We got charged 100 per bag per person. This was on two separate flights going from London to Bologna, Italy and then again to spain. lesson learned!

ancl123

Where is the flight going from? If its US going to Europe it is more lenient vs. small planes going within Europe. Be careful not to pack bag to capacity as well. THey can get u there too. Good luck!\

annhig

BTW, the standard weight limit for checked luggage on the vast majority of flights within Europe is 20kgs. so if you have packed to your limit on your transatlantic flight, you'l have to lose a few pounds before you get on Easyjet.

travelgourmet

<i>US carry on luggage is not the same size as European Size. I dont know about BA</i>

BA is more closely aligned with US limits than any European carrier I know of.

Christina

The airlines tell you the size they allow, so it isn't a secret. I would never think of just taking a bag that was labelled "carry on size" on a flight without checking the measurements allowed on that airline.

I also noticed on some flight I was checking recently within Europe, the normal checked baggage allowance was 20 rather than 23 kg. YOU had to pay more to buy a 30 kg ticket, which I hated to do as mine would be right on the border, but I didn't want to risk it at the gate as it would cost a lot more.

I find the tricky issue is really the depth of bags. A lot of 20-22 inch height bags do not fit the measurements of carryon for US carriers which is 9 inches thickness, even if the rest does. But most airlines you can get by, as so many people carry on bags that are thicker than that. It's better when they just say the total linear inches.

But I've had bags allowed as carryon one way and not in the reverse by the same airline, you just never know.

Dukey1

Go on a site like ebags.com and there are ALL KINDS of bags which easily meet the carry-on requirements. And then don't get pissed off when the BA folks don't give even what appear to be the biggest carry-ons a second look.

Trophywife007

We've used this for carry on with BA several times and it was within the limits.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

DebitNM

We bought one of these and liked it so much, we bought a second. We did this with budget European airlines in mind, as well as international flights from US.

http://www.ebags.com/product/travelp...rry-on+spinner