Tuscanlifeedit....Atlanta Airport is like that,too. A few years ago, I was flying from Ghana, West Africa to Milan to Atlanta to L.A. when Delta lost my luggage from Atlanta to L.A. on a non-stop flight. That bag was gone for over two weeks.

In L.A., I was given a claim number and phone number to call. I asked my mom to call the next day as I couldn't take off from work to sit on the phone for hours with Delta.

My mom was on the phone for many hours. She'd given them my claim number and that number had been assigned to someone else. So, my name didn't pop up in the computer. My mom was told that it was as if I didn't exist. A mess.
Everyday for a couple of weeks either she called or I called to try to track the suitcase. We'd get people on the phone who were obviously answering phones in another country. One guy couldn't pronounce or spell the name of my city and even asked where it was and said he'd never heard of it....(Pasadena,Ca).

When I checked in my luggage, in Accra,Ghana, at the new part of the international airport, the system wasn't even working. I'd also been there the year before.
But they checked in everyone's luggage, old- school style...by HAND. No computers. And then put it on the non-operable baggage belt and pushed it all to the back room where handlers took it to the plane. My bag arrived fine to Milan. And Milan got it to
Atlanta as crazy as that airport is. Milan had lost the suitcase, for over an hour in their airport when I was trying to get to Ghana. But, at least they got it to Atlanta on the way back.

Then in Atlanta, I personally picked up my suitcase and cleared customs and rechecked it on the non-stop flight to L.A. It was a madhouse. People pushing and almost fighting in Atlanta trying to get to the area where one rechecks the luggage. When I got home to L.A., my mom said there had been a news report about Delta and lost luggage during that period. They had so much lost luggage.

Well, about two and a half weeks later, a man pulled into my mom's driveway, after midnight and rang the doorbell. She was in bed. She looked out of her upstairs window and saw an unrecognizable, beat-up looking car in her driveway. He said he was there to drop off a suitcase. She said she would not open the door for a stranger and at that hour. She told him to leave it on the porch. He wouldn't unless she opened the door and signed for it. She told him to come back at a decent hour. Since my mom is retired I had the suitcase sent to her house.

So, he went away with the suitcase. No one had called her to say that the suitcase had been found, not less, was going to be delivered and after midnight. What woman is going to open the door for a stranger at that hour.
Then the next day someone called and asked when the suitcase could be delivered and she said during the day. They promised it would be delivered during the day. Again there was a knock on the door in the middle of the night. She lives in a dark, mountainous area.
She dragged out of bed and walked down two flights of stairs and looked out her peep- hole door window and told the guy to leave it on the porch. He said she had to sign for it. She said she wasn't opening the door. He finally left it and went away.

So, anytime I'm at the airport, with luggage to check, I just pray that I'll see it again and before two weeks later and before midnight! Happy Travels!

tuscan,

Glad to help. It was really pretty easy, as you gave all the information needed. I just did a Google search on "hybrid luggage."

I found, like you, that the 4.8 lb., 20" piece is always listed as part of a 3-piece set. Looks like it will be tough to find it as a separate.

Hope you're feeling better!

Yes, I DO believe the 22" will be obsolete, which is why I'm in the market shopping for a new one. My goal is 21" including handles/wheels, and less than 7lbs.

I've read that LHR has the luggage sizer at the security check point, and it measures 21". If your suitcase is 22" including handles and wheels, it WILL NOT fit in the LHR sizer!

I love my 22" but always check it. I've noticed that a lot of luggage companies are downsizing from 22" to 21" and that just won't do it for me. I hope this isn't an omen.

DH had to check his 19" rollaboard on a European airline, so that could happen too.

Wish I could travel like my son-in-law. He travels with only a carry-on Kiva Big Mouth wherever he goes, whether for a day or a month, and manages to pack both hiking and business attire. I think he must have studied under janisj. lol

NoleNomad

Good thinking. I wrote to Heys and that gave me a link to find a distributor in my area. They said that I just had to ask such a dealer to get me a 20" and it would not be a problem.

I am still thinking of getting that piece. I am planning to drag my suitcase around for as long as I'm able so it seems like it would be a good investment in time and money for me.

Thanks for the good wishes. I feel better today in terms of some parts, and worse in other parts!

I'm hoping for a break, since I am hosting the family reunion on the 30th, and at least 3 of the gang are staying here.

I'm a luggage junkie too. Always looking for the perfect carryon.

When we flew from Venice to Milan to catch our flight back to the states, they made me check my carryon because the plane was too small from Venice. It was just a small duffel bag, and guess which bag they lost. Right!!! And because they made me check it at the last moment, I didn't take out any stuff and lost my camera and pictures that we had taken along with things we bought in Italy along with other carryon stuff.

They never did find my bag. So next time I'll do what Isabel said pack a small bag inside my small bag.

<<When we flew from Venice to Milan to catch our flight back to the states, they made me check my carryon because the plane was too small from Venice. It was just a small duffel bag, and guess which bag they lost. Right!!! And because they made me check it at the last moment, I didn't take out any stuff and lost my camera and pictures that we had taken along with things we bought in Italy along with other carryon stuff.>>

Sorry that you lost your camera and other items, but hope you were compensated. Can't replace the photos though.

This is good example of being prepared to have your carryon gatechecked. Egyptian airlines took my 19" as I was getting on the plane but I insisted on taking my camera and prescriptions out before handing it over. One woman on the plane was crying because they'd taken her carryon and "everything" was in it. They took a lot of carryons away, regardless of the size.

<<A 22" case is too big for some low-cost airlines in Europe.>>

And in Morocco, Egypt, Chile and Argentina and probably many other countries. Internal flights (including on major airlines) are on smaller planes and overhead space is limited so chances are good you won't board with a 22" (or even smaller) carryon.

I think the 22" carry-on is threatened, if not endangered. The rules on the books for almost all of the Star Alliance carriers already, effectively, rule them out, with weight limits under 10 kg. Enforcement has been lax, but that the rules are on the books, doesn't bode well. Some of the budget carriers in Europe do enforce rigid weight limits. And many Asian carriers, particularly the Japanese ones, have low limits that they enforce.

The US has been the last bastion of generous carry-on and checked luggage rules. Take a look at the carry-on sizes in a European or Asian department store, and you will see a lot more 19" or 20" bags. With many of the US carriers abruptly changing course, I think the tide is shifting.