Checkpoint Flyer under-seat?

[TimK65]

Will the Checkpoint Flyer work as an under-seat bag, or is it too large in one or more dimensions? (Obviously this partly depends on how much you pack in it, but assuming you have a laptop and not WAY too much other stuff in it, will it work?)

Thanks,
Tim

[Darcy]

The Checkpoint Flyer will fit under the seat of pretty much every plane. Maybe not super small planes, but your normal jetliner will take it just fine.

[TimK65]

Hey Darcy,

Thanks for the quick reply. I probably should have been more explicit, though. Where I live (Jackson, Mississippi), the majority of the flights are on Canadair RJs, if you know what I'm talking about. How about one of those?

(Digression: I finesse my way into getting to carry on both my bags by putting my CPAP machine, which cannot be checked, into my Aeronaut and my laptop into my under-seat bag, which up to now has been my Smart Alec. Airline staff usually don't want to let you carry two bags onto an RJ. But I was thinking the Checkpoint Flyer might help speed the trip through security, as long as it would fit under my seat.)

Thanks,
Tim

[timothy]

I am not sure about the smaller planes you mention, TimK65, but on the trip I got back from on Friday from Israel (3 legs each way between Tel Aviv and Seattle), the Checkpoint Flyer fit fine under the seat in front of me. (Or, when I was in the rearmost row, the seat beneath me).

Those were all medium-big jets, but certainly not spacious, except in comparison to commuter planes In that case, really, I'd be surprised if you could get both Aeronaut and CF on board -- but the CF is certainly the one more likely to *get* aboard. (Or have you successfully gotten the Aeronaut aboard your small flights?)

Can the CPAP machine be carried in a smaller sub-container, such that (if required) the Aeronaut could be checked? If you want to protect your laptop in the CF, I wonder if that's a reasonable way ...

timothy

[MikeG]

TimK65 wrote: "Digression: I finesse my way into getting to carry on both my bags by putting my CPAP machine, which cannot be checked, into my Aeronaut and my laptop into my under-seat bag, which up to now has been my Smart Alec. Airline staff usually don't want to let you carry two bags onto an RJ. But I was thinking the Checkpoint Flyer might help speed the trip through security, as long as it would fit under my seat."

Tim - You might note that for most air carriers (even the RJs) the bag carrying your CPAP does not count against your carry-on and "personal item." Usually I don't try to do that as I don't like to juggle three bags, but it is allowed (you have to dig deep and read the fine print - take a copy with you if you think you will have a problem). An American Airlines disability representative recently reinforced that exception for my wife during a trip planning/accommodation discussion, after her recent knee replacement.

I frequently use either my Zephyr or Empire Builder to carry my CPAP (and other stuff) as they are padded (and I place the CPAP machine itself in a lightly padded bag made specifically for traveling with my model CPAP) or a Red Oxx PR4 (modified/customized by Perry at Red Oxx) that has a padded central compartment when I want to carry a lot of stuff in addition to my CPAP and associated gear (extension cords, outlet adaptors, DC power cord/adaptor, etc.).

I have let the airlines gate check my CPAP a few times when I have padded it with three layers of padding (a Lowes photo case is the third layer) or have put it in a Pelican rolling carry-on case, but usually when I get get any question, I ask the flight attendant or gate agent if they and the airline are willing to assume complete liability for the CPAP. No one has ever agreed to do so. And they (the airlines) finds a place for it.

Mike

[TimK65]

Hey MikeG!

I like to limit myself to two bags just because it's easier to handle. And when I've flown on RJs in the past with my CPAP in one bag and two other bags, I've had to argue with sometimes surly airline staff about having a CPAP in my smallest bag, and not wanting to check it. (Heck, last April, when I flew with my Aeronaut for the first time, I assured a flight attendant that I had a CPAP in it and was nonplussed to hear these words come out of her mouth: "You're not lying to me, are you?")

So for my own sake (what I have to carry) and to save myself grief with the airlines, I prefer to travel with just two bags: the Aeronaut and an under-seat. The Smart Alec fits nicely under the seat, but it's a bit crowded sometimes for the stuff I want to take on. For that reason, and for the easier trip through security, I was thinking about the Checkpoint Flyer.

However, now that it looks like I'm going to spend tomorrow evening refrigerator shopping *sigh*, I may have to postpone the Checkpoint Flyer until a later date.

Thanks,
Tim