Western Flyer under airplane seat?

[timothy]

Hi!

On a small selection of flights thus far, I've had no trouble putting the Checkpoint Flyer under the seat in front of me on planes. (Only medium-to-large jets so far, no commuters the size of an imported soda can.) My procedure, generally: just before flight, swap socks -- put previous socks in plastic baggie. On reaching my seat (hoping to be the first in my row), stash the bag under the seat, and then slip off my sandals next to it. (I would not do this with long-worn, stinky socks.)

What about the Western Flyer: has anyone used it as their under-seat / "small bag" second carry-on item (for itineraries and airports that make a 2d bag possible), or is that too crazy?

timothy

[keb]

just did it. i think the planes were 737s. usair one way, southwest the other. the western flyer fit under the seat in front both on its side and upright. on one flight i had the wf upright with my feet next to it under the seat in front. i was in a middle seat. awesome...

[timothy]

keb -- Good information, thanks! (And where in the Philly suburbs? A year ago, I was an intern at the Bucks County D.A.'s office ... now back in Sunny Seattle )

Tom / Darcy -- the factory needs an economy airplane seat, and a section of overhead bin, for product comparison shots ...

timothy

[flitcraft]

It might not fit under the seat if you have an aisle seat. On a lot of aircraft, the underseat room on those seats is smaller than on the middle or window seats. And you'll definitely have a problem on any seats if the plane has the personal inflight entertainment boxes taking up room under the seats. I doubt that it would work on a commuter flight, though gate checking is just about as convenient as using the overhead bins.

Having said that, my Western Flyer has happily snuggled under the seat in front of me twice on occasions when the overhead bins were full on the flight. And, as a bonus, it makes a dandy footrest for those of us with short legs.

[rabergnc]

The WF will squeeze into most of those small aisle seat spaces - if it is not overpacked. The one exception I have found is the space which is partially occupied by entertainment unit electronics. Once in the air, you can slide it out and put it behind your legs in that little nook created by the edge of the seat and bar which defines the front of the floor space of the seat behind you. Then when you land, you put it back under the seat ahead.

[keb]

keb -- Good information, thanks! (And where in the Philly suburbs? A year ago, I was an intern at the Bucks County D.A.'s office ... now back in Sunny Seattle )

montgomery county, south and west of where you were...

agree with all above about the seats....

[pretzelb]

I had asked about this a while ago too. The dimensions list the WF near the same as the Brain Bag and I have had luck stuffing my BB under the seat in front of me. But the BB tapers near the top and many large 737 type planes have a bar that narrows the space as you progress under the seat. So on the one hand it should work but on the other I can see where the pure rectangle shape could be an issue.

On my last flight I upgraded to 1st class and was shocked to find my BB had an issue under the seat. I'm not sure what it was but there was a small metal box under the seat in front and it really made it hard to store my BB. We didn't have any special entertainment options so I don't think it was that. I did manage to make it work but it took some effort. The WF might have been even harder to store.

I do agree it would be great if Tom Bihn had mock up of overhead bins and under seat storage. I would think a really cheap method would be just box made out of MDF. I'm not sure if the dimensions for the bins and seat storage are published somewhere but it should be too hard to find out. It certainly would be a great image for the product pages.

[keb]

Entertainment system and seat motor... the first class seats have much less room underneath the seat than on coach. the good news is that only 1st class uses the overhead bins and usually no one hassles you over the exact measurements of your bag or your personal item as long as they look reasonable. i am going to europe this summer for a week business class and think i will purchase an aeronaut if $ allow and carry that with a lightly packed Western Flyer...