Problems with Aeronaut as Carry-On

[ncb4]

At Thanksgiving, both legs on my return flight (Continental - small regional jets) tried to make me gate check my Aeronaut. Both times I told them it would fit. They shrugged and gave me a claim ticket anyway, "just in case." Both times it fit - once in the overhead, once under the seat (double seat but no one in the other seat, so I had the entire floor storage area). The only problem I had with the underseat storage was that I needed to get out of the way - out into the aisle - before I could easily pull it out. Putting it under - it just slipped right in.

In January of this year, my son flew with his brand-new Aeronaut and Brain Bag, both as carry-ons. We were a bit nervous about that, but he flew a small regional Continental jet, and no one said a thing to him. He didn't have any trouble finding room for either bag on the plane, though he said it was small and crowded. He had no trouble on his trans-Atlantic leg either, also via Continental out of Newark to Geneva.
He's just taken a quick trip from Geneva to Edinburgh; I'll have to ask him what his experience has been on the small European airlines. He flies EasyJet, KLM's CityJet, and sometimes BritishAir.

[Yonkdaddy]

I did a 2-night trip to Dallas a week ago. I took only my Aeronaut. I had my 3-1-1 & shaving bag in one end-pocket, backup clothing + FoxL speaker + iPad + magazines + 13-inch Macbook Pro (in an Incase neoprene sleeve) + powerbrick + sunglasses in the main compartment, and my Monster Beats Studio headphones + iDevice charger kit (in a medium Waterfield iPod Travel Case) + glasses + misc stuff (small notebook, Bluetooth headset, pen, etc.). I had no problems in security, and was able to get the whole thing into every overhead, including the small regional jet I took from Dallas to LA on the return. No agent looked twice at me and the bag slipped into the regional overhead with room to spare. I could definitely have packed another shirt/trouser combo in there with no sweat at all.

[Lani]

You know, this is just a gut feeling--there's absolutely NO empirical evidence to support this, but my suspicion is that airline crew probably admire people who carry soft-sided carry-ons like this. Let's say I were a flight attendant. I probably see my share of all sorts of "carry-ons"--from grocery bags to the blingiest Suburban SUV-sized rolling uprights.

And while my favorite passenger is likely the person who brings on board NO carry-ons at all, or the person who has spent a decent amount for a Tom Bihn bag... TB carry-on bags are marketed primarily for travel. They've got great construction, they pack and zip up tightly. They must KNOW the bags fit.

So... if I have a choice between asking someone to gate check their Aeronaut, and someone else who has a 22-inch hard-sided Rollaboard, I'm going to ask the person with the Rollaboard. Because I know that one won't fit under the seat, and won't squish into a crowded overhead.

But that's just my guess.

[Frank II]

And while my favorite passenger is likely the person who brings on board NO carry-ons at all, or the person who has spent a decent amount for a Tom Bihn bag... TB carry-on bags are marketed primarily for travel. They've got great construction, they pack and zip up tightly. They must KNOW the bags fit.

You really think the gate agents are thinking this? What about bags made by RedOxx, MEI, Tumi, Briggs & Riley, Ebags, Samsonite, American Tourister, Skyway, Travelpro, Patagonia, L.L. Bean, Rick Steves, Eagle Creek, etc, etc, etc? if they stopped to analyze every bag by manufacturer, it would take hours to board a plane.

They don't notice brands. They're thinking: I need to get this plane out on time. What's the fastest way to deal with each piece of carry on bag?
And since most people have wheels and those need to be dealt with, most non-wheeled, soft sided bags get a pass. But there are exceptions.

And that's why I asked the initial question. I, personally, have never had a problem. I was looking for someone who has. So far, no luck.

[Lani]

You really think the gate agents are thinking this? What about bags made by RedOxx, MEI, Tumi, Briggs & Riley, Ebags, Samsonite, American Tourister, Skyway, Travelpro, Patagonia, L.L. Bean, Rick Steves, Eagle Creek, etc, etc, etc? if they stopped to analyze every bag by manufacturer, it would take hours to board a plane.

*I* would.

Hehe.

[Frank II]

Then you should be allowed to teach a class at "Airline" school!!!!! The skies would be a lot "friendlier."

Of course, we could go even further and have a few overhead bins with signs saying: "Tom Bihn Bags Only."

[Lani]

Of course, we could go even further and have a few overhead bins with signs saying: "Tom Bihn Bags Only."

[Clicks the LIKE button.]

[gmoskal]

I wish they would make a new rule that ANY bag with wheels is not allowed as a carryon and must be checked. Then they could charge for the really heavy ones (say over 30 lb) and the smaller ones would be no charge. But I don't consider any wheeled bag appropriate for a carry on bag. It annoys me that they are so popular. On the other hand when the airlines do institute my rule () the RS, TB, RedOx people will get the last laugh so maybe we should just let overpackers continue to be overpackers and keep our little secret to ourselves.

[lonestar6]

Not quite true, otherwise we'd all be carrying this in place of our Cadets:
Gucci - foldable portfolio. 271569AZ10W2101

OMG!
xtal - come on now, it can be personalized (sarcasm implied). I would not carry this in place of a cadet, there are not enough pockets and I did not notice a key clip.

[cjedj]

This is a very interesting thread for me - I've been using the Tri-Star for most of my European flights recently, with no problems. Fantastic for business trips.

However I'm VERY tempted to get an Aeronaut in the near future for personal trips, as it offers a bit more flexibility in the way you can pack. However I've been held back by concerns about it being too big for some of the airlines I fly - typically Lufthansa, Swiss, Air Malta, Easyjet and so on. If you go strictly by the rules like Frank's friend in the first post, it's technically too big for some flights.

Most of what I've read on here and elsewhere on the forum seems to indicate that it wouldn't be a problem, however I've seen so many other passengers fall foul of agents I don't particular want to be another one. Has anybody ever been forced to check an Aeronaut in Europe, for example?

[Hadler]

I just flew Air Canada from SFO to Toronto and outbound they were rigorously screening carry-ons, having folks try to squeeze them into a very small sizing rack. It was much smaller than a standard domestic one I'm not even sure whether my slightly bulging Tri-Star would have made the width cut but with the thing slung over my shoulder, and me pretending it weighed nothing, I was not forced to try. An Aeronaut might have gotten pulled.
With so many wheeled and armored behemoths out there I'm happy to see the airlines getting strict.

[WhiteStar]

I don't understand the total roll aboard hate. ANY "giant bag" needs to be checked. Period. But if a small bag has wheels, so what. There are a lot of us out here who have back issues and rolling bags make life a lot easier. My favorite "3 day" bag is a tiny ( not much larger than a synapse, much smaller than an Aeronaut) rolling duffle. The one time I flew with it, it was easily consumed in the overhead, so what's the big deal ?

[bchaplin]

I don't understand the total roll aboard hate. ANY "giant bag" needs to be checked. Period. But if a small bag has wheels, so what. There are a lot of us out here who have back issues and rolling bags make life a lot easier. My favorite "3 day" bag is a tiny ( not much larger than a synapse, much smaller than an Aeronaut) rolling duffle. The one time I flew with it, it was easily consumed in the overhead, so what's the big deal ?

I don't understand it either, but on my last flight on a regional jet, ALL the wheeled carry-ons were gate-checked, allowing lots of free space for those of us with hand-helds. Otherwise I would have had an issue, as there was almost no bin space on that plane. I agree it's unfair, but I think it's just a short-cut for the overworked gate agents. They probably want to avoid engaging each passenger in an argument, since no one likes gate-checking their bags.

If I had a very small wheeled suitcase, I'd just press my case at the gate, politely but insistently. They should let you on with it.

[ncb4]

I also have a very small wheeled suitcase that is exactly the same size as my Synapse; and like WhiteStar, I have joint issues, and a rolling bag helps significantly. In fact, one of the primary things that the American Arthritis Foundation recommends to help arthritics be able to travel independently is rolling luggage.

Four years ago, no airline, regional, domestic, or international, gave me any problem when taking my little bag aboard. However, that has all changed. Like bchaplin, every time I've flown a regional jet in the past few years, gate agents have asked that all passengers with rolling luggage, regardless of its size, check it. Which hasn't been such a bad thing for me, actually. They take the bag off my hands at the gate, and as long as I'm prepared with a smaller bag (like my Co-Pilot, Imago, or LCB) to carry my laptop and other things to my seat, it turns out to be a service. The bag is waiting for me at the door of the plane when I disembark! They don't charge for this either.

However, I can't count on that, especially out of the US, so I've stopped using the little rolling bag. That's one of the reasons I came to Tom Bihn, looking for a way to help me comfortably carry my stuff when I travel. The Aeronaut with Absolute Strap has been a godsend for that. Still, if the airlines were to change their policies about gate-checking all rolling luggage, I'd probably go back to my rolling bag. Carrying anything on my back or shoulders for a long time causes me problems, no matter how well-designed the bag is, or how little I try to carry.

There may be some light on the horizon for all of us who want to carry on our luggage, no matter what kind of bag we use. Four major American carriers are enlarging their overhead bins. Hallelujah! It can't happen soon enough.

I Like Big Bins: Major Airlines Increasing Overhead-Bin Space - SmarterTravel.com

[Walker]

I just flew Air Canada from SFO to Toronto and outbound they were rigorously screening carry-ons, having folks try to squeeze them into a very small sizing rack.

I had similar experience on Air Canada last December. One leg (inbound & outbound) of my trip was Montreal-Ottawa. I used a Brain Bag (borrowed from family). The gate attendants were pulling people off the line, making them fit their carry-on bag in a small bag sizer. Needless to say, there were lots of arguing.

My bag was not packed to the gills, but I was *sure* it would have been too "fat" for that bag sizer. I removed the items I had in the front pockets (book, 1 liter water, empty travel mug, sandwich purchased at departure area) and a PCSB filled with a book, phone, samsung galaxy tablet 7" & its power cord from the front compartment - put them in my small TB shop bag. I breezed through the line. My BB fit in the overhead bin, but I think it may not have fit or I would have needed force to shove it into the overhead bin, if I did not remove the items I removed.

I, too, am waffling on whether to purchase the aeronaut or the tristar to use on a trip this summer.