"Personal Item" at the airport.

[ozone]

peregina, bag chick:

I also fly Air Canada (not much choice where I am) and I've used the Aeronaut as my carry on item for the last 5 years. I've never had it weighed or been forced to check it in. I've never had a problem with flying on US carriers either, but Lufthansa can be very particular: one on international flight out, they did check the weights of all bags.

I used to carry my Brain Bag as my personal item, but as others, I suspect it really is too large. I've since switched to the ID messenger bag as my personal item. I now use a MacBook Air for travel - one of the best computer purchases I've ever made.

[maverick]

hi ozone,

i've flown the small regional jets with air canada between toronto and washinton, dc with the aeronaut also without issue.

but i flew continental once on a tiny jet (1 seat on one side of the isle, 2 on the other side, perhaps 12 or 14 rows) between newark, nj and washington, dc, and they had me do a plane side checkin for my aeronaut.

-m

peregina, bag chick:

I also fly Air Canada (not much choice where I am) and I've used the Aeronaut as my carry on item for the last 5 years. I've never had it weighed or been forced to check it in.

[keb]

has anyone flown with western flyer and empire builder as their bags?

[rabergnc]

I travel with the Western Flyer and ID (same ball park size as the Empire Builder). Never had a problem on jet aircraft. When I have had to fly on the small turboprops (every seat is a window and an aisle seat), the Western Flyer was checked plane-side. No way both bags would fit under a seat on the small planes.

[keb]

thanks. i figure the western flyer holds the clothes and the EB the electronics and absolutes, either goes under the seat if necessary on the larger planes, and the WF gets checked plane-side on the smaller planes, just like you say. sounds like a plan....

[Meryddian]

I have had no problem taking my Ego on as a 'personal' bag. Seems like if I don't have a purse hanging off me, they assume it's my purse, or something. Usually I check my rollaway, but recently coming back from DC, the airline actually let me take my *large* (hiking/camping size) backpack plus my Ego to the gate, as I was too close to gate time for them to want to check the bag.

AirTran has weird restrictions about checking bags. Unlike major carriers like American, United or Southwest, if you're running too close to your flight, they won't let you check your bag. I asked, "What about checking it and just sending it along on the next flight?" and was told flat-out "NO, we don't do that."

[Beatriz]

Maverick--

Thanks for sharing your experience. I'll be doing more flying on US regional jets but not ones quite as small as you described and was worried the Aeronaut would be too big. Sounds like I'll probably be good to go, as long as I don't overstuff it (unlikely as I *hate* carrying heavy bags).

Thanks for enabling me

[MsMoon]

Has anyone tried carrying an Aeronaut AND a Western Flyer? I love my Aeronaut, and I currently use my large Cafe Bag as a personal item, but for some trips, I need a bag that can hold my computer, various papers/official documents, as well as some personal in-flight items. I almost exclusively use the backpack straps on my Aeronaut, or I would be considering the Synapse or SmartAlec. Additionally, I like the two compartments of the Western Flyer.

[maverick]

Has anyone tried carrying an Aeronaut AND a Western Flyer? I love my Aeronaut, and I currently use my large Cafe Bag as a personal item, but for some trips, I need a bag that can hold my computer, various papers/official documents, as well as some personal in-flight items. I almost exclusively use the backpack straps on my Aeronaut, or I would be considering the Synapse or SmartAlec. Additionally, I like the two compartments of the Western Flyer.

hi msmoon,

a western flyer isn't really in the realm of "personal item," though depending on who you encounter at the gate, you may be able to bring both onboard without an issue.

you can actually carry both the aeronaut and the western flyer, each with a shoulder strap.

if you need a bag to hold your laptop, various papers/official documents, and some personal inflight items (how much bulk do you think this would consist of?), you could put these items into a messenger style bag or briefcase. if you chose a briefcase like the zephyr or empire builder, or a messenger style bag like the superego or ego, or id, you would carry the aeronaut and the additional item each on one shoulder.

[BPritchard]

Has anyone tried carrying an Aeronaut AND a Western Flyer? I love my Aeronaut, and I currently use my large Cafe Bag as a personal item, but for some trips, I need a bag that can hold my computer, various papers/official documents, as well as some personal in-flight items. I almost exclusively use the backpack straps on my Aeronaut, or I would be considering the Synapse or SmartAlec. Additionally, I like the two compartments of the Western Flyer.

I'll be using the Swift bag as my personal carry-on. It will contain my 6T brain cell containing my netbook, my headphones, and other items. Plenty of room.

The 6T brain cell is used in my Ego. The Ego will become my carry-on to hold camera equipment, electronics, and clothes in case of lost luggage.

[MsMoon]

hi msmoon,

you can actually carry both the aeronaut and the western flyer, each with a shoulder strap.

if you need a bag to hold your laptop, various papers/official documents, and some personal inflight items (how much bulk do you think this would consist of?), you could put these items into a messenger style bag or briefcase. if you chose a briefcase like the zephyr or empire builder, or a messenger style bag like the superego or ego, or id, you would carry the aeronaut and the additional item each on one shoulder.

I currently use my Large Cafe Bag, sans laptop, as my personal item (so 11 liters max of stuff?). Any bag I get would have to be able to be worn crosswise across my body under the Aeronaut in backpack mode. Thanks for the advice!

[MsMoon]

The 6T brain cell is used in my Ego. The Ego will become my carry-on to hold camera equipment, electronics, and clothes in case of lost luggage.

Yeah, I may have to take another look at the Ego.

[KarlJ]

MsMoon, a lot comes down to the specific airlines you'll travel on. Many airlines don't actually cite a fixed dimensional size for the "personal item", they just say it must fit in the overhead bins or under the seat. Originally, the context of "personal item" was merely to take away a traveler's ability to say "I'm carrying these on board... oh, and this one too... and of course my coat, hat, and bag."

But some airlines do in fact give a size; both Air Canada, and American have sizes somewhat smaller than the max carry-on size of 22x14x9. Delta and United are somewhat more vague and merely say equal to or smaller than the carry-on. Using that logic, you could take two Aeronauts aboard; one as your carry on, one as your "personal item."

But each airline is different, so you should check yours.

Airline Carry-On Baggage Chart

[BPritchard]

I'm using 22″ L x 14″ W x 9″ as a sweet spot for carry-on luggage.

My EGO will my carry-on. The dimensions are less than above. Which should work for the small regional planes. I'm in the process of mocking up how I will take all my "stuff" in the EGO for our trip to Seattle this spring. Plus I also use the Swift as a personal carry-on.

I don't fly that much. Just an annual trip my wife and I take.

[ex machina]

This has been a very informative thread, thank you all for sharing. I happened upon it while researching the Empire Builder as a personal item. A useful site I came across is seatguru.com which allows you to choose the airline, and then click a baggage tab up top. The explicit details include carry-on policies and the differences in policies between aircraft models within the same airline.

I think the Empire Builder would be fine, so long as they use a 'does it fit in the box' test. If they do it by tape measuring the bag, it could fail. BUT, that said, I have never seen a bag measured that way, and as the expediency of the 'does it fit' method is vastly superior to the seamstress tape method, I expect that it will remain that way. Also, I have seen that some airports use a belt feed through a sized opening method, and if your bag does not fit through without anyone helping it, off it goes to check luggage. If it's the luggage equivalent of fitting under the highway overpass, can't they let you sneak in by letting the air out of your tires. Some kind of cinch strapping could prove most efficacious in matters such as bulging packing.

An item I would like to know is this: can the Empire Builder fit inside the Tristar? I also think the Packing Cube Backpack and the Packing Cube Shoulder Bag could prove most fortuitous in extreme situations regarding carry-on. A little forethought in packing could make it quite easy to pull such a cube which at once would make the bag's active volume smaller and allow the cube and its contents to be a personal bag, perhaps averting a need to check a bag by effectively splitting it in two.

I am a user of packing cubes (I was initiated into the user club before I was aware of the Tom Bihn products) and I will say they are very good for quickly reconfiguring your bags at the airport. I have the ones made by eBags and they are nice. Not as nice as what I see Tom offers but they remain nice and they have a carry handle so in a pinch it can be an easily carried personal item. Tom set the new standard by making them transformers that become backpacks and shoulder bags! Genius!

I also would like to know if the Synapse in Steel Dyneema can be folded into itself like the shop bag? Now that has my curiosity really piqued. What a neat idea, a small ball in your bag becomes effectively another piece of luggage you can take back filled with goodies from your trip. I had the good fortune many years ago to purchase what is labeled as a Samsonite Foldable Fold-Away Bag. It has been very useful on several occasions. In fact, I think if Tom made a Tom Bihn version of the concept, it would sell like hot cakes at a Sunday Church Brunch! Oh I am smiling now just thinking of what Tom might do with it. Off the cuff I'd guess it would be made in Dyneema, fabric of superheros. But the details, the extras, oh my, just the idea of it. A Tom Bihn interpretation of the concept. Now that is a bag I would have to have.