Comment Re:Geez, how much STUFF do you need? (Score 1) 277
what are people bringing that requires them to try to bring so much stuff on board?
1. If you can get by with packing everything (including clothes) in carry-on, then you can buy a cheaper ticket which lacks checked baggage allowance. For my typical $1200 Atlantic flight, this saves about $250.
2. If you can avoid having to check in luggage, this saves me 30-60mins queuing at bag-drop upon departure. The frustrating thing is that the bag-drop queue times are unpredictable so you have to plan for the worst (wake up earlier, get to the airport earlier,
3. Checked luggage adds average 30-45mins extra time upon arrival in Seattle and Aberdeen (the two airports I fly most frequently). In Seattle it's because there's a long wait for baggage, and after that you go through customs and immigration, so by the time you get your baggage then the customs-and-immigration queue is already awfully long.
4. If you can avoid having to check in luggage, you can get a tighter connecting flight without worry of the airline failing to get your luggage onto the connecting flight. When I fly Seattle -> Heathrow -> Aberdeen, a Heathrow -> Malta, I have to buy the Malta leg with a completely separate airline+ticket. If I had a checked bag then upon arrival in Heathrow (at 6am after a 9hr flight, i.e. tired) I'd have to go landside, queue, check in my luggage to Malta, go through security, and go to the gate. Even a 4hr connection window makes this risky, and having young unslept children makes it unfairly hard on them. But if there's no checked in luggage then you can stay airside, walk straight to the Malta boarding gate, and be confident that even just a 1hr window will be fine.
My carry-on is the wonderful "Tom Bihn Aeronaut 45" https://www.tombihn.com/collec... which is flexible, has backpack straps, and always fits under the seat in front of me. The checkin staff and gate staff are often wary of overhead carry-ons, but never give a second glance at a flexible backpack.