Gear for Traveling
Carry-on bags shouldn't be larger than 22 inches long, 14 inches wide and 9 inches high including handles and wheels. Dimensions of personal items should not exceed 18 inches long, 14 inches wide and 8 inches high. There are no weight restrictions for carry-on luggage. “Almost all U.S. airline crew members use soft-sided roll-aboard bags,” Patrick Smith, airline pilot, air travel blogger, and author, tells Reader’s Digest. “My roll-aboard of choice is a 22-inch model from Luggage Works, a specialty luggage company that caters to airline personnel. The company’s bags are attractive and extremely durable. They’re not inexpensive, but they can last ten years or more even with heavy use.” According to Smith, the majority of people who buy products from Luggage Works are pilots and flight attendants, but anyone can buy a bag from that brand. Photo: Caleigh Waldman Is Flight-Crew Luggage Worth Buying? We Tore Some Apart to Find Out. PUBLISHED JUNE 14, 2019 Kit Dillon Share this post Save While traveling through airports, I’ve noticed that flight crews all have luggage that’s different from my own carry-on. It’s serious-looking luggage, there to get a job done, both larger and more utilitarian than the typical suitcase. It ignores the frivolities—colorful plastic shells, easy-to-maneuver spinning wheels, USB charging—that many people have come to expect. And as it turns out, luggage manufacturers do make lines of luggage especially for flight crews, pieces that they usually sell via to-the-industry retailers. But would I swap my bag for the luggage the flight crews use? It’s always tempting, when looking for the best things, to go with what the pros have—after all, that gear must be better if the pros use it. So I compared a limited-edition professional-grade suitcase, Travelpro’s Crew Expert—which the company