so this seems like it should be an easy thing to find… but so far, I haven’t had any luck!! Here’s the situation. I’m flying in a couple of weeks and trying to decide which bag/purse to bring as a “personal item” (NOT a carryon that would need to go in the overhead bin.) Alaska Airlines only lists the size for the carryon, NOT the personal item. (right here. It seems to be a lot harder to find out exactly what the allowed size is for a “personal item”, but one figure I’ve seen a lot is 9 in x 10 x 17.
The thing is that I would also like to get a new wheeled messenger bag for general, day to day use. the PROBLEM, though, is that it seems to be just about impossible to get a wheeled bag that will always fit into the “personal item”, has-to-fit-under-the-seat-in-front-of-you category (NOT a carryon.)
So here’s the question. Is there a messenger bag/purse/laptop bag/etc that:
– fits the “personal item” dimensions (9 x 10 x 17) (it can’t be larger than this-- this would NOT be a carryon but instead would be the personal item allowed in addition to the carryon)
– is wheeled
– but can ALSO be detached and carried separately? It seems like this is the trick to getting the bag to fit under the seat-- it has to be off the wheels.
(sorry… I know I’ve repeated “a personal item and not a carryon” a lot, but when I’ve asked this question elsewhere, there’s been some confusion about this!!)
Everyone on this board is so smart! I’m sure someone knows…
I bought this bag to take on a trip to Europe over the summer - it’s a bit bigger than your specs too but it fit under the seat with room to spare (these were large jets though, not the smaller planes that get used a lot for regional travel now).
Yes, a purse/bag/messenger bag/ etc that is wheeled but can also be taken off the wheels and carried.
I spent a LOT of time on the “wheeled underseat bag” Google search before this and never came up with anything that seemed guaranteed to fit under the seat no matter what. (I probably should have been more clear about that.) Particularly the aisle seat, which is where I will ALWAYS sit forever and through all subsequent lifetimes. I had ten knee operations before I was 19 years old. I’d rather be chased around by rabid wolves than sit anywhere but the aisle seat. But the point is, the aisle seat always seemed to be the big exception to the idea that a wheeled bag ON wheels would always fit under the seat. However, people would say that a more squishable bag seemed to work. Thus the idea of having this wheeled bag for everyday use, but being able to take the bag off the wheels for a plane.
I found that exact Samsonite luggage cart thing before! But I always wondered if it actually looked good while hauling around a bag on it for everyday use…? the thing is that this wheeled bag is something that I would use all the time.
@romansperson: the first link didn’t work. The second did, and it’s cute, but I wonder if there might be any issues with it always fitting under an aisle seat. If it isn’t filled too full, though, it might be okay…
I do appreciate this a lot, and I’ll bookmark it. The only problem is that a lot of people have said all bets are off in an aisle seat because of God-only-knows-what mechanical thing airlines have been known to stick under there permanently fastened to the floor. At least from what people have said, that can rule out purses or bags that are permanently affixed to wheels on a frame. I’m thinking more and more that I need a squashy bag and maybe a separate luggage cart. I just don’t know how classy that will look for hauling around every day. :rolleyes:
So, if like 1 out of 10 flights you had to put the bag in the overhead (or ask someone to help you do so), would that be the end of the world? If your bag doesn’t fit, do you have to abandon the flight or the bag?
In looking around the Samsonite referenced previously upthread is as small as it’s going to get for a useful underseat bag. Smaller than that and most manufacturers will not see the need logically to add wheels as you’re basically talking about putting wheels on something the size of a large purse.
I LOVE the bag in the second link in my first post - as I said there, I took it on a Europe trip and it was filled quite full - but I didn’t have any trouble at all fitting it under the seat with room to spare. And I was in an aisle seat. Regional jets are going to be more variable, though - I know some of those have much less storage space overall since they are so much smaller.
Here is a little bigger one with mostly really good reviews. You aren’t going to find something that will fit under every possible seat but I don’t think that is as big a problem as you assume. You can usually gate check your larger carry-on for free if the plane simply doesn’t have enough space. The flight attendants can also assist with storing it somewhere if you are a little over. The airlines are brutal in general but I have never seen them give many hassles about under the seat carry-on’s that were just a little too big for the plane. The reviews for this one say it fits under the seat of the majority of larger airliners.
I’m sure someone knows…
I had ten knee operations before I was 19 years old. I’d rather be chased around by rabid wolves than sit anywhere but the aisle seat. But the point is, the aisle seat always seemed to be the big exception to the idea that a wheeled bag ON wheels would always fit under the seat. However, people would say that a more squishable bag seemed to work. Thus the idea of having this wheeled bag for everyday use, but being able to take the bag off the wheels for a plane.
But I always wondered if it actually looked good while hauling around a bag on it for everyday use…? the thing is that this wheeled bag is something that I would use all the time.