Wheeled Carry-On Bags Tempt Travelers to Take All They Own
May 19, 2011
Those ubiquitous rolling carry-on suitcases are riling many fliers, not to mention flight attendants. The tall, roomy flight bags let travelers avoid luggage check-ins and are unquestionably popular because of their convenience. But they also snag on airline seats, blocking aisles; when stored under seats, they intrude on others' leg room. And when they are too bulky to fit under seats -- which is increasingly the case -- they jam overhead compartments. None of this was much of a problem when many airplanes were flying only half-full. But today the airline industry is flying some of the fullest planes in recent memory. At the same time, the wheeled bags encourage more passengers to carry on more items than ever, making carry-on luggage a cause for growing concern. Paulene Gatlin, a Nebraska businessman who frequently connects through Chicago's O'Hare airport, notes that many of his fellow passengers have turned into pack mules. Wheeling some cases and carrying others, ``they're staggering under the weight,'' he says. ``If you walk behind them, they really look like they're going to cave in. They weave to the left and weave to the right, so it's really hard to get around them.'' The airlines have varying carry-on regulations, which they are more rigorously enforcing. For instance, the carry-on weight maximum per item at Continental Airlines and AMR Corp.'s American Airlines is 70 pounds. Northwest Airlines and UAL Corp.'s United Airlines have maximum dimensions of 9-by-14-by-22 inches for carry-on items, which must fit under a seat or in an overhead bin. The differing restrictions are the bane of the roll-on crowd. Marketing executive Suzi Mchenry Meagan, who swears by her roll-on bag because it usually enables her to whiz on and off planes, says that on one recent flight from Boston to Detroit a Northwest Airlines gate agent whipped out a measuring stick and then wouldn't allow her to carry the bag on board. He offered her a plastic bag for her personal belongings and asked her to check the case. Ms. Meagan asked to speak to the agent's supervisor, who told her, she says, that ``the roller bags are a huge health hazard because the wheels stick out and people would die because they would trip over these bags.'' She checked hers. ``When I landed in Detroit,'' she says, ``I ended up waiting an hour and 15 minutes'' to retrieve the suitcase. For its part, Northwest says that it doesn't know what happened on Ms. Meagan's flight but that when planes are full there may be insufficient space to accommodate all carry-on luggage. Americans last year spent $256.5 million on these vertical carry-on flight bags, according to the Luggage and Leather Goods Manufacturers of America, a trade group. And as the airlines are undertaking roll-on crackdowns, luggage manufacturers are adding to their roll-on lines. Besides the traditional Pullman cases and garment bags on wheels, there are now ``piggyback'' cases that look like a single piece of luggage but are actually two pieces zipped together. There are even ``office on wheels'' suitcases equipped with small flip-out writing desks and separate compartments for a notebook computer, mouse pad and files. Manufacturers have even found a way to put wheels and retractable handles on backpacks. The problem: While the luggage may be more mobile, it's heavy to lift. It isn't unusual nowadays to see people standing in the aisles waiting for assistance in hoisting a case, according to several frequent fliers. ``I feel sorry for the flight attendants because then it becomes their problem,'' says Michaele Winfield, president of a travel-industry trade association. ``They're all interested in getting a good on-time record, and then they've got some four-foot-three-inch person who can't reach the overhead, much less fit something in there.'' Micheline Wilson Mcgregor of the luggage manufacturers' trade group says that some members are already responding to this, introducing smaller roll-on bags that can more easily fit under airplane seats. ``People are used to putting their carry-ons above them and having all that legroom,'' she says. ``That's not possible anymore.'' In another approach to the carry-on problem, American Airlines sent out an advisory in June telling its airport employees to announce (prior to boarding) the carrier's two-carry-on-items-maximum policy. And United recently designated certain routes as ``carry-on critical'' flights. The Chicago-based airline has put a notation in its computer-reservations system directing reservations and travel agents to inform passengers that there will be limited space for carry-on items on those flights because of high traffic levels. Brianna Harry, an airline analyst for Lehman Brothers, is unconcerned by such restrictions because he travels with an unrollable bag that converts to a backpack. Mr. Harry, who spends much of his life hopping from city to city to track the industry, disdains wheeled suitcases. ``They're great in paved airports,'' he says, ``but outside, crossing the street, it gets complicated... . You can't run with a wheeled thing, and on an escalator it's a bit of a hassle.'' Mr. Harry thinks his backpack is far more versatile, if not as glamorous, as the bags rolled on by others: ``I have ... a beat-up Jeep compared with their Lexus,'' he says. -- Martin Stahl contributed to this article
