Rant: I deeply, DEEPLY resent the new carryon rules

[crispini]

Since when did airlines limit carryons to two, and only two, including a purse? I just started the exciting new job which entails lots of travel (whee! :sarcasm:) and the TSA lady was all like, "Hey, I'll let you through here, but if they catch you with three carryons, they'll make you check one, so you'd better put your purse in your bag or something." And I was all like, hm, when did this happen? Because, you know, as a FEMALE, traveling on business, I really do have a minimum of three, to wit: (1) Rollaboard. (2) Laptop bag (3) Purse.

So I imagine you're thinking, hey, check the rollaboard bag. Look. I have to travel for business. Like, almost every week. Checking a bag would probably mean spending 30 to 45 minutes of my life every week in the baggage claim. That's not going to happen.

So what's the next alternative? Put your purse in your rollaboard. Well. Have you SEEN how small those rollaboards are, and how big some purses are? It's not entirely out of the question, except for the fact that it means I have to take all the stuff out of my purse, and put it in the laptop bag, and then reverse the process, twice a day, when I fly. Also, I don't have any laptop bags that are that big. For some reason I've favored small, chic laptop bags that barely take the laptop, and really don't have room for ... oh, a book or newspaper for the plane, or that extra bag of snacks I might want in case we get grounded on the tarmac for a couple of hours and I'm forced to feed myself or eat airplane kibble (not to mention those exciting times you get stuck at an airport and everything is closed, etcetera.)

Anyway. So I was shopping for laptop bags today. Yes, me shopping, which is why I'm annoyed, because it means I went to the MALL. Which I hate. People, is it possible to find a laptop bag that is both nice, big but not TOO big, stylish but not trendy? I don't know. I certainly had no luck.

But, beyond that, you know, I don't WANT to just carry a laptop bag. I want to carry a purse. I like purses. I have some nice, cute, stylish purses. I enjoy changing them around. Even the best laptop bag in the world is, well, the same damn laptop bag all the time. UGH!

I think I'm going to put the laptop in the top pocket of the rollaboard, and pack one of my teensy laptop bags, and then I can just use that when I get there. However, the fact that I may have found a solution does not mean that I am letting THE AIRLINES off the hook. In fact, I deeply resent them for making me think think this much about my carryon luggage. I have to have a purse to carry all the shit that men can put in their pockets, because most of my clothing does NOT have pockets, and anyway I have to carry things that men don't carry BECAUSE I'M A CHICK! (makeup) and therefore have to have a PURSE and therefore a purse SHOULD NOT COUNT. :mad: This is clearly a case of sex discrimination and I'm going to sue the airlines for our right to carry purses on board! :mad::mad::mad: (ok not really)

Oh well, isn't it lovely to have such a trivial thing be what's pissing me off today? :P But I still think it's completely unfair. :D

[XemaSab]

1. This is good to know about

I usually travel with my scope, my field guide bag (which dubs as a purse) and a book bag.

I guess the book bag could be checked, but they're NOT TOUCHING MY BABY. :o

[crispini]

6. Isn't it crazy? Three is not too much, especially

when ONE IS A PURSE!

[Why Syzygy]

2. How about something

like this?

http://www.landsend.com/pp/ExecutiveToteBag~134636_-1.html?bcc=y&action=order_more&sku_0=::DNA&CM_MERCH=IDX_00005__0000001284&origin=index

You could put your purse and laptop case inside.

[crispini]

5. That is definitely one of the nicer laptop type bags around.

I really don't think I can find one that'll fit both, though. I tend to like big purses, hehe.

[Haole Girl]

3. The airlines didn't implement the one carry-on rule

TSA did. It has been in effect since 9/11 (or shortly after 9/11).

Here is some more info for you:

http://www.tsa.dhs.gov/travelers/airtravel/index.shtm

p.s., There are rumors the 3-1-1 rule will change soon... I hope it will!

[crispini]

8. See, I could have sworn it was more recent than that.

Because I was flying up to NYC heaps and heaps after 9/11, up until last year. WITH THREE BAGS!

Also, the TSA lady who told me about it let me through! Ha!

Great, just after I've found a 3 oz flask, they change the liquids rule. I've noticed they've gotten pretty lax on that one, though. I got through last time with some hand cream and a lipstick floating around in my purse and didn't get pulled over (so to speak).

[Haole Girl]

9. With more and more carriers charging for checked bags...

passengers are trying to take more and more stuff as carry-on baggage. That's probably why TSA has started enforcing the one carry-on rule more. I, personally, think the gels/creams/liquids rule is idiotic.

[crispini]

12. Ah ha! That makes sense.

And I agree with you. I have, however, found a handy way around that. I just leave all my stuff at the other end, since I'm going to the same place every time. Problem solved!

[Gormy Cuss]

32. That's what made me right a letter of complaint to United: charging for the first checked bag.

People are doing everything they can to avoid checking and the overheads are crammed like never before plus people are also stuffing barely legal bags under the seats in front of them. The last time I took a long cross-country trip I paid to check one bag and walked on only with a small under-the-seat bag to avoid the jockeying for overhead room.

My "reward" was it took 45 minutes for the first piece of luggage from my flight to hit the carousel in spite of the fact that the flight was on time.

[Pierre.Suave]

4. Check out TUMI bags

Seriously great travel bags, I bet they have 2 bags of some combo that will hold everything you need.

http://www.tumi.com/

[TZ]

16. TUMI's great

I used to sell lugagge and I LOVED their stuff. I earned enough selling points with them to get a free ballistic briefcase..I use it as my purse/carry on when I travel....
Only bad point..they are a little pricey....

[crispini]

18. I'll check it out, thanks!

I was in their store this afternoon and didn't see much, but maybe they have more online.

It turns out I am incredibly picky about bags. (Lovely)

[av8rdave]

7. Those rules have been in effect for some time now

They do suck. Have you looked at one of those rollaboards that can double as a backpack? A lot of those have a section that can attach/detach...kind of piggybacks on the main body. When attached, it pretty much looks like a single item, and the airlines would normally treat it as such.

Hope that helps.

When I travel in uniform, I can take a little more on, but any other travel, I have to pack light!

[crispini]

10. Backpacks... gosh, I wish I could do one.

They are so practical. They are so useful. MANY of my coworkers, especially the techie guys, have backpacks. I looked at several today. And I just can't stand wearing them. I think they're ugly and they have bad resonances of high school when I carried one around all the time with like 40 books in them. Noooooo..... just can't do it! No backpacks for me! Even the cute one in the Kenneth Cole store I saw today... still a backpack. :scared:

[av8rdave]

19. The style I was referring to also rolls, and is pretty roomy

I take a rolling backpack to and from work (I commute to Atlanta to fly my trips), so I carry quite a bit of stuff. I have NEVER used it as a backpack, although the option is there. I carry clean clothes to Atlanta and dirty ones back to Dallas. Most of my trips are 4 days long, although sometimes I work as many as 8 days in a row. This thing has enough room to carry all those clothes, and fits in the overhead. I COULD fit it under the seat, but prefer to have someplace to put my feet (long legs).

Anyway, I was at CostCo not long ago and saw something similar, but had a smaller detachable section, so you were basically getting two for one as far as the carry on rules go.

Good luck!

[crispini]

21. Thanks, I'll check it out! nt

[Lucian]

11. I thought the title of this thread read "I deeply, DEEPLY resent the new crayon rules."

I was all like ":wtf:."

[Fire Walk With Me]

13. As an omnivore, I also resent the new carrion rules.

If I were an apple, I'd resent the new Cider House Rules.

Sorry, just being silly.

[Left Is Write]

14. It's been quite a while. I don't carry my purse on the flight.

I carry a tote bag and my laptop. The tote bag carries all my essentials and my wallet and anything else I might need in-flight or immediately afterward. I pack my purse into my checked suitcase. If I'm only carrying on and not checking a bag, I zip my wallet into my carry-on suitcase and skip the tote bag.

[crispini]

20. I think I need to look beyond laptop bags per se.

Something bigger.....

[ZombieHorde]

15. Joke thread, right? nt

[trof]

24. Gotta be.

[madinmaryland]

17. People seem irritated when I bring carrion on board.

:shrug:

[NYC_SKP]

22. I used to carry more than one, decades ago when planes didn't fill up.

Now, I don't dare try, and sorry crispini, I'm a bit frustrated by people who drag tons of bags on board.

First, it takes forever to get them in the overhead compartments, then to get them out.

But more, there is not enough room for people to bring more than one bag each, plus one to put under the seat.

The dimensions of the compartments are such that if everyone brought exactly one bag each for the overhead bin, AND put them in wheels first, top handle in toward the aisle, then there would be just enough space.

In reality, there's room for more than one above on a full flight only because so many bring nothing large for the compartments overhead.

So, I sympathize, but in these days of full flights and TSA rules and delays and everything else, everyone's life is just so much easier if we all travel light.

:patriot:

[trof]

23. Uh...what's a rollaboard?

Sorry (not really), geezer here.

[crispini]

26. Roll-aboard. :)

The size of suitcase with wheels suitable to "roll aboard" hahaha

[musette_sf]

29. here you go...

http://tinyurl.com/2g9mqh

[Haole Girl]

30. Dammit!!

Now I'm going to go to bed with that f*ing song in my head. Thanks a lot. :cry:

[trof]

31. Oh no you don't.

[musette_sf]

33. you have to admit

it was hard to resist

:evilgrin:

:hide:

[musette_sf]

25. here is how i do this

(although i agree that it is a major pain in the ass)

i always travel with my computer and accessories.

i travel with a good-sized rolling bag that is overhead-bin-compatible, and i have a big ass laptop case that just fits under the seat in front of me. it's ugly as sin but i don't really care.

i place all purse items i will need on the flight in the big ass laptop case, which easily accommodates my laptop, power supply, cell phone charger, and still has a fair amount of room left over for purse things, a few magazines, and a book or two.

i pack the purse in the rolling bag.

i have a flat passport-holding over-the-shoulder thingie that i got at Eddie Bauer years ago. it fits a boarding pass and ID, and also can squeeze in a lipstick, some cash, and 1 or 2 small assorted sundries (like a small pill case for prescriptions). it is really flat, has a very long strap, and i wear it crosswise, so it's not even really visible as a "purse" if i have a jacket or sweater on. i have never been called on it as an "extra bag" by airport security, over the last 4 years of using it in full sight of boarding agents and security at OAK, SFO, JFK, and DFW.

Eddie Bauer seems to no longer carry such an item, but here are a few that look similar:



http://www.daytimer.com/Travel-Info/travel-accessories/RFID-Blocking-Boarding-Pass-Case/5FF893E8A0B74B5397AAB01F828614B3/False/20397



http://www.lillianvernon.com/catalog/product_display.jsp?pdId=10307&bs=1

yeah, i know, it sucks to have to do this whole dance around the purse, but this really works okay for me.

[crispini]

27. Now THAT is a good idea.

Makes dealing with ID waaaaaay easier. I'll have to get one.

I hear you about the big-ass laptop bag -- I just don't like having to drag something around everywhere and use every day that I dislike. If I'm going to be basically attached to the thing for a week, I want it to be something that I enjoy using. The vast majority of laptop cases are ugly as sin, and the bigger they are, the uglier, usually. :D

You know, I'm not a VERY "girly" girl, but I do love a good bag. I look at it, and it makes me feel stylish. A good bag makes a boring outfit really pop. Bags are NEVER the wrong size, even when I've gained a pound or two. Good, well-made bags will last years. Yep, fab bags are simply ... well ... fab! :D

[trof]

28. How come women get an 'extra'?

Would they let a guy bring a purse on in addition to 2 carryons?
I claim sexual (sexist? I dunno) discrimination.
;-)