We just bought luggage of the advertised sizes (in inches):
30 X 20 X 12
These are dimensions which are advertised on a tag for this luggage. When we measure it, these are the dimensions IF WE EXCLUDE THE WHEELS.
If we add up these 3 numbers, the sum is 62".
The airline’s guideline (the airline will be AA) for a checked luggage is 62".
Do you think this luggage will be considered as too large and we will need to pay the penalty? Or, is it likely the people at the ticket counter will think it is still within the limit and let us pass without charging us the penalty?
If there is too much risk, we may want to take two slightly smaller ones instead of a larger one.
Also, if we need to pay the penalty, how much will it be for AA? I only find out the penalty for SW is $75 but I can not find the amount for AA.
I have rarely seen any agents question checked bag size; if it looks like a suitcase with wheels, it goes in. As long as you don’t overstuff it, you should be fine!
I’ve never seen anyone’s checked conventional luggage get measured for size, just checked for weight. And I’ve watched some pax sidle up to the check-in counter w suitcases big enough to conceal a corpse.
It’s when you start checking really huge unconventional items that the size gets scrutiny. You’re not planning to check a string bass or casket, are you?
OP said it was 62" + the wheels. It is very rare to have your luggage measured. It only happened once, on an international flight, and mine passed. I don’t remember the airline. I’m sure it will be fine, especially if you make sure it’s at least 5 pounds under the max weight.
If the OP is going to stress about this…he should, take the suitcase back and get a smaller one. Not worth having him or his wife fret…and fret…and fret.
Even for int’l flights, it’s got to be obviously gigantic for the check-in agent to whip out a tape measure.
@mcat you should consider how you’re gonna transport the bag on land once you get to your destination. I like the shape of rolling duffels because their narrowness makes it easier to roll down a train/bus/shuttle aisle or crowded airport/public sidewalk.
We got rid of all of our large suitcases. They were too easy to over pack AND too hard to schlep around. We never get bigger than 28 inch…and really the largest checked bags we use are actually 26 inchers.
Packing light is a life skill well worth learning. I can travel for two weeks with a carry on size suitcase, and a tote bag.
62" is without the wheels, It will be more than 62" (say, 64.5") if the measurement includes the wheels.
It will be a domestic flight. Likely not many heavy items will be put inside the luggage. (e.g., I prefer to take my comforter and pillow with me. We do not sleep in a hotel every night. For 3 nights, we will sleep in a dorm room that the school opens up for parents and we have reserved it half a year ago. Any nearby, walking distance hotel would cost well too much even if we could get a room.) The heaviest item could be the “air-inflated bed” (the kind you could inflate it before you sleep on it. Not sure hiow heavy it will be.) We need to use this for some nights also (not the 3 nights in the dorm room.)
There will be some days when we will need to sleep on such a bed.
One concern we will have is that, if we take a taxi, we may not be able to put two pieces of checked luggage into the trunk. Not all legs of our land travel will have the Limo (which is basically a large sized van.)
We have a mixed feeling of having such large luggage. But if we buy smaller one, we may need an extra piece of checked luggage (totally 3 pieces of checkex luggage.) It is even harder to pull 3 pieces of checkex luggage (We used to be able to pull 2 pieces of luggages each person, but we think we are not that young any more so we should be careful about not hurting outselves. So we think one slightly larger one for each person (or maybe one larger one for me and a smaller one for my wife) may be better if the agent at the ticket counter will not ask us to pay the fine.)
We have gone down to 24" bags. There is no way I with a large suitcase that i could avoid going over my allowed weight (esp for flights within Europe).
I don’t know where you are off to, but we have run across taxis that cannot handle 2 large suitcases.
I have an inflatable bed. Even my twin one is pretty heavy…Nevermind the space it takes up in the luggage. I would ship or have your son buy one…it will,be useful in the future.
That is something I would NOT schlep across the country in my suitcase. Period.
We have never had trouble fitting 2-4 pieces of luggage plus multiple hand carries in any of the dozens of taxis we have caught over the decades and much prefer small bags to large ones. People who have large bags MAY have fit issues.
We rented a smaller car when DD went to college. The trunk to the car was actually large enough to hold the stuff…BUT the opening to the truck was NOT large enough to fit the suitcases through. This was when we took some 30 inch suitcases…which we tossed in the trash after we unpacked them.
