Luggage

The travel store on this website can be helpful - there is a 21" rolling carryon that will conform to most airlines' requirements. The airline doesn't usually measure the bag, but you may be asked to drop it into the sizing bin (I don't know what that thing is actually called) - if it's a soft-sided bag and not overpacked, it should be fine. Airlines are more strict about the weight of the bag going into the overhead compartment.
I just returned from 3 months in Italy with a 21" rolling carryon and a daypack.

Thanks Zoe! Hope you had a great time in Italy. So, does that mean the regional planes in Europe are good with the Rick Steves rolling 21' bag? Thanks, I'll try and not overpack.

Not sure what you mean by "regional" airlines. If you are referring to the budget airlines which fly throughout Europe, I suggest you carefully read the travel conditions for a few of them. They make hundreds of millions in extra fees for oversize and overweight luggage. If you are referring to the regional flights by the major airlines such as British Air, Lufthansa, Air France, etc., you should be fine.

If the overhead gets full, rolling bags are the first to be gate checked. Be prepared to take out whatever you need for the flight. Having it all in an easily removable bag will help.

There is more variation from airline to airline than ever before, in what is allowed in carry-on. Some go by size only, some by size and weight. On some the weight maximum is 8 kg (domestic flights in Turkey), on some it is 6 kg (Air Berlin), and I'm sure there are other variations, too. The perfect illustration of all this was when I flew to and within Turkey last year. Going to Turkey on Turkish Air from New York, my mother's 21 inch roller bag fit easily in the overhead wheels first, and my very heavily stuffed (but within size limits) carry-on was also fine. For domestic flights within Turkey, anything carried on had to be 8 kg or under, and anything remotely large was not allowed. This meant my mother's bag had to be checked, and I had to have a small bag with just electronics to carry on; everything else had to be checked. But the first time this happened, I wasn't prepared for this, and ended up checking my computer (never a good idea; luckily, it was fine). Then, on the flight back to New York (also on Turkish Air, but on a different kind of plane), my mother's roller bag did not fit easily in the overhead, but had to be put sideways instead of wheels first. At least they let us carry it on. Morals of the story: If you absolutely need to carry your bag on, get the smallest you can deal with. Bags with wheels will get more scrutiny than bags without. Rules vary, and each country and carrier has their own. Read the websites for each airline carefully (had we done this, we would have known about Turkey's domestic weight restrictions). As said above, be prepared to remove truly valuable or necessary items, in the event you are made to check a bag you had planned to carry-on. Sorry to be the bearer of the bad news.

sue, One other point to note about "foreign regional" airlines, is that they usually only allow ONE carry-on item. That doesn't mean "one plus a personal item such as a Purse or Laptop case", it means one only of the approved size. If you'll also be carrying a Purse, Daypack, etc., you'll still have to check your 21" luggage so the size won't be as important. Happy travels!

Harold, thanks for the valuable information. It's always better to know now, then be surprised later and Ken, I'll make sure to have a separate pouch to pull out of the most important things, should my bag need to be checked in. Thanks again,
Sue

I've had really good luck bringing a collapsable nylon bag, almost luggage size, which I use on budget European airlines. I transfer what I really don't want to lose to that nylon bag (meds, key electronics, most of my clothes packed in 2 gallon zip-locks), leaving enough room to add my purse. That way, I check a mostly empty suitcase, so if it's lost, I'm still OK. I just pack with the things I want on top, so if I get surprised, I can shift things to the collapsable tote quickly.

Sue, I did have to check my carryon at the gate for a flight from Naples to Palermo, because the airline only allowed one piece of luggage (my daypack). They are right - the overhead bins would not have accommodated a 21" carryon. I put the things I would have trouble continuing without (meds and normal purse items) into the daypack and crossed my fingers. All went well. In 2011 my carryon was weighed at the Amsterdam airport and didn't make the restriction (16 kilo), so I had to repack and move some of the heavier items to the daypack (I had bought some books, DVDs, etc.). That's when I started throwing away anything I could bear to part with (clothing, mostly).