Carryon for European airlines

Bottom of wheels to top of handle. They can be really difficult about sizing/extra fees.

This is one of the main reasons I prefer my 2 wheel international carryon.

Honestly, you will worry yourself sick about the bag being oversize and overweight (also you bag needs to be measured when packed and bulging)

My advice, which I always take myself, is to just price the cost of checking a bag on a budget flight. You eliminate risk and worry, the flight is point to point, so little chances of lost luggage, and the total cost is still dirt cheap. Trying to scrimp, and failing, is expensive.

The airline doesn’t care whether your suitcase has wheels or no wheels. It’s whether your entire suitcase will fit inside a box with their maximum dimensions listed on their website.

Depending on the airline and fare class, you may also have weight restrictions.

Some airlines are stricter than others about the size and sometimes weight of carry on bags. It is those wheels that sometimes catch you.

Out of dozens of budget airline flights, only one time have I had to pay--on Norwegian Air Shuttle in Oslo. What made me mad was after I got on the plane, there were dozens and dozens of passengers with bags larger than mine.

Once we were caught on weight in Copenhagen. They wanted to charge me big $. So I put on some of the clothes and offloaded some clothes to a lighter bag to get around their games.

We just look ahead and walk fast thru the line of passengers and seldom do we get a second look.

Bag measurements, including those for domestic airlines, always include the wheels (unless they come off or retract, I guess). There are dozens (if not hundreds) of forum posts about folks trying (and mostly failing) to find a bag that meets these airlines' limits and still holds more than a change of clothes. Paul's advice is well taken. Pay the (small) fee to check the bag when you book the (cheap) flight, and enjoy the freedom of getting on (and off!) the plane with just a personal item while your fellow passengers are struggling to find bin space for all three of their oversized bags (which are somehow all bigger than the one you paid to check).