Crew luggage

murl

murl

New Member
I know there have been numerous threads on what kind of stuff to use but I haven't found any on how many bags a crew can have. So is it just the standard two that everyone else can bring through TSA? Do pilots ever check bags?
 
I saw a PDT guy with 6 bags once. When I asked he said it was mostly food for the 6 days on reserve.
 
murl said:
I know there have been numerous threads on what kind of stuff to use but I haven't found any on how many bags a crew can have. So is it just the standard two that everyone else can bring through TSA? Do pilots ever check bags?
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Crews typically carry their flight bag, their personal bag (usually a black bag on wheels) and sometimes a third bag for a laptop, FFDO or whatever. Crews aren't typically limited by TSA or the company on how many bags they can bring through security or onto the airplane. I would never recommend checking a bag if you could avoid it. If space fills up inside the cabin, pilots sometimes walk their bags down to the baggage hold to be loaded there but will also walk down at their arrival station to retrieve them. You don't want to risk being in Minnesota and have your bags end up in San Antonio.
 
How many can you typically get in the cockpit? I guess it really varies with each plane.
 
I've got the 24" PNS bag, my flight bag and a laptop bag. That gives me plenty of room for a 3-4 day trip. In the cockpit I've got my flight bag (in the CRJ, there's a spot for it on the side), and my laptop goes behind my seat. The roller bag goes in an overhead in the back. I have seen guys have the same set up plus like a cooler or something in the flight deck, too.
 
I have an old-school hard side Samsonite. With no access to laundry, I can pack for 2 weeks in that bag. With access to laundry, I can go indefenently with what I can fit in that bag. It holds up well to all sorts of abuse, including being used as a stepstool, chair, and being tossed around by the Kew Runner drivers in New York. (If a bag can survive the Kew Runner, it can survive anything.)

After 9/11, pax were limited to 1 bag and one 'personal item', unless you were in uniform. When I was commuting, I did NOT want to have to commute in uniform all the time, so I only took my small kit bag and my Samsonite. No purse, no cooler. Before 9/11, I used to carry food for my trips in a small soft-sided 6-pack sized cooler. With that cooler and a few cans of soup and a can opener in my bag, I could go a whole 4 day trip without buying any food. Saved boatloads of $ AND lost 10 pounds!
 
Remember that your crew badge really doesn't mean anything to the TSA, except for the fact that you can pass through the checkpoint without a boarding pass with a crew badge. But in that 3-1-1 rule for liquids that they have, you're scrutinized if you are not in uniform.
 
I carry a 22" roll-a-board, my flight kit (flight bag, brick, boulder, whatever you wanna call it...thing weighs about 70 lbs. ;) )...and SOMETIMES my computer bag depending on how long my trip is.

Since I'm (STILL!!!!) on reserve :mad: , I sometimes get "out-and-backs" or one-night RON's, so I don't carry the computer.

I've seen some pilots with everything I've mentioned, PLUS a soft-sided lunch cooler, PLUS a duffle. Too much IMHO.
 
How has TSA been lately with what is in your bag when commutting in uniform? Can you bring a normal sized toothpaste tube and some cologn?
 
ready2fly said:
Since I'm (STILL!!!!) on reserve :mad: , I sometimes get "out-and-backs" or one-night RON's, so I don't carry the computer.
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Dude, that sucks. I might upgrade about the time you get off reserve at this rate. Any idea when you're gonna hit the light at the end of the tunnel?
 
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