subject: Advantages Of Carry-on Luggage [print this page] Whats the first thing that comes to your mind when I say carry-on luggage? People jostling for that last available space in an aircrafts overhead bin? Or maybe stubborn travelers arguing with adamant airline staff that their luggage falls within the stipulated size requirement?
These not so nice scenarios aside, which unfortunately are an intrinsic part of air travel now, one cannot deny the several benefits of traveling with a carry-on.
We may rave and rant all we want, but if the airlines that were bleeding so far have found a way to make money by charging us for checked bags, theyre not going to let go of the golden goose that easily. So if you dont want to pay up for checking luggage, the only alternative is to travel with just a carry-on.
Yes, its not always going to be easy to pack everything in carry on luggage. Therein lies the other advantage of traveling with one you dont pack everything you think you need and instead make do with the absolute essentials. Just like necessity is the mother of invention, having to travel with just a carry-on will teach you ways and means of packing light that has several other advantages as well.
Another benefit of traveling with carry-on is the time you save from the second you start packing to the moment you land at your destination. Heres how since you have only one bag to pack, most of the time youll just breeze through it, especially after you learn the tips and tricks of packing light.
Theres no hurry to leave for the airport since you have nothing to check and dont have to queue up at the check-in counter waiting for each bag to be weighed, money to exchange hands, arguments to finish, and the whole drill to repeat several times until your turn arrives.
Shift the scene to the arrival terminal at your destination airport. You can just stretch yourself, pull out the telescoping handle of your carry-on wheeled luggage and make your way through fellow passengers, who meanwhile are drilling holes with their eyes into the conveyor belt trying to spot their bags, praying hard that their luggage is not lost or misrouted.
And this brings me to yet another advantage of traveling with a carry-on. Who amongst us has not heard horror stories of checked luggage disappearing into mysterious black holes never to be seen again? If youre a little less unlucky, you may have to just deal with delays or suffer damage. But if you travel with a carry-on, you can completely do away with the possibility of loss, damage or any other luggage related mishap caused by airlines.
However, if you ask me, the biggest advantage of a carry-on is the overall reduced stress of traveling. It may sound daunting, but if youre up to the challenge, traveling with a carry-on will soon become the only way to travel for you!
