Charlotte Foster
Travel Tips

Baggage handler reveals the best kind of luggage to travel with

A baggage handler has revealed the best kind of suitcase you should travel with when travelling by plane.

With years of experience loading planes with thousands of kinds of suitcases, a ramp agent for American Airlines has spilled the secrets on why some kinds of luggage are better than others. 

The worker said that while many people may gravitate towards hard-shell suitcases for extra protection, they are not the best for air travel. 

"Avoid plastic hard shell suitcases," the airline worker revealed on Reddit. "These are incredibly slick and prone to sliding off the bag cart while turning - taking everything on top of it with it."

Instead, cloth suitcases have more friction and are "more likely to stay where we put them."

He also said these days, four wheels on a suitcase is an absolute must as opposed to ones that glide on just two wheels.

"If your bag has four wheels, it can simply be rolled along the floor. If it does not, it will be thrown. We don't try to slam it into anything, but it's still going to drop about 2ft (6m) over the course of its 'flight'," the crew member shared.

Another thing to consider when buying your next suitcase is finding one that has handles on the side as it gives baggage handlers "far more control" over the luggage.

"It's easier to get a grip with an actual handle than by grabbing a wheel," he added.

The worker also said using a big bag for no reason is only going to cause the bag to collapse once it is stacked and cause a "baggage avalanche", with the same going for bags that are not "normally shaped" suitcases.

Image credits: Shutterstock

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travel tips, luggage, suitcase, plane