In the last couple of years, I have noticed airlines updating their seat configurations on planes.  Airlines are always looking for ways to get more people on the same plane (regardless of comfort).  But with the constant changes in technology and our society’s need for on-demand internet everywhere, I’ve noticed airlines are changing the availability of room underneath our seats.  This includes the space underneath the seats in front of me!  They are storing some of the electronics underneath the seats making it harder to store your carry-on luggage underneath the seat in front of you; including my tech bag.

Whether I’m traveling for work or pleasure, I typically take my office with me.  (See my post MTC:  What are my top ten tech items to take in your carry-on for a plane trip? to get a list of the tech items I typically carry with me on board a flight). I need my carry-on bag to be right in front of me for easy access.  It is a pain to have to get up (or ask your aisle mate to move) to get to the overhead, pull my bag, grab my laptop, headphones, electrical wires, plugs, spare battery, etc. once we are airborne and are at an elevation that permits movement and use of our electronic devices.  (Remember, you can’t have your laptop in your lap or in the magazine pouch during take-off or landing).  Don’t even get me started when I forgot the one item I really needed and have to get up again!  And then to do all of that in reverse as we are getting ready to land!

Meanwhile, you may lose out on time (or be really bored) while waiting for the rest of the flight to board, stuck waiting for the one passenger to make his/her connecting flight, mechanical issues, flight crew arrival, weather, back up on the runways, inter alia!  This is why I like my carry-on right at my feet under the seat in front of me.  The problem is the room underneath is shrinking and my favorite four-wheel spinner no longer fits!

I used to have a Samsonite Xenon 3.0 15.6" Laptop Mobile Office Spinner.  It is a four-wheel laptop bag that spins 360°!  It held all of my necessary tech and would fit right under the seat in front of me.  It was perfect for zooming through the airport with tech essentials.  The agility a four-wheel spinner provides just makes it so much more convenient when you have to go down the narrow airplane aisles – turn in 90° and keep on wheeling!  With the two-wheel spinner, you end up dragging it on its side through the narrow aisles.  Plus it was easy on the back as backpacks can be wearing on a long day.

A review of the newer availability for carry-on baggage, only provides a minimum width of 14” (note there are a handful of airlines that provide only 13.5”.  .  Although the body of the Xenon comes in under 14”, it does not appear to consider the wheels and handles – making it too big!  If you do a search on Amazon.com, you come across a lot of 14.5” four-wheelers.  Very frustrating.  The one or two bags I did find, were just not my cup of tea; this included one that was too big.  I ended up purchasing a Solo New York Bryant Rolling Bag with Wheels, Fits Up to 17.3-Inch Laptop, Black/Grey, 14" x 16.8" x 5".  It's nice.  But it is missing out on the agility a four-wheeler provides, especially when boarding and deplaning.

It's great that airlines are addressing our first-world problem of needing to be connected.  (PS:  The updated airline wifi that claims it can stream videos for the users just does not seem to be there yet).  But it does not help when we cannot get easy access to our devices that we want to connect to the internet while in flight!

MTC.