Originally Posted by
MtnPeakCruiser
Serious consideration for the two years you'll spend as an FO and thereafter.
First:The FO stows his/her bag in front of the sliding jumpseat (with the seatbelt lassoed over to keep it from slamming the back of FO seat on roll-out). The location of the FO's bag apparently is a welcoming seat for FAs to sit on when they come up front to tell jokes, complain, etc. They won't ask, they'll just sit on it. If my bag had been ANYTHING but a Luggageworks it would have been crushed under the weight. You may laugh but it's true, buy whatever works under normal conditions after you upgrade in 2 years.
Second: The weight really isn't an issue, even if you commute (on us). You'll probably won't be throwing a beast, like the Luggageworks, into an overhead often unless you like to non-rev everywhere on your time off. Commuters throw their bags in the cockpit (normally). Besides pulling it out of your trunk, you're already paying the van driver a buck to haul that lead brick in/out of the van. If you carry any kind of combination cooler/iPad bag around on the J-hook, the weight of the Luggageworks almost perfectly balances in the rolling position.
For these reasons I'll be sticking with my Luggageworks!
I used a LuggageWorks for a decade and have had a TravelPro for the past two. I've had plenty of FAs sit on my bag and it's no problem at all. The LuggageWorks had issues with screws falling out constantly. Its not a bad piece of luggage, but I wouldn't buy another one. They cost too much, require constant attention with screws falling out, and it's complete overkill. The weight wasn't noticeable to me either until I changed brands. Totally unnecessary to spend that kind of money on a bag for this job IMO.
By the way I did try the Kirkland bag (Costco) about 10 years ago. The wheels broke on it within two months. That's why I said early just get something with good wheels.