The LW fits in RJ overheads as well in the same way: sideways. Which on an RJ is fine since overhead space is mostly taken up by jackets and blankets. But on a mainline, every crew bag put in sideways is a guaranteed pax checked carry-on 100% of the time. When I tried the Strong Bag it always required being turned sideways in every domestic plane except 767's being used on those routes. Again, loved the bag. Big fan of it in every other respect. But that was a deal killer.

Maybe by now the bin refreshes have fixed that issue. But I wouldn't get it again unless I could verify that it fit in every mainline overhead wheels first without a single exception. Until that's verified I'll never use it again.

 

Get a duffel bag and cram everything together. That way it will mold around the other bags. Or better yet, stuff it under the seat in front of you thereby saving overhead space for paying passengers. If you’re WB, bid the long intl. Free laundering so you can press that uniform shirt upon arrival. BTW I still use my tall "international" bag. Add crew bags to the C2019 list if they want to sell bin space.

 

Not sure what you're getting at.

I'm 100% pro pilot advocate on this (DH or non rev, online or offline). But when one (standard sized) bag requires sideways in a mainline overhead while all others fit wheels first, that's a deal killer for that one bag.

 

Mostly tongue in cheek but... I use the same bag, tall LW, that I've used for years. I don't consider bin issues or carryon size compliance because they don't apply to crew. I'm sure some do but is it a real priority?

 

Only as it applies to any one individual bag. The "international" bag is a different issue because at least you're getting some extra space for it. But in the smaller tier of "domestic" sized crew bags of identical size, when all but one fit wheels first that's a huge negative for the one that doesn't.

That said, perhaps the SB does fit wheels first now with all the cabin refreshes I have no idea.

Also the "international" ones clearly don't fit so FA's don't even bother to try. The SB at the time I tried looked like it would fit wheels first, so every single time an FA or even a pax would try and rotate it with predictable results, but sometimes not until they packed the overhead with wheels first bags only to then discover that my bag was blocking the door from closing. Total and complete cluster fudge when that happened. Not worth it so I ditched the bag.

 

Gotcha, that makes sense. Probably more of a commuter (by choice) thing.

 

Just curious which SB bag you are using. I have the vortex and haven’t had this issue. I haven’t tried or no of anyone with the helix.

 

Helix sucks.

It looks nice but in reality the special handle does not work well at all. Stowing it and using it requires some work and I do not want to fiddling with it when in traffic. The other thing that irks me is the actual bag strap on top, it's way too long to balance the bag when you're holding it. It's way off ergonomically. I bought it when it was still a Kickstarter project started by a SWA pilot. It had some early hiccups but still has quite a few issues in it's final form.

 

Even when DHing that was an issue.

 

It was whatever the main one was (aka "the 737 bag"). Maybe it changed since then, maybe the overheads changed since then, IDK. But at the time it was a deal killer.