Your carry-on will be your best travel companion this summer, whether you’re heading out for a vacation or a business meeting in another city.
Checked luggage is being mishandled at a higher rate this year compared with the pre-COVID era, The Wall Street Journal reports. During the first three months of 2022, roughly 6.5 out of every 1,000 bags checked on a flight by a U.S. airline were mishandled, according to U.S. Department of Transportation data.
Missing or damaged luggage can ruin a trip, so skipping the checked bag can be a practical move, but fitting everything you need can be a challenge.
The first move is to select the bag you’re using carefully for what you’ll need on the trip, and check the measurements to make sure they comply with your airline.
Next, consider what you don’t need to bring with you. If you are traveling with a partner, don’t duplicate items like toiletries or hairdryers.
Lastly, to keep things neat within the carry-on, travel and organizational pros almost universally swear by packing cubes.
“It’s almost like having drawers within your suitcase,” says Julianna Strickland, founder and CEO of Space Camp Organizing in Los Angeles. Besides dividing up clothes, some packing cubes will have compression features that can reduce the space that items take up.
