Whether you are a commercial pilot, cabin crew, or a frequent traveler looking for the highest quality luggage that professional pilots use, you will find the below top picks of the best pilot luggage on the market right now. Additionally, if you are looking for a durable suitcase, in the right size, with a lifetime guarantee, you will find a great option amongst the best pilot bags listed below.
What to Look for in the Best Pilot Luggage
Flight crews prioritize their luggage purchases based on bags with compact size, lightweight, and the most durable luggage that will last for an extended time. Compared to more casual travelers, an airline pilot or flight attendant’s carry-on bag will be thrown into and out of overhead bins on most days of the year. This usage requires rigid materials and quality stitching to ensure a bag can last.
The amount of storage space and the best features are also important aspects of finding the best pilot luggage. Flight attendants have different needs and can spend an extended time away from their home base, so for long flights, a change of clothes is necessary, and having the right pockets for personal items is essential for both short and long trips.
Lower in this guide, below the top picks, is a further analysis of the essential features to consider when purchasing the best pilot luggage.
The Best Pilot Luggage: Ten Top Picks
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Below are the best options on the market at the moment from the different luggage brands that have become popular amongst flight crew for their size, weight, durability, and features.
Best Overall: Briggs & Riley 22-Inch Baseline Essential Carry-on Spinner
One of the most popular makers of suitcases for the flight crew community, Briggs & Riley are known for their bag’s durability, well-thought features, and their unconditional lifetime guarantee. Their baseline essential spinner is as full-featured of a bag as you can find, with the unique feature of a built-in-tri-fold garment folder that keeps flight uniforms wrinkle-free and the one-touch CX expansion buttons that allow the bags to quickly expand for extra space.
Made of ballistic nylon fabric with reinforced stitching, durable zippers, and shock-absorbing wheels, the Briggs & Riley Baseline has incorporated all of the experience and knowledge from their long heritage into ensuring that these bags can handle the wear from constant travel.
Travelpro Crew Versapack Softside 21-Inch Expandable Spinner
Another trusted name amongst flight crews, Travelpro offers one of the most full-featured softside spinners on the market. With a well-thought design for those traveling carry-on only, the Crew Versapack features a zip-in garment organizer to keep your shirts and jackets wrinkle-free. The bag also has several internal mesh pockets and additional organizers that can be purchased depending on your personal preference. With a power bank and charger front pocket, the bag is well-suited to meet the modern traveler’s needs.
With a limited lifetime warranty and the brand claiming that Travelpro products are used by flight crews from over 90 airlines globally, the Travelpro Crew Versapack is a sensible option for those looking for the best pilot luggage.
Best Hardside Pilot Luggage: Briggs & Riley Torq Hardside Luggage 21-Inch
While hardside luggage is less commonly seen amongst flight crews than softside, there are still pilots and flight attendants that prefer the additional protection that comes with hardside bags. Amongst the selected hardside options is the Briggs & Riley Torq Hardside. Made of a 3-layer polycarbonate shell, the Torq features a large main compartment with a garment flap to keep shirts and jackets wrinkle-free. Additionally, the bag features a front pocket that provides easy access to laptops and tablets.
The bag also features an external USB port that can be connected to a power bank (not included) inside the bag to provide easy charging while moving through airports. With a sleek design and the trusted quality of Briggs & Riley, the Torq is an easy choice for those preferring a durable hardside bag.
Timbuk2 Co-Pilot Luggage Roller
Featuring a less common design amongst the best pilot luggage on this list, the Timbuk2 Co-Pilot is an extremely lightweight yet durable option that is great for those looking for a full-featured bag with a practical design. With a softside construction, the bag features a clamshell design with enough pockets to stay organized with both large and small items. Additionally, with an outer pocket for a laptop or tablet, access to the main compartment from the outside, and grab handles on all four sides; the Co-Pilot offers a lot of flexibility for use while traveling.
The Co-Pilot also uniquely features skateboard-inspired wheels, which offer a smoother glide over rougher surfaces, and additional durability over years of use. In addition, the bag is backed by a lifetime warranty, ensuring that it will stand up to years of heavy use or be replaced or repaired as needed.
Best Lightweight Luggage: Travelpro Maxlite 5 Softside Expandable 21-Inch Spinner
One of the lightest bags on this list, the Travelpro Maxlite does not sacrifice durability to hit its weight of just over 5 pounds. The Maxlite offers multiple internal mesh pockets and tie-down straps, exterior pockets for a laptop/tablet and accessories, and can expand up to two inches for additional packing space. Made of water and stain-resistant nylon fabric, the Maxlite is perfect for those looking to limit the bag weight for additional weight for the contents.
Best Garment Bag: Briggs & Riley Baseline Garment Bag Spinner
The best travel garment bag available, the Briggs & Riley Baseline Garment Bag Spinner adds four spinning wheels to the design of what was commonly a bulky over-the-shoulder bag. With a large internal compartment that folds flat and zips, the Baseline Garment Bag allows for easy packing of shirts, jackets, and pants in the main garment compartment, with additional storage space for shoes and accessories. Quite possibly the best way to carry uniforms or clothes, the bag can be complemented by a pilot flight bag or briefcase that can sit on top of other travel accessories.
Travelpro Maxlite 5 Softside Garment Upright Carry-on
A more affordable wheeled garment bag than the Briggs & Riley Baseline, the Travelpro Maxlite 5 bag features a similar design with a foldover bag that can keep shirts, pants, jackets, and dresses wrinkle-free and with you in the cabin. In addition, with two wheels instead of four, the bag can be stacked with a briefcase or tote, making for the perfect complement of luggage pieces for flight crew or frequent travelers. Made of water-resistant polyester, the bag features the typical Travelpro quality and is backed by a limited lifetime warranty.
Travelpro Platinum Elite Hardside Expandable Spinner 21-Inch
The premier hardside carry-on bag from Travelpro, this sleek bag offers the thoughtful internal organizational pockets expected from the leading flight crew brand. With USB A and C ports on the outside that can be connected to your own internal power bank, along with TSA locks to protect your valuables, the Platinum Elite offers the most up-to-date features across the bags on this list.
Backed by a limited lifetime warranty and with a strong 100% polycarbonate shell, this is an excellent option for those looking for a rugged bag that has a more modern aesthetic.
Travelpro Maxlite 5 Rolling Underseat Tote
If you are looking for a compact carry-on with wheels that can tuck under the seat or easily fit into smaller overhead bins, the Travelpro Maxlite 5 Rolling Underseat Tote is the perfect option. Slightly smaller than a standard 20-inch carry-on bag, the Maxlite 5 Rolling Underseat Tote offers the added benefit of more space than a typical backpack, with the convenience of the weight being off your shoulders.
Great for a flight crew flying on smaller regional aircraft, or travelers looking for a rolling bag that won’t get checked, the Travelpro offers excellent value for a reasonable price.
Best Budget-Friendly Pilot Luggage: American Tourister 4 Kix Softside 21-Inch Spinner
Let’s be honest; budget-friendly and pilot luggage are typically not associated with each other. Given the beating a typical flight crew or frequent flyer’s luggage can take, the professionals will opt for more expensive and durable bags. To make this a well-rounded list of options, it’s worth having one bag that is more affordable.
The American Tourister 4 Kix Softside provides a pilot luggage aesthetic and comes with a 10-year warranty. While the warranty won’t cover normal wear and tear, it does cover you for manufacturing defects, providing a bag that should stand a reasonable test of time at a great price.
Best Pilot Flight Bag: Lightspeed Aviation The Gann Leather Flight Bag
This couldn’t be a proper list of pilot luggage without including a flight bag or two. The Lightspeed Aviation The Gann Leather Flight Bag is the best out there in terms of quality, aesthetics, and features. With a large compartment that features dividers to separate smaller items like headsets, a fuel tester, and other flight gear, the Gann also features the vital roller bag sleeve that fits over the handle of a roller bag, allowing for easy stacking. The bag also includes a removable shoulder strap for easy carrying without a roller bag.
Best Modular Flight Bag: Brightline Bags Flex B7 Flight Preconfigured Modular Bag
The ultimate functional organization for pilots that need to carry more gear than the typical commercial pilot, the Brightline Bags Flex B7 is the most flexible bag and the best for organizing. You can customize this flight bag with modular sections that zip onto the center bag as you see fit. With large enough expansion options and a roller wheel attachment, this bag is hard to beat for pilots carrying headsets, tablets, fuel testers, charts, and more.
Essential Considerations to Find the Best Pilot Luggage for You
Personal travel preferences are unique for every type of traveler. Commercial pilots, private pilots, student pilots, flight crew, or frequent flyers will indeed have their own travel habits and preferences. Below are some of the essential considerations and features to consider when choosing the right luggage for yourself.
Size Considerations
Given this guide covers the best pilot luggage, the focus is on carry-on acceptable bag sizes. The key consideration when it comes to size is the specific dimensions for your airline or travel plans. While every bag in the list above fits into the 22-inch limit that is used by most major US airlines, there are European and Asian airlines that use a smaller 20-inch limit. Check with your airline or frequent airlines that you fly with to determine the right size for your travels.
Beyond the allowable sizes, you may want to consider different sizes depending on how large of a bag you need to travel with and whether there will be enough space. A larger bag will provide a sizeable main compartment and plenty of room to fit extra clothing and specific items in additional compartments. In contrast, those looking for a small size will find they offer easy access and more portability.
Bag Weight
Naturally, the amount of weight a carry-on bag can take will be limited, so having the right bag weight before a bag is packed is essential to ensuring you have a manageable bag that you are comfortable lifting. If you know you are someone who likes to maximize their packing, consider a lightweight bag to save the extra few pounds in weight.
Storage Features
While most of the bags listed in the best pilot luggage top picks will appear as a typical suitcase, many offer unique storage features. Pilots and flight crew need to keep clean and pressed uniforms in their bags, limiting the chances of having wrinkles cuts back on ironing time in hotel rooms. Consider bags with garment storage or even specialty garment bags.
If you are a traveler who likes to stay organized, consider getting the type of bag with enough pockets or a specific organizer pocket on the outside. These options will give you enough places to store small items and keep you organized throughout your travels.
Materials
One of the most critical considerations for finding the best pilot bag is having a bag made from high-quality material. This is the crucial factor that distinguishes between the bags used by flight crews and those that are of a similar design yet sold at discount stores. The quality of the material makes all the difference.
While hardshell options are available, which can sometimes be seen being used by flight crews, the soft shell options are more common due to their durability. Strong nylon material with reinforced stitching is hard to beat for the long term; these bags will stand the test of time. While hardshell suitcases may offer a sleeker look when they are purchased, depending on the material, that shine can fade as they get scratched up.
Make sure to read reviews and validate a bag’s material to ensure that different materials can put up to the wear expected as part of regular travel. These bags will be wheeled continuously through airports and parking lots, thrown onto x-ray screening tables, and into overhead bins. The bags on the list above are from brands with long histories of supporting flight crews, though, for other bags, you should validate each bag’s materials through cross-referencing reviews.
Two Wheels or Four?
Often a matter of personal preference, the four-wheel spinning bag has become the standard amongst modern travelers. This phenomenon can be observed at any airport gate or baggage claim. While four wheels are often easier to use, the practicality can be seen in two-wheel bags with their durability. However, more wheels and spinning wheels leave more moving parts that can break and a higher potential need for repair.
Warranty
High-quality bags are often backed up by lifetime warranties. If you are buying a bag for the long term, make sure to closely read the warranty information before purchase. It’s a good idea to know what is covered by the warranty and guarantee as they often cover unexpected damages, though they will not cover normal wear and tear. So the more you know, the better your expectations will be managed if you need to repair your bag.
Bottom Line: The Best Pilot Luggage
While the options for the best pilot luggage for your travels are seemingly limited in size and features, there is a relatively wide range of bags available with different features and price points. Consider what features matter to you the most, and make sure you are comfortable with the warranty and durability of the bag, as these are bags that you should expect to last you for a long time.
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