Eastern Railroad Discussion > Photo luggage room on Canadair Regional Jet

I have an upcoming flight for a rail trip that includes a leg on a Northwest Airlines Canadair Regional Jet which is a 50 passenger jet. I have not flown this type of jet before.

Anyone able to comment if the overhead bins and under seat storage are anywhere close to big jets? I have a large photo backpack, a Tamrac Extreme, that I normally carry and have some concern if it will fit. This backpack, is about 11 inches tall when packed, fits in normal full sized jet aircraft. I can find seat diagrams but not mention of overhead bin size. Any frequent flyers able to comment?

I will post a similar message on the Western board, please comment on the Eastern Board.

Small plane, small bins. I havent flown northwest but I have flown with usair, united and the old independance air with this type of aircraft. They all had an option of; you can check you bag the usual way at the ticket counter, or you can have a bag check ticket put on it at the gate. before you go out to the plane, they usually have a cart that you can place your bag onto. They will stick the bag under the plane and when you land, you wait by the plane while they unload your bag and you recieve it planside, or in the gate depending on weather. I like this option as i dont have to check my bag and worrying about it ending up on the wrong plane. I see my bag go on the plane and i see my bag come off the plane. Long Story short, very little room. Also depending on the number of passengers, they sometimes will reseat you due to weight balance.

Have a Safe Day
BMH

The overhead bins are quite a bit smaller than on mainline aircraft, but your backpack might still fit. Don't plan on fitting a large rollaboard. Underseat space is about the same as larger jet aircraft.

Note that they typically accept planeside checking of bags on regional jets. That means your bag is placed right on the plane at the gate, and you get it back at the gate upon arrival, so it won't get far out of your sight, and won't be passed through the baggage handling system. You might consider that for the backpack, and carry a smaller bag just for the flight itself to hold the more fragile/valuable items.

Found the following that lists the dimensions of the CRJ compartments on Delta:

http://www.delta.com/travel-agency/library/baggage/carry_on/index.jsp

It should give you an idea of their size.

Your best option is the cart at plane-side and let them put it in a bin. Foot, leg and overhead room is severely limited on most regional jets and having your camera at your feet is very uncomfortable. I used to keep my briefcase on my lap and use it as a desk for shorter flights, but camera bags are not flat and might be uncomfortable but having your legs and feet wrappd around a camera bag might be a little more than you would like. Check it at plane-side on the way aboard and pick it up when you get off.

I was on several NW CRJs last week... exactly the same bins as the DL and US CRJs.

I travel with a thick computer briefcase and Tamrac Model 767 photo backpack with camera gear (the large size, older design backpack). Both go as carry-ons.

As long as the outside (top) pouches of the camera backpack are not stuffed with equipment, and assuming you stuff the backpack straps inside the zippered rear compartments, the backpack fits fine in all variants of the Canadair RJ as well as the similar Embraer "Jungle Jets"...that pretty much covers most of the regional jets in service at present. Briefcase goes under the seat and the backpack goes in the overhead bin.

I have also stuffed this bag in overhead bins on the Bombardier "Q400" turboprops flown by Horizon Air and others. On crowded flights, I have also gate-checked the Tamrac backpack (I think Horizon calls this "A La Carte" service" ) with no problems whatsoever.

The only commercial aircraft ever encountered that seemed to be a photographer's worst nightmare was the Lockheed L-1011, with overhead bins that could barely contain a woman's purse. Last time I checked, there were less than a dozen of them flying anywhere, and their type have been purged from US fleets (DL and the former TWA) for eons...

DL installed new overhead bins on most of its L10s prior to retiring them. ATA has 3 left, but they're used only for military charters and will be retired later this year.

One thing is to get in line right away and down to your seat as the bins fill up when the plane is full. Also, I have maybe a smaller backback and it was tight to push it in. But like everyone says they will put it on for you at the gate but something I would rather not do with my camera stuff.

Bob

Be careful. I had a backpack specifically designed to fit in the "large" overhead bins, and of course it will not fit in an "RJ" bin. When I gave it over to the guys at the gate, I told them what it was, and to please be careful. Somewehre along the line, other baggage got tossed on top of it, and one of my camera finders got a big dent in it.

BrianJennison Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Be careful. I had a backpack specifically designed
> to fit in the "large" overhead bins, and of course
> it will not fit in an "RJ" bin. When I gave it
> over to the guys at the gate, I told them what it
> was, and to please be careful. Somewehre along the
> line, other baggage got tossed on top of it, and
> one of my camera finders got a big dent in it.

I feel your pain. They don't refer to baggage handlers as "bag smashers" for nothing. It's a tough job, sometimes in terrible weather, but they can certainly beat the hell out of luggage.