I’m a baggage handler and one type of suitcase is less likely to be thrown

Your choice of suitcase can impact just how well baggage handlers are able to board and unboard it

When travelling, you may think picking a suitcase is a pretty simple task, but one baggage handler has suggested that you may want to think again. Taking to Reddit, a baggage handler named Adam answered some questions about the job.

One curious internet user asked: “What’s the best / worst luggage to buy?” To which Adam was quick to reply: “Some of the worst bags to buy are the ones which have no wheels.

“In my airline, none of our holds are bin loaded, so we have to manually stack the bags inside each hold, and they can get fairly long.”

He continued: “If your bag has at least two high quality wheels, then it allows us to roll them down the hold quickly, making it easier for us. Otherwise, we have to throw the bags in order to keep to the scheduled times.

“My absolute least favourite bags are the ones that have four wheels, but one of them is seized up, so we try to roll it down, but it just falls over after moving six inches.”

Following on from this, a former baggage handler replied: “I used to handle bags. The multiple zipper expanding tubes with four tiny wheels on the bottom are garbage.

“Square ones also suck. Both mess up the stack pattern and forced me to adjust. I had always wished on airlines issuing standard bags for use. If all bags were the same, it would be a dream. Don’t get slick hard sided. They slide off or these slide off out of place.”

Similarly, flight attendant Megan Homme, who works for an American airline and shares clips on TikTok under the handle @meganhomme, previously shared some tips for picking out the right suitcase before jetting off.

Megan highlighted that one initial consideration should be your suitcase’s construction material. Whilst soft-shell cases might be simpler to handle, they can create difficulties if another passenger’s luggage spills or splits open in the cargo area.

She also suggested opting for a dark coloured case to reduce the likelihood of visible damage when it reappears from the hold.

“If your bag is going under the plane, it is going to be scuffed up very quickly. I learned that the hard way.”