December 3, 2008

Best in Show for Flying Right

By The Editors 

Want to thwart that $15 baggage fee? Here's how — for $3,500 and under.

Checked baggage fees — $30 round-trip for one item — are set to become standard policy among most major airlines. And so with growing legions of passengers armed with just hand luggage, you’d better get used to an intensified battle for the overhead bins and a phalanx of new “carry-on police” stationed at security lines.

Short of using a luggage forwarding service, your best bet to survive the carry-on chaos is to go ultra-light and ultra-durable — yet without skimping on the style. Here are our favorite models from the latest carry-on collections.

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