The secret to choosing carry-on luggage for more convenient travel

Mr. Le Phat Dat, a travel blogger who often flies 3-4 times a month, said he does not mind spending money on checked baggage, especially on international flights. However, for domestic flights, he prioritizes hand carry if he does not carry many devices.

“The amount of money to buy luggage is not much, but the time waiting to pick up my luggage makes me very tired,” said Mr. Dat. This blogger said the waiting experience at Tan Son Nhat airport was quite slow, once he had to wait 30 minutes.

Not only is it time consuming, the risk of damage is also something that bothers bloggers. Sharing the same opinion, Mr. Vinh Le, another blogger, said his longest wait at Tan Son Nhat was 45 minutes when flying from Hong Kong to Ho Chi Minh City, but “no one explained or apologized”.

Mr. Dat added that one time his checked suitcase was damaged during transportation but was only compensated 300,000 VND.

“The cost of checked baggage is not worth it, but the problems that arise are quite annoying,” Mr. Dat said. For blogger work, electronic devices are the most important things, but they cannot be kept in checked baggage. Therefore, Mr. Dat often tries not to send items to save time.

Their experiences partly reflect a trend that has been observed globally. According to SITA (a global air transport technology company) Baggage Report 2024, the rate of mishandled baggage worldwide in 2023 is 6.9 bags per 1,000 passengers. While the rate in Asia is significantly lower (about 3 bags per 1,000 passengers according to 2022 data), the most significant problem – accounting for 77% to 80% of all cases – is baggage delays, which keep passengers waiting.

If Mr. Dat’s group prioritizes convenience, many other passengers choose to carry-on because of cost, mainly when flying low-cost airlines (LCC). In fact, the LCC model accounts for a large proportion in Vietnam. According to financial reports and market analysis in the first 9 months of 2025, low-cost airlines such as Vietjet account for about 43% of the domestic passenger transport market share. The model of these airlines inherently separates the cost of checked baggage (7 kg carry-on) from the basic ticket price to optimize costs.

Hoai An, a tourist from Hanoi, is an example. She said she had to pay an additional 600,000 VND in 2023 when flying from Hanoi to Bangkok (Thailand) due to about 2 kg of excess carry-on luggage. “I didn’t intentionally break the law, but it was difficult to control my weight. The entire empty suitcase weighed 1-2 kg,” she said. She said that since then, she has always proactively bought more international deposits, because the money paid at the airport is twice as expensive as buying in advance.

Stories of overweight carry-on luggage are not uncommon, leading to arguments at the plane gate when passengers refuse to pay extra and criticize the airline for being “rigid”.

According to Mr. Nguyen Tien Dat, Vice Chairman of the Hanoi Tourism Association, there are two reasons why passengers are hesitant to check in and prefer to carry-on. The first reason is related to waiting time. The second reason often comes from groups traveling on low-cost airlines without checked baggage to save money. Normally, these companies only allow 7 kg of carry-on luggage, but an empty suitcase costs up to 1-2 kg, causing many people to be overweight.

However, Mr. Dat said that some airlines are not doing well in terms of communication and inspection procedures, creating an “unflattering” image. He pointed out that using a “market scale” for random checks at the aircraft gate is “quite funny” and not compatible with the airline’s positioning.

“Firms should apply electronic scales combined with a standardized size measurement framework like international airports,” Mr. Dat proposed.

According to him, even if passengers have not strictly complied with the regulations, airlines should not apply them rigidly and “exhaustively” causing offense, especially for customers who only have an excess of 1-2 kg not due to intentional fraud. “Many travelers feel uncomfortable if they are examined at the plane gate like they are committing a crime,” he said.

Explaining the delay in returning luggage, a representative of Tan Son Nhat International Airport said the luggage return time depends on many factors. During peak hours, when many flights land at the same time, the conveyor system and human resources have to process continuously, which can cause local delays.

To avoid trouble, bloggers advise tourists to be proactive. “You should carefully calculate your luggage and buy it online in advance to avoid incurring expensive costs at the airport,” Mr. Vinh Le said.

Mr. Phat Dat suggests that tourists should buy an electronic scale at home. “I also carry a small travel scale to calculate the amount of checked baggage on the way back if I buy more souvenirs,” he said.

The story of hand luggage has been discussed a lot on online forums in recent days when the National Airlines (Vietnam Airlines) announced that from November 3, it will apply a policy of collecting fees for hand luggage exceeding the standard (in terms of weight or size) right at the airport gate, instead of mainly controlling it at the check-in counter as before.

From an operational perspective, a representative of Vietnam Airlines explained that the tightening of regulations aims to ensure flight safety (due to limited load capacity in luggage compartments), while also helping passengers board the plane faster and reduce congestion.

Compare hand luggage regulations of Vietnamese airlines