How can we make travel bags better?

In the past few years, we’ve seen several significant shifts in the way Americans approach and experience airline travel. Low-cost point-to-point airlines are more commonplace, personal electronics devices have proliferated, oil prices have spiked, and security measures have heightened—among a multitude of other trends. Each development has brought about new policies and procedures employed by airlines, airports, and passengers, resulting in an experience that may seem highly foreign for a traveler from even twenty years ago. Everyone is now a terrorist who hides explosives in his laptop, belt, and shoes—unless you’re under 12 years old, in which case apparently shoe-based weapons have been ruled out as a possibility.

The common travel bag, on the other hand, has not seen change commensurate with the rapid evolution of the travel process. The last time bags got a significant upgrade was when the wheel was invented implemented.

My Goal: Design a travel bag that better suits the size and portability needs of the modern tourist.

At first glance, the above trends have the following primary direct implications:

1. Shorter trips, which call for lighter luggage loads, are more commonplace
2. Travelers often tote laptops, which need to be inspected separately by security
3. It is now commonplace for airlines to charge additional fees for checked luggage because “high oil prices”

And the following primary indirect implications:

1. Much higher percentage of passengers with two carry-on bags and zero checked bags
2. Longer lines at multiple stages of boarding process

Here’s a Journey Map of what it’s like to fly these days.

1. Home. I am packing clothes for my trip. I have some idea of how much I will need to pack, constrained by how many days my trip will last. I am explicitly limited by the physical capacity of my luggage. Generally, if an additional article of clothing will fit inside my bag, I will pack it. If it doesn’t fit, I’ll ask mom to come help me fold and fit everything better.
2. Transit to the airport. In Boston, the cab costs an unfathomable $40. I take public transit which costs about 45 minutes.
3. I get to the airport, which has a bunch of smaller steps. These could arguably be bundled together into “hate myself,” but for the sake of comprehensiveness:
   1. Arrive, wait in queue, and get boarding pass.
   2. Check larger luggage (if applicable).
   3. Queue for TSA and metal detectors.
   4. Arrive at gate, wait for boarding.
4. Board the plane, queue to reach my specific seat. Store carry-on luggage in overhead compartment or beneath seat.
5. Disembark, collecting luggage from overhead bins.
6. Leave airport, commute to final destination.

I’d consider four parties to be the primary players in the travel bag & airplane boarding process: The traveler, the luggage maker, the airport/security team, and the airline. They each have different objectives and relationships with the travel bag. Generally, I think a luggage maker might only design a bag to meet the needs of me, the traveler. An intelligently-designed travel bag, however, would make life better for everyone. (Isn’t that a generous thing for a travel bag to want to do?)

Problem Reframe: Can we design a Travel Bag that better suits the needs of all parties in the travel journey map—including not just travelers, but airlines, airports, and manufacturers, too?

Part II tomorrow with a few more pictures.