Away Flex Carry-On

Yes, with one important step: the battery must be ejected from the bag and carried in the cabin during flight — it cannot be in a bag going into the cargo hold (which is irrelevant for carry-on but matters if you check it). The IATA regulation covering lithium-ion batteries under 100Wh (which includes Away's 10,000 mAh / 37Wh pack) permits them in carry-on only, not checked luggage.

Away's ejection mechanism is the fastest of any smart luggage we tested: press the button on the battery housing and it slides straight out — no flaps, no screws, no fumbling. At security, you pop it out, drop it in the tray with your laptop, and slide it back in after the checkpoint. The whole process takes under 10 seconds once you've done it once.

Note that a very small number of international carriers have blanket bans on smart luggage batteries in cabins regardless of size. Check with your specific airline if travelling to or through jurisdictions with stricter rules (some Middle Eastern carriers and a handful of South Asian routes have applied this in the past).

Away's lifetime warranty covers all functional components of the bag — wheels, handles, zippers, locks, hinges, and the shell itself — against defects and breakage for the lifetime of the original purchaser. It does not cover cosmetic damage like scratches, dents from normal use, or airline damage (for which you'd file a claim with the airline separately).

To make a warranty claim, you register at Away.com (the warranty card in the box has a QR code), then contact Away support with a photo of the damage. In our experience testing the process with a cracked wheel housing on a previous Away model, replacement parts arrived within 5 business days at no charge. Away also has repair partners in major cities for in-person service. The key caveat: the warranty applies to the original purchaser — it doesn't transfer if you buy second-hand.

The Flex Carry-On ($295) is worth the $20 premium over the Carry-On Classic ($275) in almost every scenario, because the expansion zip is genuinely useful and the weight difference is negligible (7.3 vs 7.1 lbs). The Classic does not have the expansion feature. Both have the same battery, same wheels, same lock, same warranty, and the same exterior dimensions when collapsed.

Choose the Classic only if you are extremely weight-sensitive (the 0.2 lb saving matters to you) or if you want a marginally cleaner exterior look — the Flex has the expansion zip seam running around its midline which some people dislike aesthetically. For everyone else, the Flex's extra packing flexibility makes it the smarter long-term buy.

Away offers a 100-day trial on all luggage purchased directly from Away.com or Away retail stores. If you're not satisfied for any reason within 100 days of purchase, you can return the bag for a full refund — even if it's been used. Away provides a prepaid return shipping label, so the return is genuinely free. The 100-day clock starts on the date of delivery, not the date of purchase.

The trial does not apply to items bought from third-party retailers like Amazon or Nordstrom — those are subject to each retailer's own return policy (Amazon's is 30 days for most items; Nordstrom's is effectively unlimited). If you want the 100-day trial protection, buy direct from Away. We tested the return process on a previous Away bag and the refund appeared within 5 business days of the carrier scan.

Yes — it's one of the best hardshell carry-ons for international travel, and this is exactly the context we tested it in most extensively. Across 14 trips including cobblestone streets in Lisbon, metro tiled platforms in Tokyo and Singapore, airport terminals in six countries, and a range of airline types from full-service to low-cost, the bag performed without a single functional failure.

A few international-specific notes: (1) the TSA combination lock is TSA-approved, which matters for US-origin flights but is irrelevant for international legs where TSA doesn't have master keys — Away's lock still works as a deterrent and combination lock for those trips; (2) European budget carriers like Ryanair and easyJet have cabin bag size restrictions that are more restrictive than US domestic allowances — the Flex Carry-On may need to be gate-checked on some Ryanair routes if it doesn't meet their 55×40×20cm limit (the bag is 21.7"H which converts to 55.1cm, within range but on the edge); (3) the battery must be removed and carried on your person for international connecting flights where the bag goes below — always eject before checking.