Black Detroit Entrepreneur Designed A Carry-On To Convert Into A Personal Item

The founder of Take OFF Luggage designed a carry-on that makes excessive baggage fees yesterday’s problem.

Detroit entrepreneur Stephen Davis established his luggage brand after realizing that the market didn’t offer sophisticated style bags that could convert into a personal item, according to Travel Noire. He created a solution with removable wheels, plenty of space, and money saving ease.

“I was traveling to Phoenix with a friend on Spirit Airlines when we realized the baggage fees cost more than the tickets, which were about $40 each,” he said. “The baggage fees for a carry-on at the gate were about $100 for us, which is more than the ticket.”

With Take OFF, budget travelers are in luck. Davis’ brand offers a stylish compact bag that has enough space to be a carry on but can be adjusted from carry-on into a personal item. The product is retailed for $119, and is available for purchase at takeoffluggage.com and on Amazon.

Davis holds a Bachelor of Science in business marketing from Oakland University. He leveraged his background to research and design the travel product while utilizing more than year to get it ready for the market.

“Being a frequent budget airline passenger, to save costs, I could not believe when they started actually charging me to roll my own bag to my flight and lift it up into the overhead bin,” said Davis. “Since under seat bags are still free, I tried to find a bag that size that would still hold everything I needed to carry.”

The Take OFF Luggage measures 20″H x 14″W x 8″D inches. It comes with four 360 degrees spinner wheels which can be removed by pressing two yellow tabs on each wheel to reduce the length of the bag from 20” to 18” — fitting under most seats. The hard-shell luggage also features TSA-approved locks and interior double-sided storage compartments.

Currently, the luggage can be sported in five colors, including black, blue, rose gold, champagne, and silver.

In looking to the future, Davis plans on creating a bag that will fit both Frontier and Spirit’s standard of a personal bag and for international standards.