New Luggage Concept Includes a Seat Too

— -- The next time you find yourself the victim of massive flight delays with nowhere to sit, neXstep luggage might come in handy.

A Kickstarter started by Chicago-based Brian Gibson has 41 days to raise $119,000 to make his baggage-seat-luggage rack dreams come true.

"I developed the concept for this unique handle and started the patent process while I was unemployed from my banking job in 2009," Gibson said. "I took the 11-month setback and went about developing it with the help of local welders."

The concept's relatively simple. Imagine the way you extend the handle on a rolling piece of luggage. Now instead of that handle having a maximum length, it comes all the way out and reveals an easy-open folding seat. The seat can hold up to 250 pounds and is built for "maximum stability."

"I sometimes fly Southwest when people line up well in advance of boarding in their designated A,B,C boarding group. People have expressed interest," said Gibson, "saying 'whoa cool' when I'm sitting and they're standing. They're equally impressed by its stow-and-go fold-up ability even when it's time to board."

It doubles as a luggage rack for packing and unpacking, which avoids putting a bag that's been traveling along the floor of dirty airports and parking lots on a clean bed.

Even as a 12-year-old kid traveling to hockey tournaments with his parents, Gibson said, he could have used an extra luggage rack around. "My dad would always get the luggage rack in the room, while I was left to put my suitcase on the floor. Even as a young kid, I knew this wasn't ideal."

Things didn't get much better with age.

"When I met my wife 15 years later and we began travelling together, I would offer her the luggage rack, and I would have my suitcase on the floor."