purple pete wrote:
Saw the hullaballo recently of BAA clamping down on the minisized suitcases
on wheels that people are taking on aircraft as "hand baggage" because they
are too bulky and slow security down etc.

I want to take my laptop (in its own case) and 1 medium sized ruck sack
(which im certain will fit in the "tester" cage you see near the check in
desks.

Anyone know if laptop cases are allowed AS WELL AS the ruck sack or INSTEAD
OF IT?

Depends on the airline and sometimes on the aircraft. The last airline
I flew with was KLM - out of Manchester rather than London. On most
flights, as I understood it, you're allowed a carry-on and a laptop
bag, but on flights operated by smaller commuter aircraft you're
allowed one carry-on *only*. This has been the case, in my experience,
on most North American airlines as well (I'm British, but I live in
Canada at the moment).

Stephen