Carry on out of control !!

[williamsf1]

It is a American based story .... howver easily related to Domestic flights here

Excess baggage: The airline carry-on craze is spiralling out of control | News.com.au

 

[eastwest101]

Zero sympathy for the airlines on this one, they chose to "unbundle" or charge for checked luggage which was either a reasonable "user pays"/unbundling of a charge or a revenue grab (depending on your point of view) - but crucially did not provide any resources to enforce their carry-on limits or consequences for exceeding weight/volume limits. That they did not provide the resources to enforce the rules can only lead you to conclude that it was all about revenue and that they were not being nice corporate citizens by "unbundling" their prices/products. Now they have flights delayed at the gate in the USA, increased turnaround time, more resources poured into enforcing priority boarding and some safety concerns starting to appear. A textbook case of "false economy" and unintended consequences.

I do feel sorry for the flight crew, and people who do obey the limits.

 

[TomVexille]

Oh the sideways bag...

 

[SeatBackForward]

AA EAGLE have a valet service. You take your carry on with you upto the bridge, where they have special rack that's a bit like a dumb waiter. This gets lowered down and stored underneath, but Its also very quickly taken off the plane and then raised up to the bridge on arrival.

 

[DrA]

Wish I'd taken a photo of the woman who was on a QF PER-SYD redeye who had a backpack, handbag, and 3 fully loaded Coles recyclable bags as her carryon. She started complaining about lack of space in the bins because not only had she boarded with all that stuff, she was also literally the last person to board.

That being said, I always fly J or F on AA to avoid the chaos in Y, and they regularly weigh my carry-on at the gate for flights from MIA to Central and South America.

 

[UP4014]

I like the snapshots of people who need to take wheelies on board, they don't seem to be the small type either.

I nearly always check my bag, but then I use a full service airline. I generally find there is little wait for the bag to come out, yesterday the bg arrived before I did in Adelaide. Sydney is the slowest, but not the end of the world.

Matt

 

[phily]

AA EAGLE have a valet service. You take your carry on with you upto the bridge, where they have special rack that's a bit like a dumb waiter. This gets lowered down and stored underneath, but Its also very quickly taken off the plane and then raised up to the bridge on arrival.

Yes, I've seen that process in action, and it's a shocker. I was waiting to board my AA Eagle flight, and saw all the regular-sized carryon bags being brought up from the plane to the aerobridge. It's done by means of a regular conveyor belt, and the bags taken off the conveyor belt by a man at the top who is standing on a small platform outside the aerobridge. The problem was that too many bags were coming up the conveyor belt at a time, or faster than he could offload them. The result was that half of the passengers' bags fell off the top of the conveyor belt back down onto the tarmac that was about 12-15 metres below. Pity about all the fragile items.

 

[kpc]

“On my way from Hobart to Sydney on Monday night after a long weekend I was shocked at the size, weight and number of carry-on luggage items people were trying to cram on a two-hour flight,” says frequent flyer Will Overman

I was on this flight...there was no enforcement by J* of weight or size or number of carryon so the airlines have to take some of the responsibility here...I had one carryon within the allowed dimensions, weighing just under the allowed 10kgs....I lined up early to board to ensure I had overhead space, and my bag didn't get left behind for the next flight which was the next day (have seen this happen before!!). A lot of people were asked to put smaller bags under the seat in front of them which I find annoying as your legroom is aready limited at the best of times.

 

[Hvr]

AA EAGLE have a valet service. You take your carry on with you upto the bridge, where they have special rack that's a bit like a dumb waiter. This gets lowered down and stored underneath, but Its also very quickly taken off the plane and then raised up to the bridge on arrival.

I had the pleasure of this service recently. It took a fair while to get back up and the ramp was crowded with people waiting. The first class tags were ignored as priority baggage usually is. Still it was a good reason for missing my connecting flight and spending extra time in the ORD Flagship lounge.

 

[williamsf1]

I have travelled a fair it recently in US and before every flight they have called for volunteers to check bags in at the gate for " free" . This was on AS DL AA VX UA flights at various ports .... yes all the flights would have been 90-100% full, however it would be a way to avoid paying to check in a bag, knowing they would do it for free at the gate

 

[ALH]

Waiting to board Jetstar to Auckland. Guy next to me with ski jacket, esky, medium size suitcase, 2 backpacks, camera bag and 2 recyclable grocery bags full to the brim. Wondering if he will get away with all that.

 

[phily]

Waiting to board Jetstar to Auckland. Guy next to me with ski jacket, esky, medium size suitcase, 2 backpacks, camera bag and 2 recyclable grocery bags full to the brim. Wondering if he will get away with all that.

Dob him in. I would.

 

[ALH]

Pleased that I spent the extra to check in 30 kilos of luggage so I don't have to struggle finding overhead space for all the wine. I have NO carry on to worry about

 

[JessicaTam]

Three words:

Enforcement
Enforcement
Enforcement

 

[mushez]

It isn't too much of an issue with the AU 7-10kg carry on allowance. Just needs enforcement, consistent enforcement at that - best is someone prior to your security check.

Hit the USA where 40lbs (18kg) is the allowance and it is a no brainer to carry on only and the issues they have as a result.

 

[anat0l]

I think more people have issues with the size and amount (by extension) of carry on more than the weight.

The allowance is quite commonly one piece per passenger measuring 105 cm or 115 cm linear dimension sum; sometimes two pieces. Personal items - such as "reasonable reading material", a laptop or portable device, a handbag or the like - also seems to be acceptable. Things which don't seem to "count" for "unconditional" reasons include photography equipment, musical instruments and duty free items purchased on airside (i.e. after check-in procedures).

As long as one sticks to these limits, I wouldn't have thought people really cared much about the weight, provided one can lift their own carry on items. In the USA, if you hurt someone due to your bag being really heavy, either way a lawsuit will likely be coming your way. The difference between thwomping someone with a bag of 7 kg versus 27 kg will only be reflected by their injuries, and thus how much you'd better hope you have pockets lined with money, or have access to a good attorney. The probability in which you might have recourse to litigate against the carrier for their being complicit in letting you carry something which was (read: turned out to be) "dangerously heavy" on board is questionable.

 

[Brisbane Flyer]

Lots of interesting pictures of carrying on the kitchen sink (good use of social media, as long as I am not in the pictures!).

NBCNews.com: #Carryonshame Campaign Aims to Expose Overpacked Travelers - FlyerTalk Forums

Cheers
BF

 

[codash1099]

When I first saw the thread title, I thought this was about a new "Carry On" movie about Qantas.

 

[mushez]

I think more people have issues with the size and amount (by extension) of carry on more than the weight.

I agree however most people are carrying on clothing rather than nuts and bolts and every extra kg of clothing is equally more volume and space taken up.

I also find there is little point having a huge 3kg carry on bag if you can only take on 4kg inside it and most choose flexable backpacks and smaller bags due to the limit, however this is a lot different when you can have 14kg of stuff inside it.

 

[artemis]

I have travelled a fair it recently in US and before every flight they have called for volunteers to check bags in at the gate for " free" . This was on AS DL AA VX UA flights at various ports .... yes all the flights would have been 90-100% full, however it would be a way to avoid paying to check in a bag, knowing they would do it for free at the gate

Yes, I've always wondered what proportion of people try to avoid the check in fee by doing this.

I dislike Y in the US so much, I've taken to flying first. Much less stress (and I admit I travel only with carryon) and it's so reasonably priced!