VA cracking down on carry on 7kg limit

[Cossie]

Day before Christmas my wife was flying J with VA and they weighed her roll-on bag. Came to 8kgs and she was told to check it in. Given that left her with no carry on bag at all she was forced to go buy one in the terminal. Somehow in the confusion she managed to lose her wallet so spent her lounge-time cancelling all credit cards. But, in a good news story upon returning to SYD one week later the wallet was at lost-and-found with cash and a bunch of mostly useless cards.

That's just plain silly, I hope she reconsiders who she flys with in future.

My biggest fear with having to put my carryon stuff in the hold is that my expensive camera equipment and my laptop might get damaged or disappear, these things do happen.

 

[debgow]

When you think though, carry on was originally only meant to be for items that you need on the aircraft. I know it’s different nowadays and I myself take too much stuff what with laptops and breakable or fragile items etc..

 

[clipped_wings]

No-one is addressing the REAL issue here. How many of us have stood behind a passenger who is trying vainly to stuff their oversized, (probably) overweight cabin bag into an overhead locker that is already full, squishing everyone else's luggage, before triumphantly sauntering off further down the bloody aisle? I swear, I have bit my own lip and clutched my throat - just so I don't yell out "IT'S NEVER GOING TO FIT - NOW MOVE DOWN TO THE ROW YOU ARE ACTUALLY SEATED IN!!"

 

[BAM1748]

That's just plain silly, I hope she reconsiders who she flys with in future.

My biggest fear with having to put my carryon stuff in the hold is that my expensive camera equipment and my laptop might get damaged or disappear, these things do happen.

That's why you carry the camera with you and clothes in the checked bag, or, carry a bit less. Also these days if you need to reduce weight and put a camera down below, carry the lenses with you, they are the expensive bit.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

I must admit that although otherwise saintly, I do regularly exceed 7kg in a single carry on in business ( usually by quite a bit in international J), but that usually includes a laptop, which I think I could carry separately as a personal item. In domestic.

Saint RooFlyer, the unexpected!

Having said that, I also tend to run (rightly or wrongly) with 7kg per piece (maximum ... usually a lot less). Even JQ don't seem to specify their extra piece weight limit so I reckon 14 kg for 2 pieces is OK (and if insufficient overhead room, then under the seat and cramp your feet as penance)!

 

[Denali]

..... "IT'S NEVER GOING TO Fit....

He said it would fit (Delta, ATL-SCL).

 

[AisleSeat]

BCD's

Scuba BCD?

 

[Denali]

My BCD (plate & wing) is always in check in, even a rebreather (Pelican case) and empty tanks (valve removed) went into check in. Did get a call to be escorted to the QF bunker to open the bag though, they werent going to open the bag without us there.

Regs go in my carry on though.

 

[flying_duck]

Scuba BCD?

Yes, or in fact any other sporting equipment that is of value/important/difficult to replace at your destination

 

[Denali]

My fins arrived in PNG torn up, like it got jammed between two moving pieces of equipment and torn in two.

Kept the spring straps and tossed them - local dive guide duct tapped them and was diving with them that day.

 

[AisleSeat]

Yes, or in fact any other sporting equipment that is of value/important/difficult to replace at your destination

I keep my reg with me as carry on but check all the rest of my dive gear.

My fins arrived in PNG torn up, like it got jammed between two moving pieces of equipment and torn in two.

Kept the spring straps and tossed them - local dive guide duct tapped them and was diving with them that day.

Were they in a bag/case?

 

[Happy Dude]

What happens when a pax is made to check their carry-on and:

1. They have already checked one bag. Are they then charged for 2 bags?
2. Their >7kg carry-on combined with their checked bag then exceeds their total checked weight allowance. Are they then charged for 2 bags?

I have some related experience here. The answer to your first questions is yes. The answer to your second question is VA charge per bag which can be up to 23kg (more for WP).

I was prevented by security at CBR to travel with fishing reels (spooled) in my carry on, despite having done so on many many previous occasions. They're valuable, integral to the purpose of the trip, and with a couple of other things in the bag the total weight would be around 15kg.

I had to check the bag and I'd already checked two 23kg bags - ie as a VA gold I was at my "limit". The checkin staff informed me of that but took some pity, presumably, and checked it for free "because I'm a gold", thus saving me $70.

So there is some financial incentive for airlines to go down that path. And some incentive to stop hiring staff with philanthropic tendencies too.

As an off-topic closure to my story, while checking the offending bag/reels, the security woman and her "boss" both came up to me at the VA counter to share the evidence on a phone that they were indeed correct - buried deep in the CASA web pages is a list of banned items that included fishing line. Then a guy on my flight brought on a cricket bat as carry on.

Back on topic - It is this ridiculous inconsistency by airline and airport staff, some of which is rooted in folly, no logic or obvious contradiction, that causes angst among travellers and can lead to aggression.

 

[Denali]

I....
Were they in a bag/case?

Yes, they were in a large check in luggage bag, with wetsuit ect. The fin was ripped almost half ways and just hanging by the edge.

 

[Pleb Status]

Back on topic - It is this ridiculous inconsistency by airline and airport staff, some of which is rooted in folly, no logic or obvious contradiction, that causes angst among travellers and can lead to aggression.

One way to rectify this situation would be for every carry on bag to be weighed at security (without any exceptions) and any bag found over the prescribed weight is summarily rejected (without any tolerance).

Or we could keep the current system and there is no angst whatsoever if you follow the rules....

 

[DC3]

One way to rectify this situation would be for every carry on bag to be weighed at security (without any exceptions) and any bag found over the prescribed weight is summarily rejected (without any tolerance).

Or we could keep the current system and there is no angst whatsoever if you follow the rules....

... or if your bag is within size limits, regardless of weight, then just allow it.

 

[Oneworldplus2]

One way to rectify this situation would be for every carry on bag to be weighed at security (without any exceptions) and any bag found over the prescribed weight is summarily rejected (without any tolerance).

Then we would have to go down the 'passengers only airside' route, which doesn't bother me in the slightest.

 

[Danger]

One way to rectify this situation would be for every carry on bag to be weighed at security (without any exceptions) and any bag found over the prescribed weight is summarily rejected (without any tolerance).

Or we could keep the current system and there is no angst whatsoever if you follow the rules....

But that doesn't stop a passenger from stocking up on souvenirs at the overpriced airport shops and adding weight to their bag.

And on at least one occasion I've been through security at SYD T3 with my checked bag after getting off one flight and wanting to catch the T1 transfer bus.

 

[Happy Dude]

One way to rectify this situation would be for every carry on bag to be weighed at security (without any exceptions) and any bag found over the prescribed weight is summarily rejected (without any tolerance).

Or we could keep the current system and there is no angst whatsoever if you follow the rules....

Ah the sound of the "rules are rules" war cry. Very simplistic, irrelevant in this discussion and explicitly not requested by the OP. Ultimately correct though, so congratulations.

But weighing bags at security is daft given the different limits imposed by various airlines. I think you meant at check-in or the gate. I'd be fine with that.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

And on at least one occasion I've been through security at SYD T3 with my checked bag after getting off one flight and wanting to catch the T1 transfer bus.

I did that in BNE Dom a few weeks ago, as I wanted to catch up in the QP with a mate who was transiting and I didn't want my case going around and around on the belt!

 

[clipped_wings]

OT but every October we travel to America, I tend to purchase large suitcases for the journey home. I fill them with as much Halloween decor as I can fit in. And every year, without fail - my bags gets searched by the TSA. Not for being overweight mind you. I think they just get a kick out of the fake corpse I have neatly folded in half, or the severed fingers stuffed in my socks.