[FDOS_UK]

MAN-LHR, Business UK ticket, pretty full flight.

Boarded #3, in exit row. Stowed small computer bag and coat in bin.

Noticed some people boarding with 3 or more pieces of cabin baggage.

Eventually, the inevitable happens and the crew start to try to fit everything in.

Along comes a young cc who asks me if the bag and jacket are mine and when I confirm he says “I hope you don’t mind if I move these a bit forward to make space”.

When I said that I did mind and I wanted to keep my bag close to me,I got the ‘roll eyes’ and a passive aggressive ‘ok’.

Having paid a premium for a flexible ticket and boarded at the start, to secure overhead bin space near me, why should I help the airline make space for passengers who were flouting the allowances, with impunity?

Although it is none of the airline’s business, I have sensitive data on my laptop and do need to use best endeavours to safeguard that, thus my need to keep it very close, so it wasn’t a case of being bloody minded.

If BA really does want to compete with the LCCs, it needs to smarten up on controlling hand baggage.

[Defcon5]

Just landed in GLA, full A319 from LGW. Boarded fine, pushed back on time and had two doors open for disembarking. Crew managed to go around very comfortably for food and drinks run, even had time for a ‘duty free’ run too as well as 2 x rubbish collections.

Nice job easyJet!

[canucklad]

I know this subject has been done to death, and others might roll their eyes but consider this……

On a recent flight down to LHR, travelling with colleagues, and being admittedly sexist, for a one night stay. My female companions apparently need to tote stuff that we men folk don’t. Resulting in them all carrying more than me, and to be fair to them , all within the HBO rules. .

For our M&S flying shop hop to T5 we all paid nearly £400 to fly in “Y”.
No lounge access, no flexibility, no complimentary beverages, just a cramped seat.

And worse, boarding announcements that are now a mumbo jumbo of low cost and premium gibberish .rhetoric.
Starting with a general mustering to the gate, even though the aircraft hasdn’tt even arrived at the gate, never mind de-planed the in-bound passengers…A classic Ryanscare/Easy tactic.!!

Then looking for volunteers to stick their hand luggage in the hold for free, and a little briber of priority b boarding. Bearing in mind, anything you do take on-board is expected to be stowed under your seat. So what’s the point of priority boarding. Simply a bonkers rule.

Then boarding starts and it’s the few (very few) volunteers first, then assisted folk, gold, silver, bronze, by row ……..A complete palaver for a 320 aircraft.

And guess what , boarding delayed because, anyone with a wheelie trolley had them simply confiscated and sent to the hold.

At the other end, I had to endure a wait for my colleagues to retrieve their hand luggage from the carousel. And guess what, the confiscated offending baggage was last. A full 30 minutes after we arrived at the belt.

I wonder if they forced the HBO fare passengers to take them on board !!!

BA- an ultra low cost experience at a very high price !

[summerfly]

Canucklad

You’re implying that women are to blame for BA’s cabin baggage problems. I wouldn’t go down that road! And it’s certainly worth concealing that you are sexist, otherwise you might as well move back into the cave.

BA either need to change their cabin rules or implement the existing ones more effectively.

[christopheL]

This a recurrent problem since UK airports have created “airside supermarkets” where people are highly encouraged to do shopping while they are waiting for their flight (“earn Heathrow rewards points and convert them to avios !).
“Dieu et mon droit” but “Business is business”
Not to mention that everybody now travels with a computer bag which is rarely stored under the front seat despite its small size.

[MartynSinclair]

The airport “High Street” is only part of the problem. The real problem is people coming on with 3 pieces of hand luggage and a carrier bag was not one of them. More than seeing 3 pieces of hand luggage, what really astounds me the most, how on earth do the boarding gate team allow oversized (bear to full size) cases to be carried onto the aircraft.

Being authoritative and stopping passengers taking the absolute micky with carry on, will probably please more passengers who suffer the arm and leg bumps along with the lack of bin space, over the selfish & DYKWIA passengers who believe they have the right to bring aboard what they want.

Interesting comment from FDOS – re the hand baggage only fare pax who are able to exceed what they are meant to bring on board causing the full fare pax to be inconvenienced..

[FDOS_UK]

[quote quote=792822]Just landed in GLA, full A319 from LGW. Boarded fine, pushed back on time and had two doors open for disembarking. Crew managed to go around very comfortably for food and drinks run, even had time for a ‘duty free’ run too as well as 2 x rubbish collections.

Nice job easyJet!

[/quote]

ROTFL – nice one.

[Flightlevel]

BA have additional problems because of circumstances, they operate from T5 a shopping mall, they have mostly older A320 types and more modern aircraft have larger overhead bins, watch your head in window seats, and their business plan is to transfer long haul pax at LHR when many overseas airports are not restricting hand luggage and also trying to sell duty free and gifts. The result is little room in the overhead bins on busy flights.

[FDOS_UK]

[quote quote=792869]BA have additional problems because of circumstances, they operate from T5 a shopping mall, they have mostly older A320 types and more modern aircraft have larger overhead bins, watch your head in window seats, and their business plan is to transfer long haul pax at LHR when many overseas airports are not restricting hand luggage and also trying to sell duty free and gifts. The result is little room in the overhead bins on busy flights.

[/quote]

This flight was from Manchester- no shopping malls inT3.

[seasonedtraveller]

I simply do not understand why BA in particular choose not to police this activity.

LBA to LHR this week I saw a rather large lady with an extremely large wheelie, much, much bigger than regulation size, a large winter coat, a shopping bag and an oversized handbag, struggle onto the flight…..she filled one and a half lockers on her own and needed help from a fellow passenger to physically lift the obviously oversized and very overweight bag into the locker (interestingly, she had already asked a male crew member to help her lift the case but he refused by saying that he didn’t want to injure his back but he didn’t do anything about all her junk) – it would be laughable if it wasn’t so bloody stupid.

[FDOS_UK]

[quote quote=792934]I simply do not understand why BA in particular choose not to police this activity.

LBA to LHR this week I saw a rather large lady with an extremely large wheelie, much, much bigger than regulation size, a large winter coat, a shopping bag and an oversized handbag, struggle onto the flight…..she filled one and a half lockers on her own and needed help from a fellow passenger to physically lift the obviously oversized and very overweight bag into the locker (interestingly, she had already asked a male crew member to help her lift the case but he refused by saying that he didn’t want to injure his back but he didn’t do anything about all her junk) – it would be laughable if it wasn’t so bloody stupid.

[/quote]

Couldn’t agree more.

[MartynSinclair]

I understand why cabin crew are not allowed OR wish not to risk lifting heavy bags… I have no issue with this… But, I do have wonder, why the crew at the door of the aircraft allowed this lady to bring the bag on in the first place (never mind the boarding agents at the gate).

[openfly]

BA turns a blind-eye to hand baggage because it makes the higher fares that BA charges seem bearable. With the locos strict rules on hand baggage, BAs Low-Life fares must be made to work.
It’s all commercial practice…..all the paintwork on the gate baggage gauges is still pristine!

[Reeferman]

The LCCs do indeed adhere to far more strict policy. I took a flight this week on Easyjet from SEN to AGP. Despite the fact that my mother’s 2 bags were tiny (and, combined, about one-third of the size of the permitted carry-on) the gate agent made her put one inside the other (more or less) and then place them together into the gauge. Obviously they fitted – they disappeared to the bottom is fact – but “rules are rules”, I guess!

[openfly]

@Reeferman….
Gate agents get a perverse pleasure out of giving you a hard time. Maybe it’s the only job satisfaction they get!

[Author]

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