[Anonymous]

[TiredOldHack]

That’s two flights delayed this month because gits will insist on trying to take damn great steamer trunks on board.

Yesterday, coming back from AMS, took an age because there simply wasn’t enough space for everyone’s hand luggage and people refuse to put their stuff in the hold.

Well, guys, the time you thought you saved by not having to wait for baggage reclaim was more than lost by the delay to the flight and the loss of a parking slot at T5.

I am utterly fed up with this. Looks like flight crews are as well.

[MartynSinclair]

I also came back into T5 yesterday from AMS and I noticed that AMS boarding staff can be quite strict. They make pax consolidate extra bags and is one of the few airports where I see boarding staff using the size machine to check.

I still think the best way to solve this problem is as one poster suggested (sorry I forgot which one and it was not me). Charge for hand luggage and allow a bigger checked allowance… Problem will be solved overnight…

[ba747fan1]

I disagree re hand luggage as I think it is very useful to be able to not put things in the hold (within reason). However, what I disagree with is the people who cannot effectively fill the overhead bins and put things in the wrong way around and block masses of space. US domestic flights have lots of hand luggage but people are better at maximising space for all.

[GivingupBA]

TiredOldHack, I REALLY understand your frustration. I also, like many on here, just cannot believe my eyes when I see the giant bags people lug onto tiny BA inter-Europe planes, and when I see the trouble this causes.

My answer is – people will stop trying to take silly amounts of hand baggage on board when the airlines, and/or airports, stop people doing it.

One possible way in LHR T5, which I agree may not work, would be place airport/ airline staff at the security entrances with a size measure, who always send people back to check-in desks if they have oversize hand luggage.

[canucklad]

Me and you both TOH

On my way back from Faro a couple of weeks ago the ground handling agents were tagging small bags, deemed suitable to be placed under the seat in front of you.

When she approached me waving her luminous tags, I firmly stated that my little holdall would not be getting placed under the seat. It will be going into the overhead bins. She finally understood my position when I asked why I should be punished, legroom wise for clearly staying within the limits of cabin baggage rules. … She smiled and agreed !!

On the way out, they tagged my wee bag without me noticing and the CC directed me to place it under the seat. Again I smiled and pointed out the space in the bin above me. Sat down and then watched the inevitable game of luggage Tetris unfold in front of me.

What amazes me is the amount of people who consider it totally acceptable practice to treat other people’s property like a car in a demolition derby ….. infuriating !!

[JohnHarper]

This sounds like a BA problem.

Airlines who operate a two in first and business and one in economy and enforce it do not have a problem.

I fully sympathise with people who have only one bag that they want to tag for under the seat in front of you. You should not be penalised for being sensible but desperate situations create desperate solutions.

ABBA.

[Flightlevel]

This is really a manufactured problem (pun intended) since the size of the standard allowance is fully known & manufacturers can add the total seats & provide bins large enough, plus 10%, & then labels requiring bags stacked vertically so the pax load them sensibly. This means larger bins & be wary of window seats if you are tall. Additional bags obliged to go in the hold or under seats!

[FDOS_UK]

John Harper calls it right – this is a BA problem. I’ve seen it twice, on domestics from LHR to MAN this year.

On my easyJet and Ryanair flights, it has not been a problem.

Go figure which companies have the smartest policies and procedures.

BTW, the other reason for the high levels of BA hand baggage is the ‘leisurely’ approach to returning checked bags (apart from crew bags, which come out like greased lightning.)

[TiredOldHack]

Yes, John Harper was right. Both flights were BA.

[Ah,Mr.Bond]

ANSWER: When airlines stop charging to check in baggage.

[DerekVH]

I rather suspect BA don’t want you to put baggage in the hold, that way they do not need to employ so many baggage handlers. Given my experiences they don’t have enough now at LHR T5 so putting more baggage in the hold will mean we have to wait even longer for our luggage. Having said that I always check my bag in to avoid the chaos in the cabin. Martyn’s idea of charging for cabin bags is a good one but this would mean more cost to the airline for handling hold baggage.

[AnthonyDunn]

No, this is not just a BA phenomenon. Recently experienced this on QF between SYD-BNE where the volume of stuff being brought onboard meant that the cabin crew were hard pressed to ensure that it all got stored safely. From the nature of the stuff being brought onboard as cabin baggage (large numbers of small wheelie bags plus other bags) it was clear that the majority were business travellers for whom waiting 10-15 minutes extra for their bags to arrive in the reclaim area was just too much to expect.

I had exactly the same conversation with QF crews about the involuntary weightlifting training that they were getting daily that I have had with BA crews.

[MartynSinclair]

@derekVH – this idea was from another poster… I just can’t remember who.

[icenspice]

If I had a tight connection at LHR (or any other hub) I would be reluctant to check in a bag. But then I always travel light and finding space has never been a problem.

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