[ba747fan1]

This is why BA is very generous with 23kg (assuming you are able to lift it into the overhead bin).

[AnthonyDunn]

IMHO, BA’s 23kg carry-on allowance verges on the ludicrous. Even when using a Berghaus Mule II 80 wheeled barrel bag packed tight and including half a dozen bottles of Australia’s finest, I still was not hitting that weight. And the thought of dragging that onboard… No way José. There is simply no way on earth (or heavenwards either) that an entire plane of non-HBO ticket holders could all get on with the volume and weight that this amounts to. Okay, so BA are assuming that 23kg will be the exception but they are, effectively encouraging a mindset of it doesn’t matter how much you bring onboard…

And then they wonder at the extra measures required to bring things back under control. As well as the recent revisions to the fare schedules, I would take up my/Cedric’s suggestion of you pay £x for a bag when you book, £2x if you pitch up at the airport with a check-in item and £5x if you attempt to take the p*ss on an HBO fare and turn up at the gate with something far in excess of the allowance. This means serious and consistent baggage policing at gates – as recently witnessed with Jetstar in Oz: scales, size gauge and credit card terminal.

[FDOS_UK]

MAN today – boarding ‘down the stairs’ into a holding area.

After a while, an agent makes a PA to say ‘we have now accepted as many roll on trolleys as the aircraft can hold, so for those people in the queue, please remove any valuables, laptops etc and your trolley will be carried free in the hold.

That’s the way to do it.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t BA.

[Edski777]

Anthony,
Just imagine that you manage to cram 23 kg in to a roll on that fits within the size limits. You enter the aircraft and while standing in the aisle request the friendly steward(ess) to help you lift your bag into the bin. He/she will, citing all kind of HSE rules and laws, probably smile at you and refuse.
Other question: would you feel safe sitting underneath a luggage bin with such a suitcase (or 2 or 3) while experiencing mild turbulence or someone just opening that bin?

Safe to say that a maximum weight limit of 7 kg is the only sensible solution. The fact that people want to travel as cheap as possible or have some silly reason to keep their luggage within arms reach should never endanger other passengers.

You bring luggage, put it in the hold!

Airlines should, if only because of reasons of protecting staff and passeners or liability, enforce hand baggage rules.

[AnthonyDunn]

@Edski777 – 06/06/2016 21:41 BST

Err, that is just what (perhaps in a convoluted fashion) I was saying. The idea of having bags weighing 23kg above my head really does not appeal.

[TiredOldHack]

Monarch is still on my personal ‘no fly’ list but if ever I’m forced (ski holidays etc) to fly with them, I’d be strongly tempted to take a few medium-sized bits of lead sheeting with me and stash them in unlikely places on the aircraft, to lift their fuel bills a bit.

Actually, I’ve just refused a ski holiday offering simply because Monarch was the carrier. Plenty more choices out there.

[PeterCoultas]

Edski777: you reminded me of a Qantas flight when my wife was told her carryon was too heavy (9 kilos). She was in economy and was told it was dangerous. I got short shrift when I said I was surprised that Qantas didn’t mind their business passengers being in danger with their 10 kilo carry-ons…

We checked several heavy items into her coat (also a carryon item) which then, of course, ended up in the overhead bins.

[FDOS_UK]

Edski777 – 06/06/2016 21:41 BST

The reason we have too much hand baggage, in my opinion, is mainly due to the airlines driving consumer behaviour.

In the early days of locos, the airline aim was to reduce turnaround costs by handling as little checked baggage as possible, so hand luggage was encouraged and hold luggage discouraged.

Then the airlines monetised hold luggage, so pax decided not to play that game and carry on their stuff.

Add that to poor delivery records at hubs (30-45 mins plus) and lost/misplaced bags and pax started to fit more into their carry ons.

Then easyJet abolished carry on limits (within reason) and BA went to 23kgs (the same as a checked bag.)

Strangely enough, Ryanair has a 10kg limit and has never tried to compete on ‘Charles Atlas’ had baggage allowances.

[MartynSinclair]

FDoS – what you say, makes perfect sense.

I am off to HKG this week, from FRA (via LHR). My biggest concern for this 5 day trip is the % chance, my case doesn’t appear in HKG (at least if it doesn’t I will know where it is).

For this reason, I will carry 2 pieces on board. I will pack, the main case with clothes and papers only, to minimise the risk of a secondary at security with my second bag holding allowable liquids and electrical items. Personally, though, I hate passengers like me… I am surprised I get away with it each time.

I would check one bag in, if I had 100% confidence it will arrive. No case, would mean a wasted trip….

Delays at the delivery belt are a frustration, but for me, I need more confidence my bag, especially with a stop in London, will arrive at my destination….

[Edski777]

FDOS,

As far as BA is concerned: they have lost me in various ways. Be it on their Club seating offering, both long and short haul, excessive charges for seat reservation, especially on premium class tickets, weight limits on hand baggage and more.

Martyn,

As Confucius already said: ‘Don’t do unto others what you don’t want others to do unto you.
I can sympathize with you on your desire that your luggage arrives with you, but how many times does it go wrong? I’ve personally had this less than 5 times on hundreds of flights over more than 35 years. Each and every time my bag was delivered to my house or hotel within 24 hours.
I truly believe we are making a mountain out of a mole hill here. Yes, sometimes something goes wrong, but that doesn’t give any of us the right to manipulate or break the rules and endanger or inconvenience fellow passengers. For many people flying is stressful enough without added tension.
And as far as the delays at the delivery belt are concerned: after a trip that takes typically many hours if you include everything those extra 15 minutes waiting at the belt don’t really mean that much, do they?

[SimonS1]

Indeed Edski – having assessed the probability of baggage being lost I check as much in as possible. Since 1982 I have had 3 times when bags went missing of which one was eventually lost and I claimed on insurance.

In many cases the baggage is already on the belt when I get there.

The only surprise I find is that airlines don’t do more to police what gets carried on board. The LOCOs are quite good but the likes of BA very lax. Then again that’s the BA culture – don’t get involved if there is someone else down the line that can sort it. In this instance the crew in the cabin.

[AnthonyDunn]

But, as I have pointed out before, this is not just a BA issue – having experienced it onboard QF flights to/from SYD. The contrast with the loco Jetstar was germane when the latter had gate staff checking every item well in advance of pax boarding the plane and they had scales, a size gauge and a credit card terminal. A little organisation, a little determination, a little consistency and the problem will start to cure itself once people get wise to the fact that taking the mickey with carry-ons is yesterday’s news.

[FDOS_UK]

Edski777 – 07/06/2016 14:40 BST

+1, it doesn’t work for me, either.

[ba747fan1]

I always like the fact that BA are relaxed on hand luggage and generally allow a couple of reasonable sized bags in business (or domestic) as saves the hassle of checking in bags, Appreciate if everyone did it would be chaos. I have only once had a problem with carry on luggage and the crew actually overruled the ground staff ro allow on. As I have said before, people just need to store them better to maximise space and where american dometstic flights handle it better.

[FDOS_UK]

The problem is that 179 others feel the same way as you and no matter how you store them, you won’t get anything like that number of roll-aboards in the bins.

By the way, ALL BA pax, including HBO customers, have a 2 bag allowance in the cabin – this cannot work, unless it is managed proactively as in the case of Ryanair or easyJet and there is a cut off point after which roll-aboards are loaded into the hold.

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