Before leaving home, we checked the website for the allowable dimensions of carry on luggage for AirFrance: 22 inches by 17 inches by 11. Measured our Samsonite Silhoutte 22%26quot; bags, and they seemed to fit. At the airport, however, the %26#39;cage%26#39; that they use to measure bags seems a whole lot smaller than those dimensions, but we didn%26#39;t check our bags because we had measured them and believed we were ok.
We got stopped by an AF employee when we were lined up at the gate at Dulles Airport in Wash DC. He pulled the 3 of us out of line, and asked my husband to test his luggage in the little %26#39;cage%26#39;. The bag would have fit, except the wheels made it a little too long. The guy said he was very sorry but that he was going to have to take the bag and check it there at the gate. We protested that most of the people in line had virtually the same bag, and asked why all of those bags were not being taken as well- he was polite but insistent that he had to take the bag. He noted that we had three bags that were the same size, but told us (for some reason we failed to understand) that he was only going to take one- he said we could decide which one!! Without losing our cool, we tried to argue that the bags contained with items that we had no intention of checking (cameras, iPods, medicines) and he was unmoved. So we opened the bags, moved all the %26#39;problem%26#39; items out of one bag, and handed it over. We pleaded that we were connecting in Paris to a flight for Rome, and only had 45 minutes to make the connection and we feared there was no way our bag would make the connection! He assured us that it would. He attached a small, handwritten destination tag to the suitcase, and set it aside.
Needless to say, when we arrived in Rome, the bag was nowhere to be found. We called Air France that Saturday evening, Sunday morning and evening, and Monday morning again, only to be told they had not located the bag. Monday evening, the bag was delivered to our hotel, but the first three days of our trip had been truly marred by the experience.
I guess what made this experience so much more frustrating was how random his decision had been- there were people in line with much larger carryons than ours, and although we had three of the exact same suitcase, he (fortunately) only took one!!
So carry-on luggage bearers beware.
|||
Thanks for the heads up. I think I%26#39;ll stick to my backpack!
|||
i%26#39;m sorry you had the problem with AF. I do agree that enforcement of carry-on limitations seems to be completely arbitrary regardless of the airline. i have seen much the same kind of thing happen on AA, BA and NWA, though fortunately I have so far managed to avoid being the chosen %26quot;victim.%26quot;
That said, the AF web site gives the maximum permitted dimensions of carry-on bags as 55cm x 35cm x 25cm. The relevant page is VERY specific: %26quot;Total size of baggage, wheels and handles included, must not exceed 115 cm: 55 cm in length, 35 cm in width, 25 cm in depth.%26quot; This translates to 21.65%26quot; x 13.78%26quot; x 9.84%26quot; and therefore considerably smaller than the 22 x 17 x 11 you cite. In addition you are permitted one additional %26quot;accessory%26quot; but the total combined weight must not exceed a rather scant 12 kg, i.e. 26.4 lbs. (My guess is that most roll-on bags weigh 5 kg empty or thereabouts. Incidentally I%26#39;ve never had a problem with the weight of my carry-on items though I know that they frequently exceed the 12 kg mark.) Perhaps you had accessed a page that had been superseded by new, tighter restrictions?
http://tinyurl.com/lq6mn
Just FYI, AF in common with most European airlines limits checked baggage on intra-Europe flights to 20kg or 44 lbs., worth noting if you will be travelling by air after your trans-Atlantic flight.
Note that these restrictions are for %26quot;Tempo%26quot; class passengers. Limits for other passengers are somewhat less restrictive.
|||
I am sorry for your bad experience with AF. While there are rules it is reality that it depends on who the agent is. Even if you%26#39;re just a tiny bit over the limit, one agent may be very strict. Sometimes it feels as though they are unreasonable. We%26#39;ve had not so nice experiences with a few AF agents before too.
|||
I%26#39;m sorry but I have a mixed reaction to this story. However arbitrary AF%26#39;s enforcement of their clearly stated carry-on size ***AND*** weight limitations, there is also a limit on the number of pieces that may be hand-carried aboard...one(1) piece of carry-on baggage and one(1) piece of accessory baggage. Were these three(3) small cases your ONLY pieces o f %26#39;carry-on%26#39; baggage...tote...purse?? So perhaps the decision of the check-in attendant worked IN your favour, rather than against.
From the published Air France Baggage Information page--
%26quot;...You may transport:
- In the Tempo cabin:
1 piece of baggage measuring 115 cm* (including a garment bag)
+ 1 accessory (examples: handbag, laptop computer, camera, etc.) weighing a total of 12 kg.
- In the l´Espace cabin:
1 piece of baggage measuring 115 cm* + 1 smaller-sized item
+ 1 accessory (examples: handbag, laptop computer, camera, etc.) weighing a total of 18 kg.
* Total size of baggage, wheels and handles included, must not exceed 115 cm:
55 cm in length, 35 cm in width, 25 cm in depth.
Keep in your cabin baggage:
- valuable items: keys, mobile phone (switched off), passport and ID, important documents, money, valuables, jewelry, etc.,
- fragile objects: camera, IT hardware (switched off), paintings, crockery, etc....%26quot;
There%26#39;s may be valid explanations but really no excuse, lost baggage that has been properly checked-in....but perhaps in this case, s o m e of the responsibility should be %26#39;..shared..%26#39;.? The incidence of lost baggage tends to increase exponentially, the closer baggage check-in is to flight departure. I%26#39;d be willing to bet the ranch that almost every other piece of checked baggage, for every other passengers on your flight(s) made it through without incident or delay to their owners at their final destination(s). So the odds would certainly have favoured your checking your bags through to begin with.
|||
Just one point about the carry on -- in Cabin (Economy, Tourist) class the allowance is one carryon plus handbag - in Business class the allowance is two bags,plus handbag. I suppose that in 1st you can take everything you own - but I never fly 1st - only Business. I also never take more than one carry on - too difficult to manage on the ground.
On my last couple of trips I%26#39;ve noticed that all the airlines are being much more careful about sizes and weights of carryon. I don%26#39;t know why, but ground staff of each of the airlines that I used in the last three months took the time to examine my carryon both for size and weight when I was checking in. I don%26#39;t remember that happening before.
|||
%26gt;%26gt;%26gt; Just one point about the carry on -- in Cabin (Economy, Tourist) class the allowance is one carryon plus handbag - in Business class the allowance is two bags,plus handbag. %26lt;%26lt;,
This *may* be true on Canadian airlines. It%26#39;s been a while since I%26#39;ve used Air Canada. It is NOT true — as far as stated policy, which is what matters — on the airlines I am currently most familiar with, NWA, AA, AF and BA. All these airlines *officailly* limit carry-on luggage to ONE carry-on case regardles of class. BA makes no mention of permitting an %26quot;accessory%26quot; item such as a handbag or laptop case, though in practice, at least as recently as last March, they are allowing them. But they *could* in theory forbid two pieces in the cabin. Also BA%26#39;s maximum size is bigger than AF%26#39;s, 56cm x 45cm x 25cm and they make no mention of weight these days, though they did try to introduce even stricter weight limits than AF a while back.
Both AA and NWA allow a carry-on with total dimensions not exceeding 45 inches. e.g. 22 x 14 x 9 and a max weight of 40 lbs. except on snall commuter planes. They also allow %26quot;a purse or briefcase or laptop computer or small backpack.%26quot; Dimensions of the additional item must not exceed 15%26quot; x 11%26quot; x 6%26quot; and it must be able to fit under the seat.
In the case of these airlines at least, any allowance of additional, over-size or over-weight items is discretionary. You may get away with it nine times in a row and be stopped the tenth time, for no apparent reason. I think airlines have found that limiting carry-ons makes it much easier to get planes away from the gate on time and are now using the security issues as an excuse to get more hard-nosed about the whole thing. And, just to repeat, I%26#39;ve seen bizarrely arbitrary application of the regulations on all four of these airlines within the last year. AF has no monopoly here.
I%26#39;m sorry that the TinyURL I created from the AF web page dealing with carry-on baggage does not work. The reason is that AF has two pages on its site with *identical* URLs. (Brilliant, no?) So I can%26#39;t even post the full URL since it will simply take you back to the page about checked baggage limits. The page I was referencing, and that KDK quoted, can be found by going to airfrance.com and selecting %26quot;Practical Information%26quot; from the sub-menu at %26quot;Your Travel.%26quot; Then select %26quot;Hand Baggage%26quot; from the sub-menu at the %26quot;Baggage%26quot; link at the top of the page.
|||
The BAA now only allows one carry on item. Purses / laptops etc count as 1 item. So BA has no choice but to allow only one item. Prior to the whole make a bomb on the plane thing a purse or laptop did not count.
|||
I flew CDG-Mexico City roundtrip on AF in business class last week and on both legs I had a large bag (the kind that folds in two to hold suits) and a small laptop case. No problem either way to take them with me on the plane. They didn%26#39;t check the size of the large bag, just its weight. Apparently up to 12 kilos you don%26#39;t have to check them. I had y toiletries in a clear ziploc bag for security but then put the ziploc bag in my suitcase
Same thing last month, I flew CDG-FRA-Sao Paulo on Lufthansa in business class with exactly the same luggage and had no problems, even on the local European CDG-FRA-CDG legs.
|||
On my flight I was allowed one carry on bag, one purse, one bag containing all medical prescriptions and items, a portable handicap chair that one can sling over one%26#39;s shoulder, an umbrella, a cane, and an overcoat and hat ( Delta, USAir, and NWAir).
Do you think they do not hassel handicap people? I know they do a complete search when one goes thru security as that has been my experience.
Did I understand you right ? did you say you each had one carry on or did you each have three? Sorry a post confused me?
Sorry you were randomly chosen to make an example of.
Did Air France give you an allowance ( $) to buy the stuff your were missing for the three days they lost your carry on?
|||
MorganB is correct about UK airports. Here is the latest BAA advisory dated November 6, 2006. http://tinyurl.com/y6tscs
It appears any additional item such as a handbag or laptop must now fit INSIDE the one allowed piece of carry-on luggage, though to increase the nonsense your laptop must be REMOVED for security screening.
Note that if your airline%26#39;s restrictions on the maximum size of allowed carry-on baggage are more restrictive, the airline%26#39;s restrictions will apply.
And to think I used to enjoy flying. At least I *think* I remember the days when I did but that was long ago in a galaxy far, far away...
