Often1

Good on AA. It's about time. It would tick me off too if I failed to know that the dimensions of my bag exceeded the published dimensions. But, I certainly wouldn't hold that against AA.

AA has made clear that it is doing this worldwide. Given the generous carry-on allowance, the fact that the rules are finally being enforced should not pose anything other than a minor inconvenience for most (buying a $0.49 measuring tape and measuring the bag before heading to the airport).

Microwave

I've merged this into the extant thread discussing this topic.

~Moderator

jordyn

Sure--if the sizer actually matched the dimensions of the bin, I think you'd see a lot less pushback. The problem is the current policy is arbitrary and unnecessary, and people don't like policies that are arbitrary and unnecessary so they try to "cheat" instead. brp's approach to a new sizer, for example, would let through the "slightly larger than the current sizer" bags while not allowing anything that wouldn't go wheels-first into the bin.

brp

Yup. Publish the smaller limits and give a little. Because we know that we all (and I mean the vast majority of people, not just FTers ) try to push limits just a bit. If the published size is 0.5" more, we'll try to push a little beyond that...and we will eventually exceed the bin. If they keep it as is, and give a little to fit the bin, it stops the limit pushing there.

Based on your prior post and link, it seems so. But there was mention that that was an old post. It may still be the case, and that would be cool. We fly out of SFO on Thursday and I will bring a small tape as well.

If this is still the case, it's the right approach, IMO. Kinda like establishments that post 8AM as the opening time and open maybe 7:50 on a fairly regular basis.

Cheers.

bchandler02

I'm very glad to see this. It's been a pet peeve of mine for a while - people bringing way too much. It takes up the overhead space and slows the boarding process.

My trip that started on 8/27 and ended yesterday had 0 issues with this. I had my usual laptop backpack, and my BU222X carryon. Fits in everything except the canadian torture tube I was on, and never got a second glance from anyone at AUA, MIA, or DFW.

fotographer

You know if airlines in general stopped charging for the first checked bag .......would it still be a problem

AATrout

It's the wheels. I've watched the domestic boarding show from exit rows as well as F over the years. At least 20% of those in either cabin have a wheeled bag that's (i) too heavy for them to lift alone, and/or (ii) too deep. If they had no wheels, they would pack less and lighter.

The other issue, is of course, the personal item - or hat - or coat - or small shopping bag in the overhead. Inconsiderate and unnecessary. The FAs have to start enforcing this. Then - once aloft, and if there's space, pax should be free to stow that stuff up top. Me, I have the personal item under the seat. Much more convenient when working or accessing files, an iPad or Phone or just a book. And before landing I don't have to move to the aisle to pull out a bag & stow these items. I just don't get the obsession some have with throwing everything topside on a domestic flight. And it's not footroom. If the personal item is right-sized, you have plenty of underseat room except for IFE in some aisles on 738s and probably a few others like the 321.

edit: my BR U122CX fits in the DCA AA sizers. It's 22.5" high. A Red Oxx Air Boss or Sky Train also fit easily. If not overstuffed.

dll

I don't know, I have a 20" Victorinox that is supposedly "international" carrier compliant. Many non-US carriers are very strict about bringing baggage on board and I have never been questioned when traveling with my 20" and a laptop bag, despite it going around the world with me several times this year. It's a squeeze sometimes for me to get what I need into a 20" bag but I've figured out ways to make it work. Even budget carriers like AirAsia don't question my bag.

I'm not worried about AA accepting my bag for travel. Perhaps those who are concerned might want to investigate an investment in a smaller bag, which would also alleviate cabin baggage concerns when traveling overseas. Everyone wins.

Part of the problem I've seen is travelers with a compliant 22" rollaboard overstuffed to the point it's bulging, which doesn't fit in the bin. I contend they should publish the dimensions of the 20" case, but allow their sizers to permit a reasonable (not overstuffed) 22" case in practice. People will always push the limits, as it's human nature. An overstuffed 20" case will stand a better chance of fitting in a bin than an overstuffed 22" case.

Sant

I don't have the dimensions anymore, but an old post of mine stated the length was 23in.

Often1

Yes. The whiners here are largely elites who already have a "free" bag. They just don't want to check and can't measure a bag.

jordyn

People would probably be a lot more willing to check bags if AA's baggage handling weren't so awful.

And it seems pretty silly to argue that people can't measure when what everyone who disagrees with you is saying is that the sizer should be based on the dimensions of the bin rather than some arbitrary smaller size. It's not that we can't measure, it's that AA's measurements make no sense. (And saying that the sizer is the size that AA allows isn't a retort to this argument, it's just a nonsense tautology.)

Mark_T

This is more about re-verifying the old measurements than anything else.

Doesn't seem that anyone has measured in the last couple of years so worth checking again to be sure.

captaink

If someone flies enough to accumulate 25/50/100k miles in a year, they (and/or their companies) clearly value their time more than a family going to disney world once a year. Adding an extra hour each way (minimum) for checking/retrieving baggage over 25-100 flights a year is not a productive use of time. They've also flown enough to know that their current bag fits properly in any mainline bin in the fleet, even if one wheel sticks out 0.1" past the end of the sizer.

pinniped

I would assume that if I carry-on only one backpack, I get the overhead tag, right?

This is often my pattern if I fly an airline where I have a one-checked-bag allowance. My carry-on is small, within the "personal item" dimensions, but it goes overhead without exception. My feet go under my seat.

On those occasions when I have two carry-ons, then I play nice and put the personal item under my seat. (If there's overhead room for it after everyone boards...great...but that's rare.)

ashill

Compare the boarding experience for any US airline to Australia. QF can board a 737-800 in 15 minutes flat; it takes closer to 40 minutes to board one in the US. QF doesn't charge bag fees (and delivers bags promptly to the carousel), and there are far fewer bags going in the overhead bin slowing boarding.

That's why I think a carrot and stick approach is best: yes, enforce carry-on restrictions more stringently (though I think it's the ridiculously oversided duffels that go in sideways and the passengers who put both their rollaboard and their personal item in the overhead bin that are a problem much more than slightly-oversized rollaboards that still go in wheels first), but also allow free checking of rollaboard-sized bags as a carrot to simply reduce the number of passengers who bring bags aboard.

For sure, frequent flyers will likely still bring bags on board (though I actually do check bags with AS more now since they deliver checked bags quickly and reliably), but I think it's inarguable that checked bag fees have led to a significant increase in the number of carry-on bags.

And I don't think that charging for carry-ons is at all necessary to reduce the number of carry-on bags (though such a charge would obviously have that effect).

I haven't flown Southwest in years (since they don't fly anywhere I want/need to go, not because I particularly avoid them), but my recollection is that their boarding is much faster. I know it's hard to compare their boarding system to any other airline, but is that still true? Are there noticeably fewer carry-on bags on WN?

I've flown jetBlue once or twice, and I think there are fewer carry-ons there, but it's hard to tell. And their free checked bag is going away.