Etihad Airways Etihad Guest - Agent over-zealous about carry on?

I'm waiting in the first class line in Sydney to board EY455. As always there is someone trying to upgrade into first class, and it takes forever. Anyway the business class check-in agent is making everyone repack their carry-ons even if they are .1 kgs over 12 kg. She looks like a sweet person, but she is really inflexible. There were ladies who were crying (seriously!) because they had to go through their carry-ons (some contained delicates) and extract minuscule pieces to get their weights down. Just another example how sometimes Etihad's ground crew can just be plain old incompetent. Sure I understand why there is a weight limit but considering most carry-ons are under the ottoman why does it matter as much? Surely 0.1 kg won't matter and it really slowed down the business class check-in (the line was longer than economy). I was terrified that there was some new policy so I admitted to the first class check-in agent my carry-on was 14 kgs (I'm never under 12 but nobody ever says anything), and she doesn't care in the slightest. What an absolute circus!

If you are Etihad guest you are entitled to 5 kilo overweight. You do not have to have any status, just enrolled in the program. In BRU they wanted me to pay. When I told them the rules they said it was only for Silver guests. Pity I did not have the rules printed out. Would have loved the look on their faces
Silver gets 10 kilo overweight

If you are Etihad guest you are entitled to 5 kilo overweight. You do not have to have any status, just enrolled in the program. In BRU they wanted me to pay. When I told them the rules they said it was only for Silver guests. Pity I did not have the rules printed out. Would have loved the look on their faces
Silver gets 10 kilo overweight


That's for checked baggage, but I'm not aware of any increases for status for carry-ons baggage.

Nothing like a carrier owned by oil-rich sheiks trying an additional Western World shakedown because of "overweight" baggage that supposedly would add weight to their fuel costs.

I've been getting a lot of this in MXP lately. It's seems to be down to the subcontracted ground-staff, who someone seems to have done a great job of disciplining to obey the rules! Calling over a uniformed EY rep seems to work, at MXP at least.

Off-topic, but I've discovered that this trend is picking up also at Easyjet in Europe. Specifically, they are religiously adhering in some airports (MXP, SXF, but not GVA, AMS) to the "one bag" rule - meaning a laptop bag and spinner is too much, and the spinner needs to be checked.

This sucks big time. They don't give a weight allowance to carry-on, but they force you to stuff your laptop bag into the spinner, and it doesn't always fit. I'm not always in the mood of putting on all of my clothes in order to get the laptop bag into my carry-on for the 20 meter walk to the stairs/bus, and if I am off an EY flight onto a series of 3 Easyjets, as I was last week, well I don't want to suddenly have to check my bag every time at every airport and wait at the end for it to emerge. Certainly EZY are trying to force people to check bags to make more money - but there is no provision to pay that money and carry everything on, which is what the "business traveller" that they make such a fuss about wanting to appeal to, genuinely wants.

Unfortunately, Easyjet doesn't offer any form of status (apart from a dumb speedy boarding subscription that gives you the privilege of looking like a tosser at the front of a budget airline queue, with a lovely fluorescent orange bag tag to boot), and given that they know how to charge an arm and a leg on last-minute fares like the best of them, I can see a good deal of my future EU miles going to someone that will give me status and allow me to carry my slightly heavy, slightly bulging bag onto the aircraft without forcing me to put on 2 shirts, a sweater, a sports jacket and an overcoat in order to stagger 20 meters to the steps of an aircraft only to strip everything off onto the adjacent 2 seats once I get to my seat. Whomever ultimately takes on my business will allow me to pass in peace, complicit in the knowledge that I will fly with them 20 or 30 times a year in return for being allowed to board their airplane without hinderance.

I'm suggesting to myself www.flyblink.com - unfortunately though, I don't think I can quite afford it yet.

Rant over :)

I regularly fly EY from MCT, MAN and MNL with handbaggage only, in Pearl J. My hand baggage normally consists of a max size hand carry (which on occasions has weight 25kg), laptop bag, suit carrier and sometimes a duty free bag. I've never had an issue at any of these airports.

MXP was considerably better this morning - meaning the attention of an extra check-in agent and they didn't weigh my bag. :)

Agents at this godawful lounge still don't know what an "Elite" is, but that's no major drama, as fast track also works now. The check-in agent wrote "Fast Track" on my boarding card - it seems that SEA (MXP) is a bit slow to cop on :)

Flight boarding...