Mr_Ed

I have heard from two different pax one flying out of NRT and one from DXB both last week in Y that EK seem to suddenly be enforcing rules around hand luggage. One pax had a 7.2kg laptop bag that was not allowed on board while the other had their suit bag also denied because it was a second piece.

Anyone heard or seen anything?

eternaltransit

I just departed from LGW and BKK in the last week with 2 pieces of hand baggage, one of which was 9kg (although not measured) and it was fine - in Y.

Obviously this is not technically allowed but haven't seen anything drastic about enforcement at the moment.

pomkiwi

I wonder if it depends on loads (pax and cargo) at least in part? I've seen some flights with a strict line being taken and then a few months later no weighing at all on the same flight (ex Australia)

eternaltransit

It definitely does!

ukdoctor

IMHO after a decade of flying on EK, the rules on carry on bags depend on the class of booking and your skywards status and also the airport you are travelling from.

On Y be prepared for the worst depending on the aiport of travel. More generous in J and with F you can literally get away with murder:-) as long as you don't break the size rule.

Even in the UK there are airports where they are very strict and weigh all hand luggage in Y like MAN and there are airports where they never weigh hand luggage (unless it looks very big)like LGW.

FlyWorld

I just landed in PRG after flying SEZ-DXB-PRG on EK.

The carry-on enforcement was brutal and shocking at DXB. The situation was so unusual that I stopped by here to see if there was any dialog about it.

I routinely fly with a Rimowa Pilot Case that counts as my "carry on" and a Tumi Alpha laptop case that counts as my personal item. I've flown hundreds of thousands of miles on many airlines all around the world in this configuration and have not once been stopped. The Rimowa is a few KG over the published limits for most airlines but no airline has ever weighed it except for very small aircraft. They're usually satisfied with the fact that it's obviously smaller than allowable size for a carry on.

We checked in at SEZ and everything was normal. I boarded the 777 to DXB with my luggage and nobody said a word.

We had a long layover at DXB so I checked these carry on bags at left luggage and went into the city for a while. Upon returning to the airport, and going to the gate area, all passengers were forced into a line and their carry on bags were individually weighed on a digital scale.

Passengers with more than one carry on were denied entry (i.e. the normal "one carry on and one personal item" rule did not exist with EK) and even something as small as a laptop case was cause for denial of entry. If anyone raised a question, they pointed to the word "1" on a sign posted above the scale, and if anyone pushed back, they pulled the passenger out of the queue and told them to protest in another area but they were steadfast and brutal about enforcement of the "1 item" with no exceptions and no allowance for what other airlines accept as a personal item.

If a bag weighed even a fraction of a KG over 7 KG, they would lecture the passenger on the weight limit. If it broke 8 KG, they'd be more harsh. And, if it approached 9 KG or higher, the passenger was denied entry.

I tried to fight this at the front line, but my protests fell on deaf ears. I was told to go back to the check-in counter to check a bag and make sure the remaining one was under 7 KG. I protested at the check-in counter but the agent didn't budge. I saw a supervisor, and she didn't budge, saying this is the rule, and that's it.

I was on a very long trip and carrying a lot of valuable and critical electronic equipment. Nothing in my carry on could safely be checked. So, I spent almost half an hour carefully selecting 7 KG worth of stuff that I could carry with my Tumi Alpha, and put the rest into the Rimowa then checked it.

When I got through the entrance control, I made a point of observing what other passengers were carrying. It was obvious that at least 40% of all passengers in the gate area were in violation of this rule, having either a bag that was obviously more than 7 KG in weight or having a full sized carry on and also what a normal airline would consider a "personal item" as well. None of these passengers could have gotten through the entrance controls at DXB, so from this and from my experience, I conclude that this rule is not being enforced at most airports outside DXB and that it is not enforced in DXB for connecting passengers provided that such passengers don't leave the airport and re-enter, as we did.

This was my first time flying EK and the experience was fantastic in all respects except for this. I can't fly with only 1 item and a weight of < 7 KG, so as a result of this policy, I most likely will never fly EK again.

Based on the fact that this issue was recently raised in this thread, it sounds like this is a new policy.

DYKWIA

Well, this thread was started in 2014, so hardly new. The cabin baggage allowances are :-

First Class and Business Class customers are permitted two pieces of carry-on baggage: one briefcase plus either one handbag or one garment bag. The briefcase may not exceed 18 x 14 x 8 inches (45 x 35 x 20cm); the handbag may not exceed 22 x 15 x 8 inches (55 x 38 x 20cm); the garment bag can be no more than 8 inches (20cm) thick when folded. The weight of each piece must not exceed 7kg (15lb).

Economy Class customers are permitted one piece of carry-on baggage, either a handbag or laptop bag, that may not exceed 22 x 15 x 8 inches (55 x 38 x 20cm) and must weigh no more than 15lb (7kg).

m3red

No one cares in f. I regularly carry 3 plus bags on!

ft101

Great to hear this and hope it spreads throughout the network, and to other airlines. Get rid of all the "junk" that is brought on board.

If it was done at the gate, as you describe, I don't see how transit pax and those leaving the airport would be treated differently.

eternaltransit

I think the absolute worst part is the inconsistency of it - on the occasions where you get it enforced strictly on size and weight you get to the transit stop and you see all sorts of shenanigans. Leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

DYKWIA

^

I flew a lot on BA after the liquids scare, and everyone was limited to one small bag. It was great... Boarding completed in 10 minutes, and off we went

FlyWorld

It was not done at the gate. It was done in the check-in area.

EK created a "roped in" area in front of the area where you proceed to the gates. So, you go to check-in lobby, check-in, and then go into this baggage control regime where your bags are counted, checked, and weighed, and then after passing through that new control, you go to immigration, security, and gates. So if you transit within the secure area from gate to gate, you're not subjected to this control. If you leave the airport and re-enter, you get snared by it. As a result, two pax on the same exact itinerary are treated very differently depending on whether or not they choose to leave the secure area on a long layover.

I'm amazed that anyone considers "one bag less than 7kg" to be reasonable.

skywardhunter

That pre security check has been at DXB for a bit. I've gone through it in June. When they wouldn't let me in with my roll-aboard and slim laptop case (14 inch laptop) I walked away and tried again when they were arguing with someone else. Just walked past.

I am in favour of sensible enforcement. And that is more size than weight related. If I check it in the net weight of the aircraft is still the same so weight based enforcement doesn't have much of a point beyond protecting overhead bins from overloading but on average I'm sure they're still rarely ever over the limit even with everyone putting a 10kg case in. Backpackers with the 1m backpack with all gadgets attached however shouldn't be allowed on, nor the full size suitcase variety. I sacrifice additional luggage space to be able to travel without checked bags and stay within size limits. I'm typically about 4-5kg over and am never stopped or if I am usually talk my way out of it pretty quickly. Never been stopped during boarding where in India every other group is pulled aside to be gate checked. The trick is to make the bag look light when you lift it.

FlyWorld

We tried that strategy. Walked away then tried to re-enter through another control point. There was zero leniency for anyone.

The "make it look light" strategy also didn't work because they were putting every bag on a digital scale. My Rimowa case is about 60% of the allowable size for a carry on, so it does look light. I've seen agents at LH and AC walk through the gate area and randomly select passengers for a "human lift test". I've only been selected once for that, and even though I was a few KG over the limit, it was no issue, because the human was testing for reasonable weight, not measuring every fraction of a kilo for compliance with a 7 KG limit.

Anyhow, I guess for those who frequently fly EK, this rule and enforcement of it is normal.

I'll stick with reasonable airlines that follow global standards for my future travel.

skywardhunter

Well 7kg is actually a global standard. It'd the one item on Y that isn't.