I, personally, have never flown FC (tho hope to some day!). My Mother In Law always flies FC....sometimes paying and sometimes upgrading.

I am not saying this circumstance DESERVED SPECIAL TREATMENT....I am just trying to illustrate how strict + inflexible things have become.

My husband just took her to SNA to check in for her SNA-DFW-Gatwick flight home. One of her bags was over the limit by 7 lbs. They told her either "take out the 7 lbs or pay $390 extra"

She buys a lot of stuff here to take back to London, but I had on idea she had gotten enough stuff to weigh her bags beforehand (like I do for ours).

There they were in front of the FC check in with her luggage spread out...trying to get out the 7 lbs

So, the moral of the story is WEIGH YOUR BAGS. There is no leeway it seems....whether you be a frequent traveler, a senior citizen, or a FC passenger (of which she is all).