Originally Posted by eefor jfp

I have never had anything like this happen on LH--they have always been quite good with me. However, last time I flew BA transatlantic (back in 1998) they insisted I check my regulation sized carry-on because it was a few kilos overweight. We were returning to Europe from our wedding reception in California and had wedding gifts in our carry on that were valuable. We were frustrated by her insistence and we were forced to buy another bag so that we could split the load and check part of our things. The agent would not budge and it was check it or fly. Policy was policy and eight kilos was the limit (actually, I think it was 6 kilos in economy back then). To cap it all off, the plane was almost completely empty (my wife and I each had a whole row on a 747 to ourselves) and there was plenty of space in the overhead bins and under the seats (our small carry-ons were each all alone in a bin).

The point is: the agent was technically right but her enforcement of the strict rules was unnecessary given that the flight was maybe 25% full. We FELT wronged ("they should make an exception for us since we're newlyweds") and we haven't bought another major ticket on BA since.

So if the OP feels he was unfairly treated (like seeing others being allowed with larger carry-ons or being told later by his friends that there was plenty of room in the bins), I can understand how frustrated he would feel and how he would want to vent his frustration and share his story (I told all my friends about how BA treated us). Our travel budget isn't that large (a few transatlantic trips every year in economy and maybe 5-10 intra-European trips)--maybe $10,000 a year--but BA hasn't seen a dime of it over the last decade.

Anyway EU-US, you have my sympathy. Even if the agent was right, they way he handled it wasn't as good as it could have been and I can understand how you probably feel.