Originally Posted by
EU-US
I stand corrected (although it doesn't help that the page is long and confusing, and contradicts itself - says "only one piece" and you have to scroll down 3 PAGES to where is says, only one piece means only one piece, plus this, plus that...). And, looking at this in disbelief, because this makes it even worse - I clearly told the a*hole at the gate that I had a computer and cameras in the "huge and too heavy" hand luggage. Did he tell me to remove the computer (could have done it easily, it was in its own bag) or the cameras (one for me, one for my wife - an easy solution)?
NO. Although this was about half of the weight in my carry-on... he told me that since my carry-on was too heavy, I could choose between checking it in or not flying.
So, since I have been accused with overreacting, let me restate "my story" in simple terms:
A self-important Lufthansa employee decided to pick on me, *assuming* (not even knowing) my hand luggage was larger than allowed and too heavy, instead of offering me one of the easily available solutions, he cherry-picked the one rule based on which he could refuse his airline's service to me on a flight which was only 2/3 full, although (and I am sure he knew this full well) there was another rule, using which the problem could have been easily solved, and service provided. He went as far on his mission as to even cause the flight to be delayed, just to make sure he won his battle.
Now that's service with a smile!
Conclusion: a*hole wins battle "for LH", loses war (and a customer).
Simple as that.
So, now it is LH fault that it published its baggage rule in a way that does not suit your intellectual abilities of reading and comprehension? If you are not familiar with the rules of the airline you are going to travel, it's worth spending a bit of a time understanding them (and for me, the way the rules are explained on lh.com are rather self-explanatory).
Secondly, the fact the the flight was only 2/3 empty does not have to do anything wit the fact that you luggage was overweight. Even if you were the only passenger on A388, an agent has the right to deny you boarding in case your luggage does not meet LH requirements. By the same token, if you were the only passenger on a flight and had 10 bags at 100 kg/each to check in, would the fact that you are the only passenger on the flight allow you to bend the rules and check in all your luggage. Dura lex sed lex. While of course there could have been a compromise on part of LH to handle this issue, in pure legal terms, they did not do anything they were not supposed to. You have a contract with LH about transportation, the terms and conditions of which you did not abide by. LH followed its procedure and denied you boarding because you did not comply with the rules. Since you (I assume) were on a re-bookable ticket, they offered you to fly later, at a fee and under condition that your luggage would meet LH requirements.
Next time, do read through a list of rules.