Originally Posted by
jimrpa
So, on my way to GUM recently, I was traveling with my trusty TUMI rollaboard that has faithfully served me for several years on many delta aircraft. Sometimes, the bins need to be ... assertively closed, but it absolutely DOES fit in every mainline aircraft overhead (and I do apologize in advance if all the bins on the longer side are full with ladies handbags, shopping bags, laptop bags and such, and i'm forced to put it in sideways on the shorter vin side).
Anyway, I get to the TSA Pre security checkpoint at PHL and I'm about to roll on past the person who normally just patrols the point to keep the non-Pre people out of the line, and she motions me over to the collection of sizers from various airlines she has, and she tells me I must put my bag into the Delta sizer. Now, my bag was NOT overstuffed or anything, but for some reason the stupid Tumi was NOT going to fit in the long way, the stupid handle opposite the wheels just wouldn't go down. So, TSA lady tells me I have to go down to Delta. She tells me that this is a new policy that the airlines are making the TSA enforce. I'm not going to argue with her, since she's just a low-level person trying to make a buck, so I go marching on downstairs to the Delta ticket counter and explain that my Tumi has been with me for years without a problem and what the heck's going on. The Ticket Agent was surprised and hadn't heard anything of this, but it happened that the station manager was just getting into work and walking by, so the TA calls the station manager over to ask what's going on. The station manager takes on look at me and my bag and responds "That's NOT supposed to happen with one of our Platinum Million Milers. Come with me!" and she marches me back up to the TSA checkpoint, and explains to the checkpoint lady who she is and that I'm to be let through. I felt a bit bad for the checkpoint lady because the checkpoint lady was explaining to the station manager that she was just following a new directive that they had received. (Mind you, at no time did I play the DYKWIA card. In fact, I have an old GOLD MM card on my bag because it happened to be one of the ones that has my SM card on it. I suspect the station manager figured things out by looking at my PNR on the screen.)
That's a little surprising. Customer service agents are trained not to mess around with federal regulations. Enforcing the carry-on size policy is a federal regulation, and CSAs who have gone to a training class would know that the carry-on size policy applies to all customers... even a celebrity DM/MM. An $11,000 fine is an $11,000 fine. I wouldn't call violating a regulation good customer service. Delta CSAs break the rules all the time to help customers, but the law should never be broken, even if it's a stupid law (like carry-on size).
The carry-on size box doesn't determine if your bag will fit; it determines whether it meets the airline's carry-on size policy, and the airline is required to make a policy and enforce it by the FAA. I could fit in an overhead bin; it doesn't mean I'm carry-on size or I should go in the bin. Having items that can fit in the bin but aren't carry-on size-compliant is unfair to other passengers with carry-on bags who have to check theirs because the bins filled up with other peoples' large bags.
All that being said, I only have someone place their bag in the size check if they ask if it's carry-on size or if it's very obviously oversized.
The TSA officer was just doing her job, and she was doing it better than the station manager apparently.