Originally Posted by
Xyzzy
S
, if a tennis bag contains a racket, balls,
and an empty water bottle is it compliant? We're talking about a customer service issue here. There has to be some amount of common sense used. Clearly, the defined rules do not (and really can never) take into account every situation. At some point people need to use their heads.
With regard to the pictures, the 'large bag' picture could be from when the passenger alleged that the GA fluffed the bag into the largest dimensions possible. I don't think we know what was inside it at that point. It could have been the backpack and tennis rackets and lots of air or just those items. We just don't know.
Zhang did not pull out an empty water bottle. Zhang pulled out another bag from within the tennis bag (in order to make the tennis bag compliant). That is what took her to 3 carry-ons. While I wasn't there, I will guess that Zhang argued with the GA, one of the two took the racquets from the bag and then the GA said you now have 7 items. That's absolutely true -- carry-on baggage is not measured by weight but by count. Put the items back in the bag and 7 drops to 3. But that's still over by 1.
If "good customer service" means allowing someone to carry on 3 items, then just delete the 2 item limit and replace it with a 3 item limit. "Random customer service" means having a 2 item limit but if a DYKWIA pitches a fit, the limit magically goes up to 3, something that benefits the DYKWIA at the detriment to the other 99% of passengers who only bring 2 items on board.
Just sticking to 2 items fills up the overhead bins before boarding is complete anyway. Allowing people to bring on whatever they want means the overhead bins will fill up by the end of boarding group 1!