Originally Posted by
Dave Noble
Qantas's website is explicitly clear on what the maximum weight is for cabin baggage; if you took overweight cabin baggage , then that is your fault and the staff were perfectly correct in requiring it to be checked in
That you have got away with it a lot of times has no relevance
Virgin also has published limits too and you may have occasion where Virgin staff do the same , so be prepared with a 3rd carrier to use for when that happens
Rules may be rules, but their application requires competency and may have a downside.
There are sound reasons for not enforcing the weight limits too strictly:
1. The weigh scales at the gate will have some degree of error in their accuracy - the passenger should not be penalised if their carry on falls within such range of expected error
2. The weigh scales may not be used competently - for example if the load is not distributed horizontally - the passenger should not be penalised for mishandling of the scales
3. The weigh scales may not be "zeroed" properly so that readings may be consistent, but not accurate - the passenger should not be penalised for inaccurate results
4. The passenger may weigh their carry on in good faith on their own bathroom scales, which for many reasons may not themselves provide a reading aligning with that of the QF scales - a passenger who is trying to follow the rules ends up being penalised
5. A passenger may have one carry on item, but be allowed two at 7kg - their one carry on item could be over 7kg and under 14kg meaning they are within the overall limit, but still technically in breach
6. QF will quite simply piss off a lot of its customers since many will inevitably perceive the policy as overly draconian, especially if they are only over the 7kg by a reasonable margin ("reasonable" being as they would perceive it)
7. The airline is creating more work and delays by diverting bags to the hold from the gate
IIRC QF used to have a 10kg limit (?).
JQ as of fairly recently will now allow an upgrade to a 10kg by purchasing the 3kg.
How long until QF follows the JQ model and we'll realise this was just step one of a revenue raising gambit by an airline with a CEO with an LCC mindset.
IF JQ cabin crew can cope with 10kg carry on, then so can QF (given that the 737 bins are load assisted)!