Originally Posted by
deepbluesky
Take the OP's advice and be sure to queue in advance for boarding, get to the airport early, etc. It won't be awful or anything, but you do want to fight for your right to carry-on. This is true of all flights to Africa, although I see you're going to LGW.
I'll take the OP's advice in a slightly different direction. I have got carry-on down to a minimalist art (perfected on the EDI-SYY route where anything but the tiniest bag simply wouldn't fit on the shelf of the SAAB 340). I will have a bag with a couple of changes of t-shirt and underwear, some pills, a shaver and a book. Anything else will go in the hold, and the carry-on can go under the seat in front and still leave room for my feet. I shall watch with detached interest as everyone else fights for space.