PUCCI GALORE

My negative impression was wiped by the charming and delightful FA aboard the flight who was in seat next to me as we were in the Emergency Row. We nattered all the way to the runway and belts off.

I do understand about the weight but am used to BA's 23 kg BUT the passenger much be able to lift it. I watch little frail old ladies dragging bags with them - trying to save money I expect - and they expect the bag to be lifted for them as gentlemen will do so. HI did that and nearly did his back in. God alone knows what she had in there. Still 12 kg is terrible LCC IMHO. As I say - until the airlines guarantee that your bag is delivered in 5 minutes of arriving in the baggage hall, and that it will be undamaged and untampered - then I prefer not to check it.

That said our bags were up almost as soon as we got to the baggage belt at NTE - MOST impressed (last flight so maybe they all wanted to go home!)

BigFlyer

So what happens if when waiting on the passport line one politely declines the invitation of the baggage weigher to present one's bags to be weighed? The bag weigher would not know your name to make a notation in your PNR. Would they call the police to have you arrested? Would they tell the passport control guy to not let you leave? Or would they just do nothing?

SDQBound

I politely declined back in december and as I noted before, they will not let you through and will send you to the counter.

catsniper75

Goldorak

I have almost never seen them in 2F and certainly never in the SP lanes (especially the dedicated one on the left).
Those guys are in 2E all the time, in the regular lane going to passport control. I have again seen them last week.

SDQBound

Checks were in force a few weeks ago in 2F after passport control when coming from 2E. Never seen them before.

Goldorak

brunos

Then the bag is checked in at the plane door and it goes into the hold. Many airlines have format gauge at the gate to check bag dimensions. BA is a strict enforcer. On full flights they even ask/force pax to do check legit hand luggage.

Goldorak

At the gate, yes I can understand that, but what SDQBound is reporting is not at the gate. It's in the connection corridor between 2E and 2F so that's why I said it was a weird place to make this check because if you are not compliant, I don't know what you do.

brunos

I understand now. This is indeed illogical as Mr Spock would say.

mysterym

I have flown hundreds of times, never checked a bag except when flying small commuter jets

Flew for my first (and second) time on Air France recently

I have to say that two AF flights we took we were met with extremely rude staff, both in the airport and at the gate

Leaving LHR to CDG, while at the gate, a GA beelined past others with carry-ons, past me, and approached my SO who was standing next to me. Asked if she would like to gate check her carry-on which she said "no thank you." Then the GA became extremely rude in a tone of voice and asked "are you sure" and she said "no thank you". He then became threatening and said "oh we'll see about this" so I calmly and nicely interjected and said "she thanks you for asking but she prefers to keep her carry-on with her" at which point he said "now your bag is getting taken too". My bag was the same size as hers to begin with so methinks he was purposefully singling her out. How did he know we werent paid F (we weren't but just saying). My observations were that no one else was hassled about their bags and others made it onto the flight with their bags which appeared larger with no problem. There was plenty of available overhead space and larger bags than we had would've fit. No clue what that was all about but we agreed not to make a stink (in the USA I probably would've summoned a manager or supervisor because that exchange was rude, threatening, and unacceptable). Not a nice greeting to someone flying an airline for the first time.

Thinking this was an anomaly, we were met with rudeness again at CDG on a flight out of there (45 minute flight BTW). Entering the check-in line, no one else being stopped with bags the same size or larger than ours, we were whisked away to put our bags on this lovely scale this thread topic is focusing on. A few lbs over, I said we'll remove some items and was told no, you need to check, we will not let you enter. So we were directed to use the computers to pay for checking bags that would normally be accepted anywhere else as carry-on. We ended up paying basically the same price for checked bags as our fare originally cost. We tried to use the computer, put in credit card, it says error. Go to ask someone for help. Try another computer, a different credit card, same error. Go back and they say no the computers work try again. Third computer, third credit card, no workie. Go back to this stand we have now been at several times. One person in front of me. Another passenger from behind physically pushes me aside and says he is next. I say no, I was standing in line, you were not behind me, you just walked up. Exchanges some words in french with the AF staffer at this stand, AF staffer says no he was before you, I said no. She then says she is closed bye bye. Go to someone else, they say use the computers. At this point we have wasted something like 30 minutes. I finally see someone at a counter off in the distance, they are not talking to anyone so I walk up and nicely ask for assistance. Thankfully this individual was kind enough to help us, charged us for our checked bags, and then told us we had to use another computer to drop them. Guess what. First computer, start the process, error comes up, machine now says out of service. Second computer, same thing. Third computer thankfully worked. An American who is a frequent traveler who was standing next to me said this is unfortunately common place and AF likes singling out Americans and the computers always break.

What kind of sh*t airline is Air France? I have never experienced anything like this in all of my hundreds of flights before. It was a complete joke and I will never ever fly AF again. Its not only a money grab but a bad taste left from the rudeness and threatening.

Ditto

Putting aside the LHR story which doesn't sound nice indeed, what were you expecting here? You admit yourself your carry on was over the allowed weight, AF already has a relatively (to other EU carriers) generous carry on weight of 12KG.

mysterym

What was I expecting? Not to be treated like we were. We were very nice to everyone. Further, their computers/systems do not work and their staff are rude. Things were not busy at all yet it took 30+ minutes trying to print off a tag and drop a bag. I can only imagine if things were busy how much more of a cluster it would've been.

NickB

So, let me get this right. You have only flown twice with Air France. On both of these unrelated occasions, the gate or check-in agents let everyone else alone and zoomed in on you and your partner to ask you to check you in your bags.
So we are looking for an explanation as to why the AF agents targetted you specifically and absolutely no-one else not just once but on both occasions. Prima facie, I can think of three possible explanations:
1) you have 3 heads and that attracted attention;
2) one of your former lovers has made voodoo dolls of you and stuck some particularly vicious pins in it;
3) your bag or your partner's bag looked bigger than others.

More seriously, yes, some agents can be more abrupt than others but in hundreds and hundreds of flights, I have never found AF agents (or their handling agents) to be especially rude.

catsniper75