dirtboy

Today my girlfriend and I were boarding an HP flight from PHX to OAK. Each of us was travelling with a 21" roller suitcase and a small, school-sized backpack as carry-on. I boarded the plane without hassle, but my grilfriend was stopped by the gate agent, who informed her that she was only allowed one carry-on and would have to check her other item. Of course, my girlfriend responded that the backpack was a personal item, and she had flown with the carry-on configuration countless times. The gate agent replied that the FAA did not allow backpacks as personal items.

Meanwhile, I had just walked into the jetway with my own small backpack and roller. My girlfriend went ahead and allowed the gate agent to put a gate check tag on her suitcase, then ripped it off in the jetway and stowed the suitcase in an overhead bin. A few minutes later, another gate agent boarded the plane, demanded that my girlfriend surrender her suitcase, and returned it to the jetway for gate check.

While waiting on the plane, I called the elite line, and a reservations agent confirmed that the official HP allowed carry-on items include "purses, briefcases, laptops, camera bags, and small daypacks (i.e. backpacks)." Even in light of this information, the flight attendants and another gate agent deferred to an original gate agent, saying "she must have had her reasons."

We waited 20 minutes at the baggage claim.

Has anybody else had such an experience with the HP carry-on gestapo?

Centurion

I think the HP employee was getting back at you since they could have checked the backpack like a stroller so you picked it up on the jetway as you departed the plane.

Do not anger any HP employees that handle luggage just ask some former America West CEO's. Folklore has it they would fly one direction and their luggage would go the opposite direction. Smile Frankie

dirtboy

for what reason would the employee getting back at me? she confronted us while we boarded the plane with a perfectly vaild set of carry-on luggage.

JenniferNAz

Not to long after 9/11 I had a backpack, as well as a small suitecase with me, just as you described.

I was the first one boarding, sitting in first class.

The gate agent told me the same thing. I was so ticked. According to her logic, a man can carry a backpack as a personal item, but a woman can not.

I got onto the plane, and told the flight attendant. She was part of a temporary crew, just waiting for the crew for the flight to arrive, and she really didn't care.

Many others came on with much larger bags, plus suitecases. 2 others came up to compain to the flight attendants when they saw this.

When the new crew boarded, the FA was very nice and said she would have gotten my bag for me, but it had already been taken down.

The reasoning behind this is supposed to be due to space limitations. There were 4 sitting in FC, on an Airbus that has 12 FC seats, and I was the only one who put anything in any FC overhead bin.

Needless to say I was very ticked off. So, I read and now have a plan for the future!

If this happens, I would first show the gate agent the carry-on rules, as listed in your ticket jacket pocket. If you can't find it there, you can always request she gets a magazine from the plane, the rules are in the back of every America West magazine. It clearly states that a backpack is a 'personal item'.

If this doesn't work, tell the gate agent you would like to speak with a supervisor. They are the ones around the terminal in the red jackets. I have been told that they will be happy to be sure that the rules are followed as they should be, and not just based upon the whim of the gate agent.

I have a feeling just doing any of the above would make the gate agent think twice, and let you pass.

I would suggest writing to the airline and letting them know how you were treated.

I am sorry to hear this is still happening, maybe the same gate agent?!?!

Centurion

Look I just have three words. Just be nice.
Eample: "Could you please make an exception im in the first cabin?" or "Could you please make an exception im platinum elite?"
Being nice gets you much further now a days than being firm. I do not care what the rules say. Many times my wife and I have been asked to check and just being nice has gone a long way to easy flying. Do you really want to get into a war over a backpack that may be a personal article?
You ticked off the crew so they made sure your back pack went to the bagage carosel. I think you lucky you got the backback. You should know it is a federal crime to not obey an airline employee now a days

Centurion

Let me clarify...the employee was getting back at your wife for not leaving the bag at the end of the jetway..imho...I don't care if your backpack fit in you pocket inside your billfold..the rules do not matter anymore.

Ken in Phx

I say stop whining about your carry ons and be lucky you only waited 20 min in baggage. Just think.....if everyone tried to carry their luggage on, youd have to check it anyway, because there would be no space.

JenniferNAz

I don't think anyone is whinning here. If they have rules set forth, and you follow them, then why should a GA just be able to change those becuase of their mood or some other reason? Obviously, if the overhead bins are getting full, and there looks to be an issue with space, that would be a very valid reason. In my case, I was the second person boarding, on a flight that was less than half full, so this was not the situation in this case. If there is another valid reason, then that is fine also, they should simply tell the pax what that is. "A backpack can not be a personal item" is not a valid reason, due to the fact that it clearly states in the America West magazine, on their website, as well as in the ticket jacket pocket that it is.

I am always very nice to everyone who works at the airline, I see no reason not to be. If they do something that doesn't seem right, of course I will politely ask them about it. In my case I did just that. I told her that one was my carry-on and one was my personal item. They were not excessive in any way, not crammed full, etc. I did not agree with what she said, but followed it. I am sure that if it was you, that you would have also been a bit upset when you saw at least 10 others get on board with the same size small suitecase, and bigger bags, overstuff, as well as a purse in many cases.

This is not about whining or getting my way. This is about me following all the rules they set forth, and wanting those followed on their end also.

I had good reasons in my case for why I packed what I did. I knew I had someone waiting for me on the other end, and at this time the past 4 times I had checked baggage, it had been lost, delayed or damaged. I knew I didn't have time for that, and so I made sure I packed a very small suitecase, so there wouldn't be an issue.

I agree we should all be nice, as that will usually get you much further in life.

I also think that I fly America West on a regular basis (this is my 4th year as a Gold), and that the respect and niceness should go both ways, for not only the FF, but for every customer. Luckily for me, most of the time it does.

Centurion

I was not saying you were not nice. It just seems being nice goes further than anything post 9-11. Let me just say that I have been very nice and have happened to get an AW employee who absolutely went out of her way to make my life difficult while traveling on HP during a family vacation (denied my family access to Club and then called gate to cause more problems )I could only hope that I looked like a bad ex-husband and she was not this terriable person to everyone flying. I often drive myself between PHX and various california locations just to avoid the cr p. I can promise you HP is losing plenty of customers who go back and fourth to california and just do not want to deal with airline and now federal employees.

dirtboy

Your comment is logically flawed. *Somebody* should be allowed to use the overhead bin space. One of the main reasons FC/elite preboarding is a perk is that the airline's best customers can carry-on their single suitcase so they don't have to wait at the baggage claim. If there's no room for the last group(s) of Y passangers to carry-on their luggage, then they should check it.

dknn

I just flew HP for the first time on Tuesday (7/8) and had no problems boarding with a roll on suit case and a back pack. I was seated in the first class cabin. However my friend had stowed his carry on over row 3(we were seated in row 1) and the FA removed his luggage and placed it in the oversized luggage area (never heard of this before). After asking the first class attendant where his bag went, she called the other FA and he returned it. The whole thing made no sense. Why would he remove the luggage?

TransWorldOne

Perhaps someone sitting in row 3 needed the space and they were unable to figure out who the luggage belonged to (so they could ask permission to or notify about the move) until your friend asked for its return.