Nov 21, 2016, 8:48 pm
Last edit by: JDiver
American Airlines Carry-On Baggage Limits
Strict enforcement directive issued 28 August 2015)
Strict enforcement directive issued 28 August 2015)
American Airlines Carry-on baggage (link)
Q. Why is AA suddenly becoming so picky about sizing bags?
A. AA formulates carry on baggage policy that meets FAA criteria as well as airline established criteria; these are submitted to the FAA and if approved become the airline's policy. If the airline repeatedly violated their FAA-approved policy, they can be held accountable by the FAA. Recently, during an FAA audit, AA was found to be violating its FAA-approved carry on policy.
What can I carry on?
You can bring 1 carry-on bag and 1 personal item per person (exception: infants. Exception: some regional aircraft have insufficient bin space for otherwise "legal" bags, so carry-on bags might be limited, or even prohibited. If the latter, they will usually be "valet checked" airside and delivered at the jetway before you enter the gate area.
Carry-on bag
Your carry-on bag should be: You can travel with horizontal rolling and/or hanging garment bags as your carry-on bag if: You can also carry on a soft-sided garment bag of up to 51in or 130cm (length + width + height)
Personal item
Your personal item must be smaller than your carry-on, able to fit under the seat in front of you and can include: Additional allowed items
You can also bring: Liquids and restricted items
TSA allows certain duty-free liquids through security in your carry-on bag if they’re properly packaged in a security tamper-evident bag (STEB). If you’re traveling with liquids or are unsure about any item, please contact the TSA.
For more, e.g. special items, etc. please use link
Q. Why is AA suddenly becoming so picky about sizing bags?
A. AA formulates carry on baggage policy that meets FAA criteria as well as airline established criteria; these are submitted to the FAA and if approved become the airline's policy. If the airline repeatedly violated their FAA-approved policy, they can be held accountable by the FAA. Recently, during an FAA audit, AA was found to be violating its FAA-approved carry on policy.
What can I carry on?
You can bring 1 carry-on bag and 1 personal item per person (exception: infants. Exception: some regional aircraft have insufficient bin space for otherwise "legal" bags, so carry-on bags might be limited, or even prohibited. If the latter, they will usually be "valet checked" airside and delivered at the jetway before you enter the gate area.
Carry-on bag
Your carry-on bag should be:
- Up to 45 inches (22 x 14 x 9 in or 115 centimeters (23 x 36 x 56 cm) including handles and wheels
- Able to fit comfortably into the sizer we’ve provided at the airport
- Please note, you’ll also need to be able to lift your bag into the overhead bin
- They fit comfortably in the bag sizer
- They measure up to 22" length x 14" width x 9" height or 115cm (56 x 36 x 23 cm)
Personal item
Your personal item must be smaller than your carry-on, able to fit under the seat in front of you and can include:
- A purse
- A briefcase
- A laptop bag
- Similar items such as a tote
You can also bring:
- Outerwear such as coats, wraps and hats
- A book or newspaper
- A small bag of food to eat on the flight
- An approved safety seat for a lap or ticketed child
- A pillow or blanket
- An umbrella stroller for a lap or ticketed child
- A diaper bag for a lap or ticketed child
- Duty free items
- Assistive devices (e.g. wheelchairs, walkers, portable oxygen concentrators, CPAP machines etc.)
- Breast pump
TSA allows certain duty-free liquids through security in your carry-on bag if they’re properly packaged in a security tamper-evident bag (STEB). If you’re traveling with liquids or are unsure about any item, please contact the TSA.
For more, e.g. special items, etc. please use link
22 x 14 x 10
So today I took measurements of the sizer at my airport... There is obviously some slippage and subjectivity in the eye of (s)he who must be obeyed due to the open ended 1/4" lines outlining the baggage dimensions placed either horizontally or vertically. But, strictly speaking, the outside edge of the lines are 22' and 14". The depth is a definitive full 10 inches from the back board to the inner side of the metal tube running low laterally across the front of the sizer. This is the current sizer that I measured:
22 x 14 x 10
...We are given a 22 x 14 x 9 but there is some room to maneuver. We have 22" and 14" with a very subjective but limited amount of slippage. And there is definitely 10" of depth.
The subjectivity would be greatly reduced if the sizers were constructed, as Delta's, to form a full sided box.
Those on the margin should really test their bags in advance in all of the different positions to see which allows the most favorable view of its size if required to use the sizer at the gate.
So today I took measurements of the sizer at my airport... There is obviously some slippage and subjectivity in the eye of (s)he who must be obeyed due to the open ended 1/4" lines outlining the baggage dimensions placed either horizontally or vertically. But, strictly speaking, the outside edge of the lines are 22' and 14". The depth is a definitive full 10 inches from the back board to the inner side of the metal tube running low laterally across the front of the sizer. This is the current sizer that I measured:
22 x 14 x 10
...We are given a 22 x 14 x 9 but there is some room to maneuver. We have 22" and 14" with a very subjective but limited amount of slippage. And there is definitely 10" of depth.
The subjectivity would be greatly reduced if the sizers were constructed, as Delta's, to form a full sided box.
Those on the margin should really test their bags in advance in all of the different positions to see which allows the most favorable view of its size if required to use the sizer at the gate.
AA e-mail to customer re: carry on baggage
and
Comparison of USA airlines carry-on limits Apr '25 by Outdoor Gear Lab
and
Airline carry on variances and the new IATA recommended standard
and
New IATA recommended standard vs. current common
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AA carry on / carryon baggage rules & enforcement (master thd)
Sep 18, 2017, 9:44 am
#976
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Los Angeles
Programs: AA LT Gold
Posts: 3,644
What is important is that your carry-on easily fits in the sizer (like it or not)
There used to be language that you you must be able to lift your bag and store it in the overhead bin without help. That language is not there anymore, that I know of. But, it'd be sensible you go by that rule anyway.
Sep 18, 2017, 9:54 am
#977
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: UA US CO AA DL FL
Posts: 50,262
AA does not have the facilities to weigh carry-ons other than, I suppose, at check-in counters. But, there is also no reason to take your carry-on to the check-in counter because carry-on enforcement is handled at the gate.
AA's only weight restriction is that OH bins have a maximum load which AA provides to and is approved by the FAA. That is not just for your bag, but all of the bags in the bin. I'e never seen anyone intervene in a weight dispute, but I suppose that if a bag "appears" to be so overweight as to create a weight violation, that it won't be carried.
AA relies on dimensions and, depending on the location and just how busy the GA is, may or may not enforce the bag size limits.
AA's only weight restriction is that OH bins have a maximum load which AA provides to and is approved by the FAA. That is not just for your bag, but all of the bags in the bin. I'e never seen anyone intervene in a weight dispute, but I suppose that if a bag "appears" to be so overweight as to create a weight violation, that it won't be carried.
AA relies on dimensions and, depending on the location and just how busy the GA is, may or may not enforce the bag size limits.
Sep 18, 2017, 10:29 am
#978
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Los Angeles
Programs: AA LT Gold
Posts: 3,644
For example, LATAM gate agents walk around the gate or the boarding line with a hand scale and weigh the bag on the spot and tag it/check it if over 8Kg (LATAM's limit).
The scales are $10 at Macy's:
https://www.macys.com/shop/product/s...ale?ID=4398685
Sep 18, 2017, 10:36 am
#979
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: ATL
Posts: 802
Off topic: Not really much infrastructure would be needed to weigh carry-ons.
For example, LATAM gate agents walk around the gate or the boarding line with a hand scale and weigh the bag on the spot and tag it/check it if over 8Kg (LATAM's limit).
The scales are $10 at Macy's:
https://www.macys.com/shop/product/s...ale?ID=4398685
For example, LATAM gate agents walk around the gate or the boarding line with a hand scale and weigh the bag on the spot and tag it/check it if over 8Kg (LATAM's limit).
The scales are $10 at Macy's:
https://www.macys.com/shop/product/s...ale?ID=4398685
Sep 25, 2017, 3:51 pm
#980
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 1,435
LAN weighed mine at check-in. I knew about their 8kg limit, and my bag weighed about 7.8. Thanks to that scale, i made it.
Oct 1, 2017, 1:50 am
#981
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: San Francisco, CA
Programs: AA (PPro/3MM/Admirals Club), AS, UA, Marriott (Gold), HHonors (Gold), Accor (Plat)
Posts: 2,602
My checked bags were well under the limit.
Of course not one time did I get weighed at the gate, but I don't regret making sure that my duffel with electronics and CPAP would not be confiscated. I really missed the CPAP exemption I have in the US and Canada!
Nov 5, 2017, 1:35 pm
#983
Join Date: Aug 2004
Programs: AA (EP), Hilton (Diamond), Marriott Bonvoy (Titanium)
Posts: 8,937
Glad the GA let you carry your bag on! Just as an aside, there are alternatives to either cutting your trip short or rewearing underwear. Many people I know wash their underwear in the hotel bathroom sink, drying on the clothes line that most hotels have over the bathtub. I try to find wash and dry services that charge by the bag or by weight to wash, dry, and fold (no pressing). Some services even pick up and drop off at your hotel, which is super convenient.
).
Nov 17, 2017, 9:03 pm
#985
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,550
Nov 18, 2017, 3:31 am
#986
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Barcelona, Spain
Posts: 78
"FAA rules require..."
When I found this thread because of an American Airlines experience (seems like it's always American Airlines...), I had gone to the mat with AA on the airport/gate agent's claim that it's the FAA that sets these rules.
The answer is a bit complicated. AA's official statements about it being the FAA's rules are, to some degree, defensible, but also are a bit disingenuous.
Effectively, the FAA requires each airline to set rules and then stick by them. The FAA can enforce against an airline which fails to follow its own rules.
However, the FAA is not specific about sizing boxes, nor even about consistency. Only that whatever the rules are that each airline sets, that airline follows those rules.
So, no, it's not really the FAA - it's American Airlines having decided that's what they would submit to the FAA for them to thereafter follow.
-Jay
The answer is a bit complicated. AA's official statements about it being the FAA's rules are, to some degree, defensible, but also are a bit disingenuous.
Effectively, the FAA requires each airline to set rules and then stick by them. The FAA can enforce against an airline which fails to follow its own rules.
However, the FAA is not specific about sizing boxes, nor even about consistency. Only that whatever the rules are that each airline sets, that airline follows those rules.
So, no, it's not really the FAA - it's American Airlines having decided that's what they would submit to the FAA for them to thereafter follow.
-Jay
Nov 19, 2017, 6:28 pm
#987
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2004
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...
However, the FAA is not specific about sizing boxes, nor even about consistency. Only that whatever the rules are that each airline sets, that airline follows those rules.
So, no, it's not really the FAA - it's American Airlines having decided that's what they would submit to the FAA for them to thereafter follow.
-Jay
However, the FAA is not specific about sizing boxes, nor even about consistency. Only that whatever the rules are that each airline sets, that airline follows those rules.
So, no, it's not really the FAA - it's American Airlines having decided that's what they would submit to the FAA for them to thereafter follow.
-Jay
Nov 20, 2017, 1:49 pm
#988
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: NUW
Programs: Amex Plat, UA, AA ExPlat, AS, HHonors Diamond, Avis Preferred, Marriott, Priority Pass
Posts: 150
Yesterday I was on a flight from LAX to SEA. My seat was in First Class. I asked for my carry on to be checked since I just didn't want to tow it along and just pick it up at baggage claim. The gate agent said "Well you are in First Class. We can gate check the bag for you" which she did. Is gate check an unwritten benefit of seating in First Class? Thoughts? Thanks.
Nov 20, 2017, 8:03 pm
#989
Join Date: Aug 2004
Programs: AA (EP), Hilton (Diamond), Marriott Bonvoy (Titanium)
Posts: 8,937
Yesterday I was on a flight from LAX to SEA. My seat was in First Class. I asked for my carry on to be checked since I just didn't want to tow it along and just pick it up at baggage claim. The gate agent said "Well you are in First Class. We can gate check the bag for you" which she did. Is gate check an unwritten benefit of seating in First Class? Thoughts? Thanks.
Nov 21, 2017, 12:04 am
#990
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: NUW
Programs: Amex Plat, UA, AA ExPlat, AS, HHonors Diamond, Avis Preferred, Marriott, Priority Pass
Posts: 150
Thanks for the reply to my post. Let me add additional context. When I went to have my luggage gate check, I expected it to be delivered at baggage claim but she told me that I will pick up my luggage on the jet way after a waiting a few minutes for the ground crew to bring it up from the hold. This was the context to her comment that I was in First Class that I would have my luggage delivered on the jet way upon arriving rather than going to baggage claim. What is the collective experience?