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
[/CENTER]
AA carry on / carryon baggage rules & enforcement (master thd)
Jun 11, 2014, 5:10 am
#46
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Does the Rimowa IATA 52 cabin trolley at 21.65 x 15.75 x 7.87 inches fit completely inside the sizer? That doesn't exceed the 45 linear inches, which has also been AA's cabin baggage legally represented -- at least in the recent past -- without a mention of it having to fit inside a sizer.
Last edited by GUWonder; Jun 11, 2014 at 5:19 am
Jun 11, 2014, 5:27 am
#47
Join Date: Feb 2008
Programs: AA EXP
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Does the Rimowa IATA 52 cabin trolley at 21.65 x 15.75 x 7.87 inches fit completely inside the sizer? That doesn't exceed the 45 linear inches, which has also been AA's cabin baggage legally represented -- at least in the recent past -- without a mention of it having to fit inside a sizer.
If you have an example of such a statement then do please provide a link ...
Jun 11, 2014, 5:34 am
#48
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Carry-on baggage can include, but is not limited to: suitcases, small duffels or sports bags, shopping bags or camera bags. The dimensional measurement of the one carry-on bag shall not exceed 45 in./115 cm.
http://www.aa.com/i18n/Tariffs/AA1.h...EXT_AA1-0116AA
This all gets to be a circus for customers, no less so given AA is part of a TATL JV where it's primary partner allows cabin bags with 22x18x10 inches. So much for even OW or IATA harmonization.
Last edited by GUWonder; Jun 11, 2014 at 5:42 am
Jun 11, 2014, 5:46 am
#49
Join Date: Feb 2008
Programs: AA EXP
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I'd expect that to be changing shortly anyway as it includes a limit on the size of the personal item which has now been removed.
All of the information any normal passenger will encounter when booking a ticket or checking via the website is consistent in referring to the width limit.
Is it really so hard for people to comply with a 4 year old size limit?
Jun 11, 2014, 5:56 am
#50
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Good luck with using that one in a debate at the gate
I'd expect that to be changing shortly anyway as it includes a limit on the size of the personal item which has now been removed.
All of the information any normal passenger will encounter when booking a ticket or checking via the website is consistent in referring to the width limit.
Is it really so hard for people to comply with a 4 year old size limit?
I'd expect that to be changing shortly anyway as it includes a limit on the size of the personal item which has now been removed.
All of the information any normal passenger will encounter when booking a ticket or checking via the website is consistent in referring to the width limit.
Is it really so hard for people to comply with a 4 year old size limit?
Is it really so hard for AA to not be sensible in harmonizing more closely over such matter with its OW cartel brethren or even IATA?
When an airline fails to comply with some of its own representations and legal/regulatory requirements over something as basic as baggage and is inconsistent even online -- that sounds like an invitation for the airline to get more complaints being fielded by its customer service reps and by industry regulators. No tears from me -- I mostly travel with just a personal item that fits even in ERJ overhead bins -- and none from me for AA.
Jun 11, 2014, 5:57 am
#51
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 301
Good luck with using that one in a debate at the gate
I'd expect that to be changing shortly anyway as it includes a limit on the size of the personal item which has now been removed.
All of the information any normal passenger will encounter when booking a ticket or checking via the website is consistent in referring to the width limit.
Is it really so hard for people to comply with a 4 year old size limit?
I'd expect that to be changing shortly anyway as it includes a limit on the size of the personal item which has now been removed.
All of the information any normal passenger will encounter when booking a ticket or checking via the website is consistent in referring to the width limit.
Is it really so hard for people to comply with a 4 year old size limit?
Last edited by fearziz; Jun 11, 2014 at 6:04 am
Jun 11, 2014, 6:06 am
#52
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The issue with cabin bags is less that of a bag not fitting in the overhead -- although that problem has become somewhat more frequent over time as free checked baggage allowances were reduced/eliminated and baggage fees increased -- than it is of too many bags in the overhead bins. Welcome to the product of the airlines getting hooked to checked bag fees and the various checked bag ground handling elements that trouble passengers leading to just about everyone avoiding checked luggage if they can.
I won't be surprised when eventually we will see USdbaAA having employees or contractors with handheld card charging devices standing by the sizers and trying to boost revenue by way of a cabin bag crackdown against bags that ordinarily fit in the overhead bins on just about any AA flight that is bigger than a Barbie jet.
The airline is hooked to boosting bag fee revenue totals, but growing the number of bags hit by checked fees is harder to pull off than going after cabin bags and forcing cabin bags to be checked in as checked luggage even if they fit in safely in the overhead bin on the flight.
I won't be surprised when eventually we will see USdbaAA having employees or contractors with handheld card charging devices standing by the sizers and trying to boost revenue by way of a cabin bag crackdown against bags that ordinarily fit in the overhead bins on just about any AA flight that is bigger than a Barbie jet.
The airline is hooked to boosting bag fee revenue totals, but growing the number of bags hit by checked fees is harder to pull off than going after cabin bags and forcing cabin bags to be checked in as checked luggage even if they fit in safely in the overhead bin on the flight.
Last edited by GUWonder; Jun 11, 2014 at 6:12 am
Jun 11, 2014, 6:19 am
#53
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 301
The issue with cabin bags is less that of a bag not fitting in the overhead -- although that problem has become somewhat more frequent over time as free checked baggage allowances were reduced/eliminated and baggage fees increased -- than it is of too many bags in the overhead bins. Welcome to the product of the airlines getting hooked to checked bag fees and the various checked bag ground handling elements that trouble passengers leading to just about everyone avoiding checked luggage if they can.
I won't be surprised when eventually we will see USdbaAA having employees or contractors with handheld card charging devices standing by the sizers and trying to boost revenue by way of a cabin bag crackdown against bags that ordinarily fit in the overhead bins on just about any AA flight that is bigger than a Barbie jet.
The airline is hooked to boosting bag fee revenue totals, but growing the number of bags hit by checked fees is harder to pull off than going after cabin bags and forcing cabin bags to be checked in as checked luggage even if they fit in safely in the overhead bin on the flight.
I won't be surprised when eventually we will see USdbaAA having employees or contractors with handheld card charging devices standing by the sizers and trying to boost revenue by way of a cabin bag crackdown against bags that ordinarily fit in the overhead bins on just about any AA flight that is bigger than a Barbie jet.
The airline is hooked to boosting bag fee revenue totals, but growing the number of bags hit by checked fees is harder to pull off than going after cabin bags and forcing cabin bags to be checked in as checked luggage even if they fit in safely in the overhead bin on the flight.
Jun 11, 2014, 10:10 am
#54
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The problem with your "without taking other passengers' space" argument is there is not enough space in the overheads for every passenger on the plane to bring a large carryon that has to go into the overhead compartments onboard - even with the current limits. So as a reasonable limit/rule that can be applied across the board it doesn't work.
Jun 11, 2014, 10:11 am
#55
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Because different airlines might have different rules regarding the size of carry-on bags?
Jun 11, 2014, 10:39 am
#56
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 3,698
Yes, common bags that fit well in the overhead bins and don't take up particularly more space than those that do fit in the sizer don't comply with the size limit, so it's hard for people to comply with it because it makes no sense.
In general, people will try to figure out ways to work around stupid rules and mostly comply with rules that make sense.
In general, people will try to figure out ways to work around stupid rules and mostly comply with rules that make sense.
Jun 11, 2014, 11:30 am
#57
Join Date: Feb 2008
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 3,049
Yes, common bags that fit well in the overhead bins and don't take up particularly more space than those that do fit in the sizer don't comply with the size limit, so it's hard for people to comply with it because it makes no sense.
In general, people will try to figure out ways to work around stupid rules and mostly comply with rules that make sense.
In general, people will try to figure out ways to work around stupid rules and mostly comply with rules that make sense.
It is not hard to comply with the rules, some people simply elect not to do so.
There is no justification in claiming it doesn't make sense, that is an opinion and will not get you past the fact that if you have a non-compliant bag and get caught you have to deal with the consequences.
I have far more respect for those who know their bag does not comply yet still elect to travel with it knowing that if caught they will have to check it, than those who try all sorts of mental gymnastics to justify their non-compliance as 'reasonable'.
Own your non-compliance I say, be proud of your little bit of rule breaking, live on the wild side!
but don't try to convince others that it is somehow justified.If you want to break the rules then go ahead, but don't try to claim the moral high-ground or act like it is unreasonable if you get caught ...
Jun 11, 2014, 12:03 pm
#59
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Los Angeles
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Posts: 3,645
OR...in general, people will try to qualify certain rules as "stupid" when they are not the most convenient to them...once it is stupid, rationalizing can start...