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)
Nov 21, 2017, 12:32 pm
#991
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: PHL
Programs: AA ExP, Marriott Amb, National EAE, Hilton Diamond, SPG Plat (RIP), US CP (RIP)
Posts: 2,379
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.
Gate check means you retrieve at baggage claim while Valet check means it is returned to you on the jet bridge. They will gate check anyone's carry on, but Valet check only for First and select items for economy (i.e. Strollers).
Nov 21, 2017, 1:16 pm
#992
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: NUW
Programs: Amex Plat, UA, AA ExPlat, AS, HHonors Diamond, Avis Preferred, Marriott, Priority Pass
Posts: 150
Think you mean Valet check. First class pax bags are often Valet checked when there is insufficient space in OH bins (i.e. boarding near end of process).
Gate check means you retrieve at baggage claim while Valet check means it is returned to you on the jet bridge. They will gate check anyone's carry on, but Valet check only for First and select items for economy (i.e. Strollers).
Gate check means you retrieve at baggage claim while Valet check means it is returned to you on the jet bridge. They will gate check anyone's carry on, but Valet check only for First and select items for economy (i.e. Strollers).
Nov 23, 2017, 8:35 pm
#993
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,600
If I ran the circus, there would be a way for the high-status passengers to board LAST, so as to spend as little time as possible inside a cramped metal tube. Of course Overhead Bin Space is the only drawback to this plan. If they could figure out a way for elites to have overhead bin space yet still board LAST, now THAT would be a hugely marketable advantage for AA.
Nov 23, 2017, 9:20 pm
#994
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 3,698
I know you really like rules, but enforcing this particular rule would not be nearly as beneficial as you imagine. On lots of flights something like a quarter to a third of the passengers aren't able to check their bags. I actually think the GAs are pretty diligent about policing the maximum number of bags, and the typical oversized bag is maybe a couple of inches oversize in one dimension. So if you imagine that AA could somehow save 10% of the overhead bin space by strict enforcement of the baggage rules, it still wouldn't come anywhere near leaving space for the last few people boarding to have rooms in the overhead bins, especially in a convenient location relative to their seats as I'm sure elites would prefer.
Nov 23, 2017, 9:46 pm
#995
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,600
I know you really like rules, but enforcing this particular rule would not be nearly as beneficial as you imagine. On lots of flights something like a quarter to a third of the passengers aren't able to check their bags. I actually think the GAs are pretty diligent about policing the maximum number of bags, and the typical oversized bag is maybe a couple of inches oversize in one dimension. So if you imagine that AA could somehow save 10% of the overhead bin space by strict enforcement of the baggage rules, it still wouldn't come anywhere near leaving space for the last few people boarding to have rooms in the overhead bins, especially in a convenient location relative to their seats as I'm sure elites would prefer.
There is nothing stopping AA from setting a size limit that would pretty much ensure that , if enforced, that there would be space for the bags
Nov 24, 2017, 2:47 am
#996
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Thousand Oaks, Ca., USA
Programs: AA Lifetime Plat; Bonvoy Titanium Lifetime Elite;Hyatt Globalist; HHonors Diamond; United Silver
Posts: 8,315
Airline rules don’t trump math.
Nov 24, 2017, 4:13 am
#997
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,600
Maths wise - the available volume is known - max passengers is known - bag allowance is determined by airline - mathematically no issue
Nov 24, 2017, 4:38 am
#998
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Thousand Oaks, Ca., USA
Programs: AA Lifetime Plat; Bonvoy Titanium Lifetime Elite;Hyatt Globalist; HHonors Diamond; United Silver
Posts: 8,315
The airline chooses what size to allow the bags to be ; it could choose a size where there should be rare to no occasions where there is a shortage
Maths wise - the available volume is known - max passengers is known - bag allowance is determined by airline - mathematically no issue
Maths wise - the available volume is known - max passengers is known - bag allowance is determined by airline - mathematically no issue
Yes they could allow something half the current size and everyone could store their fanny pack.
Nov 24, 2017, 6:49 am
#999
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 3,698
The airline chooses what size to allow the bags to be ; it could choose a size where there should be rare to no occasions where there is a shortage
Maths wise - the available volume is known - max passengers is known - bag allowance is determined by airline - mathematically no issue
Maths wise - the available volume is known - max passengers is known - bag allowance is determined by airline - mathematically no issue
However, since the point of this discussion is that people want to get on early to put their rollaboards in the overhead bin, imaging a scenario in which no one is allowed to bring rollaboards on the plane in order to make the overhead math work doesn't exactly seem like a helpful solution to the problem.
Nov 24, 2017, 11:03 am
#1000
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: USA & UK -- AA EXP 3.5MM, Hyatt Diamond, SPG Plat, Avis President's Club
Posts: 6,411
What if the boarding lounge had a rolling cart (like the kind where you load your rollaboard for an Eagle flight)? Ok it would take several carts. Everyone puts their rollaboard on a cart, in a section for their seat assignment (rows 1-6, rows 7-12, etc.). At boarding, nobody is encumbered by rollaboards, so the boarding proceeds very quickly. After boarding, a luggage crew rolls the carts down the aisle and stows all the luggage. Yes, it's a crazy idea and it absolutely cannot work. But then again, Southwest's idea of having everyone wait beside a numbered post was similarly crazy, yet it works big-time. Sometimes ya' gotta think outside the box. If they can't do this for the whole plane, what it they did it just for the FC cabin? All the overhead luggage goes into a cart in the boarding lounge. Then bag handlers actually load it into the plane.
Nov 25, 2017, 4:43 pm
#1001
Join Date: Aug 2004
Programs: AA (EP), Hilton (Diamond), Marriott Bonvoy (Titanium)
Posts: 8,937
If I ran the circus, there would be a way for the high-status passengers to board LAST, so as to spend as little time as possible inside a cramped metal tube. Of course Overhead Bin Space is the only drawback to this plan. If they could figure out a way for elites to have overhead bin space yet still board LAST, now THAT would be a hugely marketable advantage for AA.
Nov 25, 2017, 4:56 pm
#1002
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: UA US CO AA DL FL
Posts: 50,262
Back in the day, F boarded last. It was seen as a perk of premium travel that you got to board after the rest of crowd. That benefit is easily preserved by reserving the F bins for F pax. With 2-2 seating and better pitch, if the carryon rules are enforced, there ought to be space for all F carryons. On those rare occasions when there isn't, valet check is not the worst thing in the world.
Nov 25, 2017, 5:09 pm
#1003
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 1,435
Back in the day, F boarded last. It was seen as a perk of premium travel that you got to board after the rest of crowd. That benefit is easily preserved by reserving the F bins for F pax. With 2-2 seating and better pitch, if the carryon rules are enforced, there ought to be space for all F carryons. On those rare occasions when there isn't, valet check is not the worst thing in the world.
(He also has a hysterical story about how he invited his radio listeners to be the lucky person to drive him to the airport one day. A lady volunteered, got the details of when and where, but then never showed up. Adam missed his flight and learned his lesson)
Nov 25, 2017, 5:26 pm
#1004
Join Date: Sep 2016
Posts: 1,159
I'm curious, how was this enforced? Were Y pax required to board by say T-20 or be offloaded, whereas F pax could board until say T-10? It reminds me a bit of current practice on the Eurostar train, where premium class is allowed a later check-in cutoff.
Nov 25, 2017, 5:29 pm
#1005
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 1,435
Enforcement, even with sizers, still requires interpretation and is subject to the good/bad mood of the agent at the time. Does the bag have to fit into the sizer cleanly with room to spare? What if the bag fits, but you have to squeeze it in? Does a tight fit count? What if you have to manuever your bag a little bit to get the wheels inside the sizer? I use the same bag for years, and I've been turned away because they said "If you have to struggle to fit it in, it doesn't count." And other times they say, "Take your time. You can do it!"