Antarius

I'm sure someone will chime in saying they merely travel with a backpack next. I travel with 2 suitcases checked. Granted I sometimes am gone a month, but I prefer having the right suit, the right shirt etc. for the occasion and that's my preference.

Whatever the case may be, the point is that if AA wants to start enforcement, they should start consistently enforcing the flagrant violators, and not intermittently be dicks about half inch non-compliance. If they choose to do the former and manage to get compliance with all flagrant violators, and then proceed to hit at the smaller violations, also fine. Just do it methodically and consistently in a fashion that staff and customers can understand, buy in to and enforce. If not, you end up with the wild west of AA, which leads to unhappy customers, low yield margin and gross stock under performance; and yes, this isn't directly tied to bags, but this is the modus operandi of AA leadership - Stalin style enforce some random rules, run a .... ship otherwise and wonder why you have unhappy customers.

sdfamily

Not sure where this goes.....

Just left ORD with paid business/first ticket to San Diego. Gate agent FORCED me to check my only bag. There was space right above my seat when I boarded. I asked for her name. She then came on plane and told me that she was going to talk to captain to alert him. What is going on?

jerseytom

It's an obvious question but... what are the bag's dimensions?

sdfamily

She didn’t even question bag size. Said I was boarding with group 9 (even though I was group 1). Said there was no space. I gave her bag, boarded, and opened bin in row 4. Completely empty. That’s when I Asked for her name.

sdfamily

To answer your question....Briggs and Riley carry on completely within sizing. It was as if a point had been passed. When I asked for her name after boarding....she was not happy. She has my name, don’t see any reason I can’t have hers.

jerseytom

I'm a little confused here. I know your boarding pass was Group 1. But did you board when Group 1 was called? Or did you board later when Group 9 was being called?

I'm certainly not an expert so I could have this wrong, but the impression I get is that there's a lot of emphasis on trying to hit on time departure. Is it possible that if you're one of the last to board, they're working under the assumption that overhead space is probably full or near so, and their best bet to finish boarding is to just start gate checking bags rather than fishing around for the last bits of overhead space?

Seems like it would be a trade off. Could wait until every square inch of overhead space is full, then start telling folks to go back out to the jetway and start gate checking and probably take more time. Or at some point they could just start gate checking bags to preempt that, even if it means departing with only say 95% full overhead space.

Bit of speculation on my part but I could see that being the case.

sdfamily

Yes, I was definitely late in boarding. But, purchasing a business class ticket should afford you that situation. I asked if i could just go on board and see if there was room (again, in business), and she emphatically declined: I then boarded and took my seat in 4a. Overhead bin space was abundant in business class.

wireless_999

So no gate checks. Agents all could see my bag in plain view as they checked my passport for the INTL leg. I have the Rimowa cabin S. It’s not an outrageous bag but doubt it fits in the sizer.

Case fit perfectly in the 190 up top. Flight attendant also saw the bag. I was flying paid F and J intl but doubt that makes any difference.

smithrh

4 recent segments, no enforcement on any of them.

I will note sizers do seem to be positioned a bit more prominently, but that could just be a figment...

Tesla1856

I recently bought the newer TravelPro Crew Expert Global because its actual exterior dimensions are within (and slightly under) the 22x14x9 requirements. The Crew Expert is the smallest carry on I have ever had, and I was sorely tempted to by a bag from TP (Platinum and Crew Expert Max) that was slightly larger (23 or 23.5) but apparently claimed to be "bin tested" to fit. Nope - went with the fully spec compliant Crew Expert Global bag.

Also spent some time searching for my personal item backpack size - although I have not read much on personal items being bin checked. My swissgear 5527 meets American specs, but United is the toughest on personal item size and its a tad bigger than UA specs but will squish in the bin.

chicagoflyer1976

I might be wrong, but I don't think when your boarding pass is scanned a message on the screen pops up saying "PAID BUSINESS CLASS" or "EXP FOR 10 YEARS" , "LET PASSENGER DO WHATEVER THEY WANT". GA was told bins were full, and she was trying to get the flight out on time. While it sucks, I find it funny how people think that the GA knows or even cares about how you obtained your ticket, or how long you've been elite.

karenkay

the last time I witnessed what looked like over-the-top bag enforcement was at EWR this summer. couple in paid business (we had been chatting before boarding) who had what certainly looked like compliant carry-ons and were in boarding group one, but the GA had a bee in her bonnet about their bags.

pax had a third bag which clearly was going to fit in the roll aboard, and she was trying to put it in, but the GA wasn't having any of it and made them gate check.

honestly, it does seem to me that if you're in paid business you should get more leeway than someone on a cheap ticket--and I'm someone who's more likely to be on a BE ticket, at least if I'm flying AA. those seem like the kind of customers AA should be courting.

jghassell

unless I missed it, there is no evidence GA was told that there was no bin space. And it would have been a lie since there obviously was space. I've seen plenty of times the GAs make speeches about how there will be no bin space after Group 6. I've literally seen GAs start force-checking bags at the beginning of group 7 and you will never make me believe they have finely calculated the last bag that will fit on the plane and it just so happens that it was neatly aligned with the end of group 6. I've also been in F plenty of times while the bags from late arrivers, particularly in the front cabin, are accommodated without too much trouble.

So yeah, I think a paid F ticket who says, "can I please just have a shot at finding space" ought to be allowed to have a shot at finding space without getting a bunch of s#*t for it, and they ought to be trained to have the two points of IQ required to understand that this is a premium passenger and generally ought to be given the benefit of the doubt.

btonkid12345

Agreed. At least print the tag but allow the pax to check for space - that way they can always cancel the bag tag later if space is available on board but if not, don’t have to go back to the podium

DL always allows F passengers to take carry ons on board. Status or paid versus complimentary first class don’t make much of a difference IME.

I thought AA valet checks for first class pax?

Gino Troian

Zero enforcement out of my 22 of 28 segments this month using the extra large, definitely-non-compliant Rimowa carry-on. (SFO/SJC/LAX/PHX/CLT/ORD/DCA/MEM/MIA/SAP/GUA)