Your cabin bag doesn't fit the size gauge sir. the Ba431 AMS-LHR (21/03/2014)
 

Bit of boarding drama today. A male passenger refusing to check in his oversized hand baggage. He maintains it will fit in the overhead locker.

He was pursued down the gate after it failed the cabin baggage size check at the top of the gate. A nice little heated debated but the ground crew and then cabin crew all agents of BA stood firm.

1a joined in indicating he didn't have any problems and it would be fine to use his allocation of overhead space. Purser was having none of that. (good job she did as 1d and f arrived with bags a few moments later)

So the bags never made it past row one, promises of the most serious complaints to be made about everyone and the gent has retired to the back of the plane.

Literally the only drama have had on a flight for many months.

But whilst I might sit here and think "good for you team, fair is fair" other passengers can be seen disagreeing with BAs firmness

And we will take off early still :-D I need a Gin!

Oh dear. One would have hoped BA could have showed more common sense in such a situation.

I suspect there are many who have been travelling with, technically oversized but fit-able cabin baggage for years without being checked. Who are now being challenged due to the influx of cabin baggage from these new fangled HBO fares.

I think BA have showed common sense...applying the rule fairly to one and all.

If pax have got away with oversized bags in the past, then they have been lucky. Were they to be given an exemption this time, they would then expect it every time.

AMS are pretty strict with the rules, anyway, and I've watched some passengers be truly odious to the (excellent) ground team in AMS in hopes of bullying the ground staff into getting what they wish for.

Wow, those metal tube crates by the gate actually got used! There must have been dust bunnies blowing all over the place!

I'm with BA here.

It winds me up when I go to great lengths to ensure the bag is within limits, only to find other people taking the proverbial.

So there are lots of people who have bought a ticket and thought "that part only applies to others".

Well done BA.

FP

I think a lot of people work on the basis that if it fits the overhead locker, it must be compliant.

Good on BA. Too many passengers treat aircraft as their own personal fiefdoms.

This needs to be routinely, rigorously and strictly enforced.

Well done, BA.

I'd thought that labelling certain items with 'under seat only' labels would reduce such problems, especially for those pax carrying two pieces of hand baggage, but it seems not.

Is it so difficult to adhere to the rules? If anything, cabin crew are generally too tolerant. :p

But the overhead lockers vary in size, even within the same aircraft type. I guess it must have been really over the limit for BA to ping the customer, an American style wheelie I hazard? I am not surprised it was AMS however, the can have a few issues here. BA are generally fairly laid back (which I support) but there comes a point when the line has to be drawn (which I also support). I have never been pinged on BA and I carry my life on my back, no checked luggage. Air France and KLM are also laid back. Lufty can be a bit pingy but I've scraped through just about. So this guy must have been a real chancer I feel.

Very true - what folks don't think through is that if there is an accident and the roof collapses, then that very heavy bag will end up on someones neck! If I survive a crash only to be killed by an oversized bag - I will come back and haunt......you have all been warned! :mad:

I completely stand by BA in this instance - folks are really taking the mick - and I come from regularly flying on AA where folks needed a forklift to get their bags into the overhead sometimes.

aks120

Was the flight busy / full ?

I am 100% behind BA here. People need to learn.

The only time I was refused to take my hand luggage on board was leaving AMS.

Seriously, the bad fits the overhead locker easily and it also fits the guide at the gate by pressing a little bit.

I guess the 3rd party agents which manage check in and boarding at AMS do have very strict rules. A bit a common sense would not harm though.

I see you've also been on a flight to/from Italy lately!