kyushuman

Hi all, haven't flown BA Basic before and I know I won't have much to carry on but trying to figure it out.
Can I take a small rollerbag (19 inch) plus a medium sized backback that fits under the seat?
I will be checking in at transit desk at AMS....
Thanks

simons1

https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb...age-allowances

flatlander

If those are both inside the BA dimensions then that's OK. Note that the official dimensions for the smaller bag are quite small, in particular quite shallow. The enthusiasm of the BA (contract) staff at AMS for checking bag sizes varies. This is often a very status-heavy route, so by the time the status passengers have boarded you may get some more scrutiny if your bags are over-size.

corporate-wage-slave

AMS is one of the tougher places in this respect, in a relative sense. If the flight isn't too full then the sizes won't matter too much, BA are generally not too officious about measuring bags - some here wish they were, AMS, DUB and EDI are a bit more strict about this than most places, but the worst that could happen is that you would be asked to hand the larger bag over at the gate, for placing in the hold and retrieval in LHR baggage reclaim. There wouldn't be a charge for this. Indeed if the flight is full and you volunteer to hand over the bag you would help matters along. T5 baggage return has a reputation for fairly swift return of checked luggage, AMS not so much. However there may be one very good reason for ensuring the bags are within the dimensions. HBO fare or not, on departures from LHR and LGW then you can check a bag in at check-in in the usual way, so long as you remain within your hand baggage allowance all told. You may also get an email / SMS inviting you to check a bag in if the flight is more than 85% full (approx).

Collierkr

kyushuman

I find it hard to believe someone with 400+ posts on here doesn't know that every airline enforces its own baggage allowances differently, no matter what its rules say online.

Otherwise, I do appreciate the constructive replies from others!

WorldLux

And how will that help you. If the gate agent on your flight notices you're over the limits, then you can't really argue "but usually it's okay" or "folks on FT told me I would be ok. DYKWIA!?"

PS: Technically speaking you're only guaranteed to take one personal item on-board anyway and BA can require you to check your carry-on.

simons1

I'm still unclear what you are asking.

If it's whether two bags are two bags well surely that is pretty obvious unless you are putting one inside the other. If it's whether you are within the airline's hand baggage allowances, they are published, so it's not hard to work out, and you will presumably know if you are within allowances.

If you are asking how any given agent will choose to enforce the rule on any given day perhaps the Clairvoyant Society could help? Nothing is guaranteed and no-one on here will know how much hand baggage will arrive overall at the aircraft.

kyushuman

Thank you for your detailed, thoughtful reply! I really appreciate it. It's exactly what I was looking for.

kyushuman

Thanks for your thoughtful reply. It's very helpful to know when I'm thinking about which carry ons to bring, since various airlines differ in enforcement. For example, there is a carry-on sizer at every Delta Airlines gate here in MSP that I have never, once, in thousands of flights, seen a Gate Agent use.

Collierkr