Speedbird676

My experience flying to/from Dalaman last month, not IST but still Turkey, was:

LHR-DLM: Had to check carry on wheelie but small rucksack was allowed onboard. The crew were very strict about all items having to go under the seat except for in the emergency exit rows and row 1.

DLM-LHR: Again, had to check the wheelie. The crew were much more lenient and allowed people to use the overhead bins for their small items.

CCayley

Indeed. I was caught out by this flying to Istanbul this weekend. My up to the minute data point - flying out to IST on Thursday all wheelies were checked at Heathrow but on board the crew were happy to allow those whose bags had survived this process to use the overhead lockers. Yesterday's BA677 from IST was, however, an object lesson in who really counts at BA. We boarded, the gate was swung away, and the crew came down opening every bin and forcing everyone (except row 1) who had attempted to use them to put anything other than duty free carriers under the seat. Then the gate was re-attached and we waited a good half hour for "two passengers who through no fault of their own" (per the pilot) had been delayed at passport control. Eventually two uniformed BA flight crew sauntered on to the 'plane carrying enormous (no way carry-on limit compliant) wheelies, placed them in the overheads without a word from the cabin crew, and took their seats, leaving the flight crew to try to make up the lost time on the flight back. So the moral is, if you like the idea of flights being held for you, don't bother persuading BA to give you a Premier card, just qualify as a pilot!

thijsseh

Reading all of the above it appears to revolve (pun intended) around wheels. So roll on (pun again intended) the new generation of carry on luggage where the wheels can be removed and stowed in a special small compartment shortly before adherence to this rule is checked.

Saint4805

Thanks for sharing - I can only assume that the BA flight crew sanitized the wheels of their trolley cases vigorously prior to boarding the aircraft

What is interesting is that when I asked BA customer services in Turkey if I could check in my cabin bag (non-wheeled backpack that won't fit under the seat in front) and only bring my laptop bag on board the plane they said I'd need to pay to check it in unless I get the 'your flight is busy' email from BA. The overhead bin inspection mentioned above completely contradicts what BA CS told me earlier today, Now I have to contingency pack so that my large rucksack doesn't have any breakables/valuables in case it ends up going in the hold. Can't believe I've had to figure all this out by myself and not a peep from BA on the matter.

Funnily enough on the LHR to IST leg, I had to put my backpack inside my large suitcase after the BA check in agent said only my laptop bag would be allowed on the plane and stowed under the seat in front. This meant my large suitcase was 3kg overweight and she actually said "I'll let it go this time" I should have said "I'll let go only being able to take my 2kg laptop bag on board so we can call it even"

Saint4805

Perhaps the Turkish Government have sponsored the design and production of a new range of detachable wheelie luggage I'm still interested to know how wheels increase the contamination risk.

RoyalSwazi

Probably the same way hot food is bad for passengers not in F.

Confus

They don’t, it’s a proxy for size of luggage. They want to encourage people to pass through the airport (and onboard) unencumbered by large luggage. Only when they describe in terms of size, people argue over dimensions and ‘squishiness’ and so on. If they say ‘wheels=suitcase’ it’s very clear. I personally think the Turkish authorities deserve credit for trying to make the process easier, and wish others would follow. It’s certainly much easier and quicker to board without half the passengers standing in the aisle near my seat huffing and puffing and faffing around trying to get things out of their suitcase before struggling to lift it up into the lockers.

CCayley

Oh I have no problem with the policy - it's BA's failure to make the position clear in advance that is irksome. I hadn't been sure that my lack of awareness of the rules until I rocked up for my flight to IST was down to BA for not telling me, or me for failing to read some warning email or whatever. The existence of this thread suggests the former. It really shouldn't be beyond BA to alert people in advance more effectively than they currently appear to do.

ISTFlyer

The Turkish law does not prohibit small carry-on bags to be put in the overhead, it only prohibits larger carry-on items with wheels and over the dimension 40x30x15cm to enter the cabin.
However, the ground staff generally does not measure the dimensions for carry-ons and simply does not let bags that could not fit under the seat. I could not speak for BA but I have seen some gate agents at Turkish airports who don't care about the regulation if the passenger has gone through security and passport control without being noticed, and I have also seen occasions where the regulation was strictly enforced and all larger items that made to the gate were forced to be gate-checked.

The normal procedure is that passengers have to check their larger carry-ons at the check-in desk and the carry-on allowance ( for BA -> 8 kg ) should be added to the checked baggage allowance ( including HBO fares ). So, be sure to pack your valuable items into your small bag that you would take into the cabin.

81romeo

Done LHR/IST/LHR a few times over the last 2 months.

Been always able to take my duffle bag onboard, despite it doesn't fit the space under the seat in front (although there never was a seat in front of me). I wouldn't risk it with a wheelie.

suley

So my experiance was wheelie bag was checked in at checkin but at the same time, next time I will refuse to since my iPad check in was damaged as a result of the flight

itsmeitisss

don't mean to be rude, but why did you not take your ipad out of your bag?

Saint4805

I still think BA need to step up here. Get an aligned position with Turkish airport authorities and issue a clear comm to all PAX ahead of check-in. PAX can then pack accordingly and not be faced with a last minute surprise and scramble to fish things out of bags at the check-in desks.

ISTFlyer

The airport authorities do not have the passengers' communication details and it's the responsibility of the airline to communicate with their passengers.
Turkish carriers clearly indicate this regulation on their website but unfortunately I haven't seen any non-Turkish carrier except for EasyJet mentioning this on their website. ( U2 is the only carrier that I noticed )

BA has nothing on their website about this carry-on ban and AFAIK, they do not send reminder e-mails to their passengers so it's the fault of BA and definitely not the airport authority.

Saint4805

I think you misunderstood my post. I meant that BA should get an aligned position with Turkish airport authorities AND then issue a comm to its PAX. It's definitely not the responsibility of Turkish AA to issue a comm. PAX transaction is with BA (cabin bag allowances form part of the terms and conditions) and not Turkish AA.