ankasi

Just at LHR for a flight to Frankfurt. Just before security there were four BA staff claiming “All flights this morning are completely full.” They made people give up their hand luggage pieces.
As I’ve got an interview tomorrow morning, I put my clothes into my hand luggage, as I would not be able to replace in time, if lost.

Stated as much and was told to get my bag tagged and the take it through to surrender at boarding if needed.

Edit to add: Flight does seem busy, but is not full according to an FA.
Did see a woman who had four bags, completely unchallenged.

Second staff member who did the tagging then said to just take it through.

Strangely enough, they didn’t even ask people what their destination was and stated that this morning only groups 1, 2 and 3 would be allowed to take bags on board.

chriswiles

One of the single most frustrating elements of that "flight is full" message is you'll see some people step up with a single cabin bag to check it in, but you'll see others board last with huge handbags, a tote and expanded cabin bag....getting it stuck as it's so wide dragging it down the aisle to the back of economy.

Anyone else notice a change though? It's probably been discussed somewhere above, but I noticed on a recent flight that they ask people to check-in cabin bags before the flight but "you will be given group 3 priority". So rather than them being the first to board, before group 1, they are boarded after groups 1-3.

KARFA

yes they have been saying "you will board with group 3" for a few months now on the automated messages. however, there has been no actual change in process, and people with gate checked bags are sent down with children and those needing extra time at the start as before.

Cyberhacker

An occasional travel companion (who never makes even Bronze) has taken to booking HBO, then gate-checking his (inevitably oversized) case.

Booking HBO saves him �20 or so per short-haul return, but this approach still allows him to check his bag and gets him earlier boarding than his Group will offer... for him, the system works well!

MaxFlyer

Maybe it�s time to start displaying the GGL/GCH luggage tags to try and avoid even being asked by the dragons at security�

chriswiles

When I travelled back from MUC back in December, the German crew made no discrimination for this and picked on a gold-tagged user who had a reasonably large cabin bag, an expanded briefcase and a suit carrier. He even said in front of everyone "I'm gold!" and she took no notice. Made him check in his cabin bag. She did the same with others, irrespective of what tag they had on their bag. He was in economy.

I don't think a tag really makes a huge amount of difference. The biggest difference seems to be if you're in CE. I've never seen a CE flyer check-in anything yet and I often queue with my cabin bag, a back pack containing my laptop and a separate jacket bag. Never been stopped yet, despite all the 'it's a full flight...' announcements. When I board, first thing I do is hand the crew at the front my jacket bag and ask them to stow in in their cupboard.

salut0

On our flight to GIB on Friday morning I heard a lot of grumbling at the entrance desk to the gate (T3 gate 9) from people who were being asked to check rollaboard bags.

When I got on the plane I realized why: BA�s planes have old overhead bins which don�t fit wheeled bags with wheels in first, which means you can fit many fewer since they have to go in sideways. Is there any proposal to upgrade the overhead bins to the newer ones that some other airlines seem to have that do allow such bags to fit in forwards? Or can the A320 series not fit those new bins?

corporate-wage-slave

There are quite a lot of NEO aircraft with the new overheads - if you have been doing any shorthauls a fair pecentage of A320s have them now. Not only do they fit in forwards, they are supposed to then be turned 90 degress, so as to be stacked like a bookshelf. Though these BA aricraft have signs saying that, I've never actually seen anyone doing this, they tend to use the space on top for coats etc, which is inefficient. On AA they mention it in their PAs, to which at least some people listen (but not many).

EvilDoctorK

On a recent AA domestic flight there were constant PAs on the topic saying that you should put your wheelie case in the overhead "standing up like a taco, not flat like a burger"!

Are the AA bins even a little bigger than the BA neo bins ? ..Not sure most wheeled cases would fit in "like a taco" on the BA bins ?

corporate-wage-slave

Yes, I guess in a world without bookshelves, tacos are the way to go.

KARFA

same as on the newer BA neos. The difference is aa is retrofitting these bigger bins to older aircraft, whereas BA are not.

stifle

All BA A320s have overhead bins that will fit correctly-sized wheeled bags wheels first (flat like a burger, as was said upthread). If a bag needs to go sideways (wheels to the side), it is bigger than the BA size limit and should have been checked.

Swanhunter

If your carry-on doesn�t fit wheels first, then the luggage is the problem not the bins.

TabTraveller

Rubbish. The problem is that bags at BA�s size limit won�t fit wheels first into some of their bins. If BA considers this an issue then they need to reduce their size limits.

TabTraveller

I can speak from personal experience that my compliant Rimowa does not fit wheels first into some BA A320 lockers so your statement is incorrect.