How strict is Cathay Pacific on weighing carry on baggage? The website says the carryon weight limit is 15lbs per bag. I have some bags that weigh 10 lbs empty!

Do they weigh every carryon that is taken onto the plane???

I've often carried 6 bottles of wine in my carry on roller bag and I'm sure that it weigh more than 15 lbs. I think as long as the bag is not oversize they will not weigh it.

Be very careful at Hong Kong airport! Anything that is over the size limit will have to be check in and they are very strict.

It varies from port to port. As Pook says, at HKIA there are people whose job it is to stop people taking oversize bags onboard (this is not airline specific). Overweight but OK size tends not to be spotted unless the bag is obviously very heavy.

CX at HKIA and some other ports have tags which they will give to Premium passengers on request to enable them to take a reasonable extra amount of cabin baggage through the checkpoints. Premium certainly includes First and top-tier Marco Polo members. Not sure about business class without status.

But there is a reason for this limit - the safe load limits on the overhead bins. Frankly I would prefer not to have them collapsing on top of me in the event of a heavy landing. Cathay's rules are not significantly different from other non-US airlines in this respect.

And if you have cabin size baggage that weighs more than 10lbs empty one has to ask why? Have you considered getting better bags?

I think it also varies depending on which class of service you fly, too.

I heard that if HKIA did not catch the carry-on size luggage strictly, some people on certain route (rumoured that it is Manlia and Shantou in China) would packed some unbelieveable large stuff as carry-on luggage. It is not CX specific.

As a First Class passenger, you enjoy a special checked baggage allowance of up to 40kg. On flights to, from or via the USA, Canada and certain countries in South America, you may check in 2 bags with dimensions measuring up to 158cm (62 inches) in total and 32kg (70lbs) in weight for each.

As a Business Class passenger, your check-in baggage allowance is 30kg. On flights to, from or via the USA, Canada and certain countries in South America, you may check in 2 bags with dimensions measuring up to 158cm (62 inches) in total and 32kg (70lbs) in weight for each.

As an Economy Class passenger, your check-in baggage allowance is 20kg. On flights to, from or via the USA, Canada and certain countries in South America, you may check in 2 bags with dimensions measuring up to 158cm (62 inches) in total and 32kg (70lbs) in weight for each.

Extra cabin baggage allowance (combined weight limit)
Green -
Silver 10 kg
Gold 10 kg
Diamond 15 kg

Hope this answers your question.