Anyone been caught between CO's 40lb carry-on limit and VS's 13lb limit?

CO never told us that on our outbound flight. So, when it was time for the connection, we had to check our stuff.

The CO rep "working" the VS flight was useless. And, the VS gate agents at EWR were just plain rude. That's the last time we do that.

What's worse, the kind folks at 1-800-WECARE2 say CO's carry-on rules apply on VS codeshares.

Huh?

I LOVE INCONSISTENCY!

...similar experiences?

yup. european carriers are very strict about only allowing light weight stuff as carry-on. i have no idea why. if something is small (like a backpack) who cares what it weighs? the plane has to carry it, whether it is above your head or in the guts of the plane.

We flew SAS last week. They didn't say a word about carryon weight/size/etc. It seemed to be the standard "If you can carry it and it fits through the door you can carry it on" rule.

I haven't encountered this on several passes through the Co/VS codeshare. My carryon(s) were surely greater than 13 pounds. However, they were steathily camoflauged in a rucksack or duffle rather than the more obvious suitcase. In fact, I somehow eluded the weight limit @ VS LHR check-in last year with a shopping bag that clearer exceed 13 pounds (good sale on Swedish crystal @ Harrods). The crystal made me real popular at security as I was hurrying to catch my connection -- I got the fully pre-TSA pawing over of person & possessions.

13 lbs is absurd if you ask me.
By the time a roll-aboard itself is weighed you're likely at 7 pound or more.

Argh!

VS=BS! (at least in Y it is!)

Is some kind of "safety" or "security" reason being cited for the 13lb rule, or is this just another blatant "revenue enhancement opportunity" at work?

Count on only light carry ons for any British airline, including Virgin, BA, Easyjet, etc. Ditto for Qantas.

This is an example where you have to be alert because passengers will rarely be warned by CO.

It's possible that they won't weigh the bag, especially if it is small. I think VS and others do it to encourage check in, not to earn money. It may be a government regulation for British carriers, but I don't know. In short, check the websites for all unfamiliar airlines. You'll find that Ryanair's free allowance for checked luggage is not very heavy.

[This message has been edited by Skylink USA (edited 03-01-2003).]

I got caught some years ago returning on a VS flight. I was annoyed at the entire thing, but the counter person was nice and gave me a free canvas VS bag in case I needed to repack.

All we got was a smurk and a firm order to proceed to the gate!
...I'm glad your experience went well.
But, our next trip over the pond will certainly be CO or NW metal.

Indeed. Mine is way heavy when it's empty. Thanks to that, I nearly got nailed by AF at JFK last week...I was 1 kg over, but my friend was under. When we threathened to just start moving stuff around and re-weight, the guy decided to say "screw it" and let us go. On return at CDG, nobody even bothered to measure.

I don't know what's with the anal-retentiveness about the subject at LHR, but I have watched BA and VS weighing bags at the gate to assure that they catch connecting passengers who may have come from less stringent airports. I have to say that I understand the principle, which is presumably to prevent heavy things from potentially falling on heads. But the limit is absurdly low, and the fact that first / business have higher limits sure seems to undermine the safety argument.

Try to tell that to a VS agent!
Or, for that matter, a clueless CO agent working a VS flight... who's handing out ticket jackets that say 40lbs. is the limit!

VS stands for Very Strict weight limits for Lower Class. I have encountered this often, especially at LHR. In some cases they will even look at your duty free purchases too. If you have a laptop and accessories you are practically at the limit. Of course if you are Upper Class, these rules do not apply. So it is not a safety issue. They can be really difficult at LHR and the Continental Rep is useless on this matter. If only they let Continental metal fly to LHR.

[This message has been edited by Nevsky (edited 03-04-2003).]

Even with all these security concerns, I bet if you showed up wearing nothing but a bikini and carrying only your ticket and passport they'd still find something to complain about!!

Hey, I've been reading this message board for a few weeks, but never posted anything until I read this thread! I thought you guys might find this interesting...

I just came back from LHR to LAX on Virgin with a Continental ticket, and yes I got stuck on the carry on limit! The check in agent weighed my bag in at around 25Lbs and said I would have to check it. I showed him the ticket jacket that my tickets came in showing continentals 40Lbs limit and he still refused saying he had 'never heard of that before', and that 'no airline would ever allow a 40Lbs carry on'! So I went to talk to the Continental agent near the check-in. I asked him what the carry on limit was, he replied he didnt know and that he thought it was around 10Lbs. I showed him the ticket jacket saying 40Lbs and he also assured me that he has never heard of any airline allowing 40Lbs carry-ons, and that the ticket jacket must be a printing error! ...and this is the guy that actually works for Continental!

I ended up having to check the bag, and to make things worse, the bags took 45 minutes to come out at LAX, and mine was one of the last even with the elite priority handling tag (exactly the reason I wanted to carry it on!)

I called Continental customer care when I got back to LA - even on code share flights Continental ticketed passengers are allowed the 40Lbs carry on, and bags with elite priority tags should still be amoung the first out!

...Really!?!?!
Thanks for the dish!

So, did 1-800-we-care-2 offer a "goodwill" gesture as a result?