My (entirely legal) strategy is to comply with the rules.

How hard is that?

You are of course quite right looking at it from a "black and white" perspective but given that the size and weight limits are probably imposed for two reasons 1. to ensure the bag can fit in the overhead and without it being so heavy that the overhead locker does not break off and 2. that airlines want to manage the amount of weight that is carried (including, people, checked in bags, carry on baggage, freight and fuel) then perhaps a little leeway at check in could be granted when a person has not already checked in their limit (if indeed they have checked in anything at all) and the carry on bag is an acceptable size and shape and especially if the additional "personal" item(s) is not being carried. The fact that there are also differences between carriers in what is an acceptable weight for a carry on bag also might be something to take into account. I remember when BA were impossibly difficult about the weight of carry ons but now they (to the best of my knowledge) allow you to carry on an item of any weight as long as it does not exceed their dimensions rule and you are capable of stowing it in the overhead yourself. Anyway just a few random thoughts on the subject without getting into suggesting that people of slight build might feel entitled to a bit more leeway that those "of size" as they say in the USA - presupposing that the main aim overall is to manage the take off weight of the aircraft. I really think that, unlike some people like to suggest, "size matters" and that is what should be adhered to to ensure that bags fit comfortably into the overheads. However, what I think does not mean others will agree, especially the powers that be in the airline industry, but that is another very long and sad story.

We agree to a contract of carriage when we purchase a ticket. This includes limits on baggage allowances. We expect the airline to live up to their side of the contract in every way and seek restitution when they fail to do so. Yet, some of the same people here are perfectly willing (and indeed brag about their attempts) to completely violate their side of the contract by means of deception and potentially criminal activity.

So yes, it is pretty "black and white" to me. The "why" of the discussion is an entirely different story for a different thread!

Actually, you are allow to bring 1 small carryon & plus 1 small personal items. Because this is restrictions. You cannot bring a large bag. EK will have forced you to checked the bag. If the overhead is full. You have checked the bag. You will get your carryon bag at final destination cities.

Just because you got it past checkin does not of course mean it makes the cabin. Staff will remove large bags after the gate and send them down the slide for loading into the hold.
In my experience these tend to be the last bags that get unloaded at the other end meaning all your efforts just cost you extra time.
Class of travel does matter though have never seen this happen to a premium class passenger.

Do you people realize you are getting on a plane with very limited space ! I don't understand why someone would not check in there bags and go onboard with really the essential stuff ! When I travel I only have my laptob and maybe important documents, NOT MY WHOLE LIFE VALUES. I'm crew and Emirates tolerates a lot and the baggage allowance is very generous in comparison to the worlds standard. Most of you expect the CREW to literally lift those bags and stow them for you , really ? And some of you in J class think just because the allowance is bigger that means you can pack up your lawn mowers and expect the CREW again to stow it for you !!! YOU PACK IT YOU LIFT IT YOURSELF !

Have you ever thought of what would happen if God forbid we had an emergency and all those hatrack opened and you find yourself stuck under your overweight and multiple pieces of luggage that you brought onboard ???

Please travel light in the cabin !

Space has nothing to do with weight. As long as the carry on is the legitimate size, and of course the passenger is able to lift it themselves, whether it is 7kg or 9kg shouldn't affect anything. For example, airlines in the US and BA are pretty good in this regard.

Also, some people don't carry on luggage out of choice. Maybe they can't check in baggage for whatever reason, or maybe they're travelling for an extended period of time and need more than what can be checked in. I'm not condoning going 15kg over the weight limit by doing so, but making a fuss over an extra 2kg is the kind of thing you expect from Ryan Air, not Emirates. Even budget carriers in Asia don't make you weigh your baggage.

7kg or 9kg isn't a problem. What about 12kg? 15kg? 18kg? 23kg? 30kg?

Where do you draw the line? Gotta be somewhere. Well, it's been drawn at 7kg.

There is no real limit on what one can check in. Practically, I think you are limited to 99 pieces of checked luggage due to the DCS (even then I have seen people with over 100 pieces sorted out by generating extra tags as unaccompanied in the DCS with a manual reconciliation - granted more likely to see this at an outstation using bingo sheets for AAA rather than at Dubai or any other stations with bar code/RFID readers). You can also consign anything above this amount via SkyCargo for transport on the same flight as you. There are many options available.

Still, I highly doubt that the number of passengers checking in 100 bags or more accounts for any more than a tiny minority of those with oversized/overweight cabin baggage.

I am not trying to convince you to follow my opinion but I will give you an anecdote.

EY Y. Carry on allowance is 7kg. Checked is 2 x 23kg = 46kg. Tight connection in AUH, can't risk losing bag, so I want to take carry on only. Bag weighs 9.2kg and agent shows no flexibility. Am I going against the rules? Of course. But rules should be there for a reason. So I politely inquired as to why the rule existed.

Agent "it is unsafe to have a bag above 7kg in the cabin. Maximum allowance in the cabin is 7kg."
Me "... but F/J are allowed 12kg."
Agent "uh... yes but Y pax pay less so they are allowed less overall luggage."
Me "yes but I'm checking in 0kg."
Agent "rules are rules."

I am not saying the agent was wrong. However, in cases like these, if I used a "trick" to get my 9kg bag on board, it would be 100% guilt free.

Airlines can breach the contract if they need/ want to and we can seek restitution at a later date. However, passengers can't always do that.

Suppose I want to carry on 130kg. Will EK let me? No way. I can't pay for excess carry on.

On some (many?) airlines crew will state that they are not allowed to help pax store their bags. Fine by me. AA allows any weight of carryon (used to be 44lbs) and I have had AA crew help me store my bag (without me asking.) I would have happily done it myself, though.

If you knew the carry-on allowance was 7kg, why did you attempt to carry 9.2kg to begin with?

I simply don't understand how somebody can knowingly and intentionally violate something that they explicitly agreed to and then expect "flexibility". It's just illogical.

I don't mind helping customers lifting there bags, what I don't appreciate is when it's heavy and they just expect us to lift it for them ! or even when they do do it themselves they leave the hatrack open and see us struggle to close them !

Where do you draw the line, it's by breaking the rules and accommodating customers over and over again that we get to a situation where some think that we are being harsh over 1kg or 2 kg over !

When did I violate anything? I had a carry on that was 9.2kg over and I wasn't allowed to take it. I also didn't say I expected flexibility, I just said the agent had none.

With regards to the strategy of leaving the bag far away from the check-in, if asked about carryon (especially in some cities where your carryon needs to be tagged with "approved for cabin" tags) I would have told them that I had the bag. But if I am not asked, I don't tell and, again, I have no problem justifying it to myself.

If I had gotten away with the 9.2kg I would have not felt bad because IMHO the airline is not losing out at all (the 9.2kg in the hold weighs the same as 9.2kg in the cabin) and the small bag would have been stowed by me in the space under the seat in front of me.

I am not asking you to agree or trying to convince you that my view is the right one but am merely stating my opinion. If EY/EK any airline had a clear reason for such rules (or if I could see how my breaking the rules harms them) I would happily abide. Until then, I will continue to be the rebel that I am

Furthermore... if I was following the rules, why would I need the agent to be flexible? IMHO, expecting / wanting / hoping for flexibility implies that you are not following the rules in some way.

For starters, one doesn't always have a weighing scale wherever one is. I think people can tell the difference between a 30kg bag and a 7kg bag, but I wouldn't know whether my bag weighs 5, 7 or 10 kgs. It's a guideline. Even if I attempt to pack 7kgs I might end up packing 9kgs. Draw the line by being a good judge of whether someone is trying to abuse the system, or whether they just have a couple of extra things.

For example, airlines with a 20kg baggage allowance will usually let you check in up to 23kgs. It's an unpublished 'line' they draw, which makes customers carrying between 20 and 23 kgs feel like the airline is being reasonable.

Airline contract of carriage absolves them of any responsibility, apart from getting you from A to B. If crew can 'break' a rule by sending me a glass of champagne in Y, it isn't unreasonable for check in staff to overlook the odd extra kilo.