Tedgrrrr

First time flying Emirates and thoroughly confused. We are flying in Economy and have read that we are allowed ONE piece of carry-on luggage which must weight 7KG or less. Whenever my wife and I travel, we each bring a roll-a-board, and a backpack that fits on the seat in front of us.

Is this not allowed on Emirates? Is it either a roll-a-board or a small-ish backpack? Similarly is it either a roll-a-board or purse, but not both?

Also, how much do they enforce the 7KG leaving JFK, and leaving DBX? My roll-a-board is probably quite heavy, but all my backpack has is a tiny laptop, some charging cables, a water bottle, an iPad, and a camera

Thanks

kq747

From my many flights in Y at different destinations and at DXB, it has never been an issue for me with a rollerboard and backpack and never had my hand luggage weighed. That being said, if for some reason they decide to strictly enforce this rule on the day of flight, they have every right to

ft101

One piece only is the rule - this extra "personal item" just gets abused (where it's allowed) and should be done away with IMO.

thijsseh

I don't really understand why you would be 'confused'. The rule is simple (and I don't think I need to repeat it here).
'Small-ish' is in the eye of the beholder and with the contents you describe it cold be 'somewhat substantial' in other eyes. Add to that a 'probably quite heavy' roll-a-board' and it would be quite likely that you would be seen to exceed the allowance substantially.

kq747

Just saw this TR where the author was made to check their 10kg rollerboard at JFK. https://thepointsguy.com/reviews/emirates-a380-economy/

LonghornDXB

It depends on the day whether they decide to enforce or not. Of course the "safety" claim for 7kg is absurd, its just a money making scheme. I am sure their staff are trained to convince passengers to pay up, as I have seen in a number of stations the same exact phrases thrown about at the gate

"If you want to get on the plane with this, just pay x dollars"

Its all subjective and while they may allow one passenger with 12kg, another may be harassed for a 9kg bag

In my recent JFK-DXB flight, it was measured while checking in and was 7kg. I did not see any passengers being checked at boarding...

Family flew DFW-DXB 2 days back, and were offered the chance to check in their carryon while checking in, for free. Lots of people asked to pay up during boarding, but not them...

aeropix

Not exactly true, it IS a definite safety issue, owing to how the weight of the aircraft is calculated. If every passenger on the A380 was just 4kg over the limit, this would add 2000kg (2 Tonnes!) of extra weight to the aircraft that was not accounted for in the weighing and balancing process.

This extra 2 tonnes weight would by itself cause the airplane to burn 1 tonne extra fuel on the 12-14 hour flights that Emirates operates, which was not accounted for in the flight plan, causing the airplane to be short of fuel at destination, and possibly causing a diversion due to insufficient fuel.

The heavier aircraft may not be able to fly at the proposed altitudes or airspeeds in the flight plan, (it would have to fly lower, and slower) thus compounding the fuel shortage by burning even MORE fuel at the lower altitudes, longer flying times and heavier weights.

The landing performance will also be compromised on bad weather days, because the heavier airplane cannot be stopped in the predicted manner set forth by the manufactuer, it can overrun the available runway and end up in the weeds at the end - or worse.

And that's just for 4kg over by each passenger. On certain routes and certain passenger demographics, the overages are even more significant and the excess fuel consumption and aircraft performance penalties can become quite worrisome and problematic for your crew and fellow passengers.

So, there are good reasons that such rules are in place, and it's not a personal slight against any individual travelers. Once the super-heavy bag is checked in, it's weight can be accounted for in all the above calculations, additional fuel uplifted, and appropriate flight planning can take place to make the flight safer for everybody.

LonghornDXB

It would be a safety issue then if calculations for fuel etc were made assuming passengers carrying 7kg, and every passenger carried 11kg instead..

A BA 380 can somehow carry passengers with cabin bags weighing up to 23kg (though in practice most would have something between 5 and 15kg)

Its just that a number of airlines including Emirates prefers to restrict to 7kg, and base their calculations on that, and of course it becomes an extra income source.

I once paid 800 Dhs (more than 200$) for my carry on bag weighing around 10 kg instead of 7kg at DXB. The ticket itself was 1500 dhs, so more than half of the cost of the ticket was paid due to 3 extra kg.

Regrettably, the bag carried stuff that I could not/did not want to throw, else I could have just thrown stuff away.

petit_manchot

Metanoia

The vast majority of ex-US travelers are headed to a country known for hand bag overloading. At DXB, they really crack down on hand bags on these connecting flights, so managing at the origin when they can probably hand off to family members is ideal.

arttravel

petit_manchot

cargueiro

Well the BA 380 somehow manages to carry passengers with 23kg of cabin baggage because BA calculates its fuelling using 23kg per passenger. EK calculates using 7kg per passenger.

Perhaps BA isn't so bad as a lot of FTers make out!

With regards to EK, it actually has a quite generous checked baggage allowance. I haven't flown on a full BA aircraft for a long time but one plus point for EK is that I have never had a problem finding sufficient overhead locker space on full EK flights.

morninglemon

Recent DXB-JFK flight (early Sept), hand baggage was weighed at check in. Was a pretty full flight and lots of people were stopped just before getting on the plane for number of personal baggage - in fact, 1 out of 3 were pulled aside and told they had to consolidate and check it in. Good job too as by the time the full plane boarded, very little cabin room left. JFK-DXB was not weighed at check in, but that flight was half full.

Dambus

Another recent experience at HND where hand luggage was weighted and strictly check-in if more than a couple of Kgs over. Including at Business/Gold/Silver check-in and for those in Business Class. I’ve never experienced that on any prior EK flight.