'Baggage Excellence' Campaign: carry on rules check/enforcement [feedback]
Feb 25, 2018, 11:24 am
#496
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 6,967
LH used to weigh at the gate in ORD; not sure if they still do that. I did not see the scales when I was there recently. But at FRA there are definitely carry on checkers roaming the boarding areas, and in my experience they do seem to like to target American-looking travellers, who often do seem to have the largest carry on bags. At VCE the (non-LH) gate staff are extremely vigilant. Experiences may vary, but certainly at FRA and a few other airports there is vigilance, including at the gate area.
Feb 27, 2018, 12:21 am
#498
Moderator: Lufthansa Miles & More, India based airlines, India, External Miles & Points Resources
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: MUC
Programs: LH SEN
Posts: 48,130
Jul 13, 2018, 2:39 am
#499
Join Date: May 2005
Programs: spg
Posts: 6
If you are a business flyer avoid Lufthansa
i fly every week — for the last 25 years. I fly international from the US to Europe and Asia about 15 times a year. As a veteran traveler I NEVER check a bag, especially on connecting flights. I have the same carry on I use on 20 airlines, including tiny domestic airlines, but every time I fly Lufthansa they are super strict with their carry on weight policy. No other airline enforces carry on weight like Lufthansa for business and first class. Either their Boeing and Airbus planes are made different or they are just wack when it comes to enforcing limits. Either way, it causes me an additional hour at landing to wait for a bag and twice they have lost the unnecessary checked bag. If I pay $15K for a plane ticket I don’t want to be hassled for a 25 pound carry on that is a very reasonable size. I avoid Lufthansa and their rigid staff (rigid everything) at all costs. They are my airline of last resort.
Last edited by totti; Jul 13, 2018 at 2:30 pm Reason: removed inappropriate comment
Jul 13, 2018, 3:31 am
#500
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: CH
Programs: LX SEN
Posts: 899
Weird. I never faced such an issue in LH C. I simply walk in with my bags, without even obtaining a carry-on tag at check in. On long haul segments, there is plenty of available space in the overhead bins. On feeder flights, one can always put a bag below the empty seat. Did you say that you were heading for C?
Last edited by totti; Jul 13, 2018 at 2:31 pm
Jul 13, 2018, 4:54 am
#501
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: WAW
Programs: LH SEN *
Posts: 1,149
OP, your rude vocabulary is totally unacceptable, no matter how often you travel or how much you pay for your flight. And a word of advice, why don't you just buy another carry on bag, Lufthansa allows TWO carry on bags in Business Class. This way you will have over 35 pounds of weight in total. You're welcome.
Jul 13, 2018, 6:30 am
#502
Join Date: May 2005
Programs: spg
Posts: 6
I apologize if my wording offended anyone, but I don’t apologize for the rant. Lufthansa’s carry on policies and the fact that they rigerously enforce them is horrible to a seasoned business traveler. I have been stopped and forced to check a bag over a dozen times on Lufthansa. Not every time, but at least 30% of the time they weigh carry on bags. With over 6M miles flown I can honestly say I’ve never been forced to check a carry on bag that is of normal size on any other airline.
Lufthansa’s carry on policy (even in first or business) is a max of 8kg per item!! That is 16 pounds each. My laptop bag weighs more than 16 pounds. In contrast, their sister airline (connecting) of United has NO weight limit —only a size limit. BA’s limit is 46 pounds for each item. They all use the same planes, so why is Lufthansa so restrictive? and why do they enforce it so rigerously for business and first class travelers?
when you fly a lot, the most precious thing in life is time. Waiting for a checked bag from Lufthansa adds 45min to an hour at LAX. With global entry in the US I can get from the door of the plane to the curb in 3 minutes — or I can wait an hour for a checked bag, while cursing Lufthansa the entire time.
...and no, splitting my load into two bags still doesn’t work with Lufthansa’s 8kg limit, especially for ten days of travel. That is just stupid.
I know this sounds like a first world problem to most, but those that actually fly long haul weekly know what I’m talking about. They likely aren’t on this board, because they gave up on Lufthansa business travel long ago...
Lufthansa’s carry on policy (even in first or business) is a max of 8kg per item!! That is 16 pounds each. My laptop bag weighs more than 16 pounds. In contrast, their sister airline (connecting) of United has NO weight limit —only a size limit. BA’s limit is 46 pounds for each item. They all use the same planes, so why is Lufthansa so restrictive? and why do they enforce it so rigerously for business and first class travelers?
when you fly a lot, the most precious thing in life is time. Waiting for a checked bag from Lufthansa adds 45min to an hour at LAX. With global entry in the US I can get from the door of the plane to the curb in 3 minutes — or I can wait an hour for a checked bag, while cursing Lufthansa the entire time.
...and no, splitting my load into two bags still doesn’t work with Lufthansa’s 8kg limit, especially for ten days of travel. That is just stupid.
I know this sounds like a first world problem to most, but those that actually fly long haul weekly know what I’m talking about. They likely aren’t on this board, because they gave up on Lufthansa business travel long ago...
Last edited by totti; Jul 13, 2018 at 2:45 pm
Jul 13, 2018, 6:42 am
#503
Join Date: Dec 2006
Programs: LH SEN, FB Plat., HH D.
Posts: 5,050
Unfortunately this world it also used far too often in Spain lately.
Four months ago flying Air Canada in Biz from Toronto to Europe they obliged me to check in a carry on saying that the height was too much.
This carry on has been fine flying in economy within Europe on LH(and many other airlines) for over 300 segments.
Four months ago flying Air Canada in Biz from Toronto to Europe they obliged me to check in a carry on saying that the height was too much.
This carry on has been fine flying in economy within Europe on LH(and many other airlines) for over 300 segments.
Jul 13, 2018, 6:50 am
#504
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: CH
Programs: LX SEN
Posts: 899
Lufthansa’s carry on policies and the fact that they rigerously enforce them is horrible to a seasoned business traveler. I have been stopped and forced to check a bag over a dozen times on Lufthansa. Not every time, but at least 30% of the time they weigh carry on bags. With over 6M miles flown I can honestly say I’ve never been forced to check a carry on bag that is of normal size on any other airline.
Last edited by totti; Jul 13, 2018 at 2:46 pm
Jul 13, 2018, 6:59 am
#505
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: BSL/FRA or PHL
Programs: LH Miles and More, DL SkyMiles, Bonvoy, Hilton
Posts: 2,335
OP, your rude vocabulary is totally unacceptable, no matter how often you travel or how much you pay for your flight. And a word of advice, why don't you just buy another carry on bag, Lufthansa allows TWO carry on bags in Business Class. This way you will have over 35 pounds of weight in total. You're welcome.
This is why weight as well as size are important, and why two 8kg bags are OK while one 16kg bag is not. This will become important only when there is an inflight event which results in failure of the bins to contain their contents. At that point, I can only hope that the overweight bags land on the people who are responsible for them.
The OP indicated his/her bag was typically about 11-12kg (I am guilty of that myself sometimes), which can often be taken onboard without incident (and in business class, the tendency is toward leniency, but not always). However, over 8kg is technically outside the carry-on limits for several carriers, and one should be prepared to re-pack if requested (in my experience OS and LO are also quite strict, moreso than LH). As suggested already, one could also carry a collapsible bag inside the regular carry-on to offload excess weight, which is not a problem in most premium cabins.
When I run into a problem with an overweight carry-on (usually a matter of a couple of kilos), I load my electrical power supplies and/or small devices (or anything else dense I can find) into a small messenger bag (which I use as my personal item), and that typically takes care of the issue.
Last edited by N1003U; Jul 13, 2018 at 8:18 am
Jul 13, 2018, 8:02 am
#506
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2017
Programs: AS 75K, DL Silver, UA Platinum, Hilton Gold, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Platinum + LT Gold
Posts: 10,460
How much do you put in your laptop bag? 8kg? I have a full carry-on bag with a laptop, accessories, change of clothes for an entire week, and other essentials, and it comes in under the limit.
Maybe get a lighter laptop if you travel so much?
Carryon bag weight limit is often enforced on many intra Europe flights. This is not exclusive to LH.
Maybe get a lighter laptop if you travel so much?
Carryon bag weight limit is often enforced on many intra Europe flights. This is not exclusive to LH.
Jul 13, 2018, 8:18 am
#507
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: AGH
Posts: 5,961
Weird, never have been called out on LH. Neither in F, J or even in economy. Even if checking in at a desk, what I just do if forced to for a document check, the agents usually ask if I want to check luggage. Saying ‚no’ never caused any issues. My carry on looks rather small, so I guess they assume it will be under the weight limit anyway. Perhaps OP runs around with one of these carry-ons which are very close to the maximum dimension and might raise some extra interest? Some of those carry-ones you see on US flights are just grossly oversized for European carriers.
The only airline I have constant problems with is OS in Vienna.
The only airline I have constant problems with is OS in Vienna.
Jul 13, 2018, 9:54 am
#508
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: BSL/FRA or PHL
Programs: LH Miles and More, DL SkyMiles, Bonvoy, Hilton
Posts: 2,335
Weird, never have been called out on LH. Neither in F, J or even in economy. Even if checking in at a desk, what I just do if forced to for a document check, the agents usually ask if I want to check luggage. Saying ‚no’ never caused any issues. My carry on looks rather small, so I guess they assume it will be under the weight limit anyway. Perhaps OP runs around with one of these carry-ons which are very close to the maximum dimension and might raise some extra interest? Some of those carry-ones you see on US flights are just grossly oversized for European carriers.
The only airline I have constant problems with is OS in Vienna.
The only airline I have constant problems with is OS in Vienna.
My last incident was with LO at ORD. The gate agent asked me to weigh my bag, and it came in at 9.8kg. I offered to re-pack, but he just rolled his eyes, and put a cabin baggage tag on it.
I agree with fassy about OS at VIE. OS will sometimes set up a portable scale at security and check everything that does not have a fresh cabin baggage tag on it, and reject anything overweight. OS can be extremely strict. The only worse case I have had was once @AKL while flying economy on NZ to HNL, I was forced to remove 500g from a check bag.
*on US-bound LH flights, I have even experienced a no-nonsense American staff member at the gate who won't take any crap from people with well-overweight bags who decide they want to argue the issue (imagine a thick New Jersey accent: "so, do ya wanna check the bag, or do ya wanna stay in Frankfurt?")
Jul 13, 2018, 10:32 am
#509
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: AU
Programs: former Olympic Airways Gold (yeah - still proud of that!)
Posts: 14,401
A lot of folks (including many airlines themselves), seem to be (either intentionally or unintentionally) unaware of the certification limits of the equipment they use. If the bags in overheads exceed about 8kg on average (which I am sure they do on some flights I have been on), and the overhead bins are full, the loads in the bins can exceed the certified limits of the equipment. At an acceleration of 4g, 30-40kg quickly has the effective weight of well over 100kg. Heavy, flying articles in the cabin are not a good thing. If you have even had the misfortune to see things like drink carts hovering at eye level before crashing back to the floor (as well as the 10% or so of the passengers who despite warnings don't keep their seatbelts on), believe me, it gets your attention.
This is why weight as well as size are important, and why two 8kg bags are OK while one 16kg bag is not. This will become important only when there is an inflight event which results in failure of the bins to contain their contents. At that point, I can only hope that the overweight bags land on the people who are responsible for them.
The OP indicated his/her bag was typically about 11-12kg (I am guilty of that myself sometimes), which can often be taken onboard without incident (and in business class, the tendency is toward leniency, but not always). However, over 8kg is technically outside the carry-on limits for several carriers, and one should be prepared to re-pack if requested (in my experience OS and LO are also quite strict, moreso than LH). As suggested already, one could also carry a collapsible bag inside the regular carry-on to offload excess weight, which is not a problem in most premium cabins.
When I run into a problem with an overweight carry-on (usually a matter of a couple of kilos), I load my electrical power supplies and/or small devices (or anything else dense I can find) into a small messenger bag (which I use as my personal item), and that typically takes care of the issue.
This is why weight as well as size are important, and why two 8kg bags are OK while one 16kg bag is not. This will become important only when there is an inflight event which results in failure of the bins to contain their contents. At that point, I can only hope that the overweight bags land on the people who are responsible for them.
The OP indicated his/her bag was typically about 11-12kg (I am guilty of that myself sometimes), which can often be taken onboard without incident (and in business class, the tendency is toward leniency, but not always). However, over 8kg is technically outside the carry-on limits for several carriers, and one should be prepared to re-pack if requested (in my experience OS and LO are also quite strict, moreso than LH). As suggested already, one could also carry a collapsible bag inside the regular carry-on to offload excess weight, which is not a problem in most premium cabins.
When I run into a problem with an overweight carry-on (usually a matter of a couple of kilos), I load my electrical power supplies and/or small devices (or anything else dense I can find) into a small messenger bag (which I use as my personal item), and that typically takes care of the issue.
Jul 13, 2018, 10:45 am
#510
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: UK
Programs: LH lifetime Sen; HH lifetime diamond; flying blue silver
Posts: 285
The original post makes no sense, Even if the weight of bags is relevant for C, whenever I have been lucky enough to be in F I have had either an overhead to myself or a cupboard. I have never had a bag weighed by LH, and I have been a Sen for over 10 years. it is one of the reasons I fly LH rather than any other airline.
