UA Star G flying on LH - Carryon Limits
 

Today I went to AMS to checkin to my flight to MUC. I was told at the counter to put my carryon bag on the scale. 11KG. I am then told I have to check the bag because it is too heavy.

I have enough pants, shirts, underwear and socks for 5 days. That's it. Standard 9x14x22 bag.

Good thing they didn't ask me to put my 15kg backpack on the scale.

I don't know why they care but apparently its something they care about greatly.

Safe travels.

yeah, 8kg is the max listed on LH (and also LX). Not only does the size matter, but the weight as well.

I looked at UA's website, did not see a weight max for carry-on.

*G probably has nothing to do with Y-class carry-on (aka hand-luggage), at least what I have been told by LH / LX, the number of carry-on allowed was determined by ticket class.

my backpack is also >10kg (with laptop), so definitely glad I never get asked to weigh that piece.

Nothing new here at all. 8kg has been in force (admittedly not always strictly enforced) for the past couple of years. Try this thread from LH forum http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/miles...-feedback.html

"in the event that the bag falls out of the luggage rack, this is the weight at which people will not be hurt."

This is what I was told by the LH SFO GA. 747-400 service SFO-FRA after I (fog mis-)connected from ONT on UX.

I was in momentary shock, and then walked away and had the 1K desk rebook me for the afternoon UA flight.

Technically, a 22 inch bag is also is beyond the limit for LH, as their rules specify 55 x 40 x 23 cm. 55 cm converts to slightly more than 21.5 inches, and these smaller dimensions are common on EU carriers. Not to mention that most "22 inch" bags don't include wheels/handles, which actually make them bigger than that.

That is why some baggage companies like Briggs and Riley make European-style carry on bags which are wider and shorter than the standard NA carry on.

It's always helpful to first check the *A benefits before flying or posting. A link follows this post. *A says nothing about carry-ons so you get whatever you get for being a pax in a given ticketed cabin.

http://www.staralliance.com/en/benef...silver-status/

And it's also worth noting that most other *A carriers are significantly less generous than UA with their checked luggage policy for Star Golds. UA is the only one I know that gives 3 x 70 lbs. in economy. Most others give one extra bag or 20 extra kilos and many limit the weight to 50 lbs. So for those of us who live in Europe but travel to the US for business (and shopping :D), that third bag is a blessing. I always try to start my trip with UA and connect to LH or LX for the transatlantic leg (since I don't have status on UA, I don't get E+ or I'd use them all the way).

Get ready for BR when they join *A.
Not sure if they still do this, but one time on a BR flight (HKG-TPE), a burly male agent stood by the jetway and hand-weighed anyone's carry-on that he thought would be overweight. Mine got sent down the ramp. :mad:

Saw this on my flight to ZRH on LX last year.

At the gate they were using a portable scale to weight carry-ons. Seems like it is too late by that point and kind of silly.

It's also worth noting that European *A airlines have far superior luggage delivery services plus typically do a far better job with priority tagged bags. I'm okay checking my bags within Europe for those reasons and let's me board more leisurely and enjoy the lounge.