Tag Archives for carry on.
I’m a big fan of going to any length possible to avoid checking bags, but I think I may have found someone willing to take steps even I have never imagined.
I don’t remember the last time I laughed as hard as I just did watching the host pick out items for their trip and compress everything.
An American Airlines passenger shared their ordeal boarding a flight with breast milk and being told they weren’t allowed to bring it on board, they’d have to ‘consolidate’ it into their carry on or give it up in order to fly.
The woman began crying and tried to show the agent her employer’s rules. Eventually she broke down, because the milk would spoil without being in the cooler packed with ice the way she was carrying it. She “squash[ed] some of it into [her] bag but couldn’t make it fit with the ice so most of it is unusable.”
According to CEO Kirby, passengers bring small wheeled bags on board that are called “roller boards.” What on earth are those?
A United Airlines passenger complains about “the worst flying experience” ever after they were told they would have to gate check a bag that didn’t fit in the sizer, even though they’ve successfully flown with it in the past. Their bag almost fit but was a little too large because of the wheels.
The passenger refused to check the bag and a supervisor allowed them to bring it on board anyway. Seems like a great flight to me, but one that flags a common misunderstanding about air travel. You might not be so lucky!
Does Delta Air Lines discriminate against Republicans? That’s what one SkyMiles Diamond member is wondering after a recent flight from Detroit to Chicago O’Hare, where he was forced to gate check bags while other passengers carrying just as much on board weren’t hassled at all. He was wearing a Republican Party pin on his lapel.
Europe’s parliament wants to ban airlines from charging for carry on bags. This would benefit large national airlines at the expense of discounters and drive up price, just like the push in France to outright ban the low prices that carriers like Ryanair and easyJet charge.
It’s pretty common for passengers to view it as a ‘hack’ to wear a jacket with lots of pockets (think Scott-e-Vest) and stuff their bodies full of their carry on items instead of using luggage.
One woman flying Frontier Airlines tried a tact I hadn’t seen before. She… stuffed everything in the seat of her pants (“extra junk in her trunk”).
Smaller regional jets don’t have overhead bins that will hold regular-sized carry on bags. On those planes, passengers usually tag them at the gate and drop them off at the bottom of the jet bridge before getting on the plane. Those bags are then returned to the jet bridge on arrival – customers don’t have to go to baggage claim to collect them. It’s (usually) a much faster process.
One problem airlines face, though, is that while people put their names and other identifying information on checked bags, they often don’t tag their carry on bags.
The two most common complaints I see about airlines in social media, being offered with photos, are both about baggage. Passengers share photos of checked bags being damaged, and about overhead bins with plenty of space after being forced to check their carry-ons ‘because the bins were full’.
On Friday I flew an old United Airlines Boeing 737 with credit card swipe beside the screens. It had the old mostly non-functional wifi (seat back entertainment wasn’t working either), and the old small overhead bins.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
