Carry-on baggage banned by Pan Am

[mattjs]

"SANFORD -- Pan American Airways, which operates a hub at Orlando Sanford International Airport, on Wednesday became the first U.S. airline to ban most carry-on luggage.

The carrier now allows passengers to carry on only wallets, purses and, for those traveling with infants, diaper bags. But that's it......."


http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/orl-asecspanam27092701sep27.story?coll=orl-news-headlines

 

[Firefighter Mickey]

I guess we'll all be getting notes from our Doctors and throwing a few "Depends" in a bag now along with a few other odds and ends.

I don't have a problem with limits in numbers or size, but to outright ban all carryons goes way beyond silly.

 

[skeezixspud]

PanAm is already in trouble, and this won't help. People may think it is a good idea in theory, but I predict that that it will be very unpopular in practice. They will have scenes at the gate that you won't believe. Other airlines have a liability limit of $2500 pp for checked bags, but here's what's in PanAm's small print:

"Terms include, but are not restricted to (1) Limits on liability for baggage including fragile or perishable goods. Carrier will not be responsible for money; jewelry; cameras; video and electronic equipment, including computers and similar valuables contained in checked or unchecked baggage."

So they are trying to tell you that although they are forcing you to check it, they won't be responsible for damages to it. That won't fly, if you'll pardon the pun.

 

[bigsis1970]

They are gonna have tons of cranky kids !!! who will have nothing to do while flying but hit the seats ahead, run in the isles, play with the shades & pillows.. Hope the other airlines
DON'T follow suit.. Michelle
64 days to go...

 

[nuthut]

sounds good, maybe there will be room for the passengers now. Hope all other airline follow.

 

[casmanuel]

Nuthut, here is your FLAME!!!

 

[sgtdisney]

Does Pan Am have a death wish? I understand the reasoning, not that I agree with it, but Pan Am is not in the best of shape to risk being the first to implement such restrictions...

 

[SleepyatDVC]

As someone earlier suggested - clothes, vests, & coats with big pockets - BIG POCKETS

Anyone see the potential for even longer lines at the security check point? Going through all those pockets instead of throwing one purse on the conveyer belt?

 

[sgtdisney]

What if you buy something fragile on vacation, like a snow globe, and they force you to check it? Will the airline pay for it? These are all things that concern me. I know they need to take measures to make the aircraft as safe as possible. But how does any of this account for, or take care of the box cutters that were found stuffed into airplane seats during the few days after the tragedy? It seems that they need to tighten security on the non-passengers who have access to the planes as much as anything else.

 

[ducklite]

I wouldn't fly them anyway. But even if I would, there is no way I'm checking laptop, cell phone, etc. They just lost the lifeblood of the airline industry with that insane rule--the business traveler. I do'nt know anyone willing to check a laptop, and I know a LOT of business travelers (and companies they work for) who would tell them "Don't get on that plane, we'll rebook you on an airline with some common sense."

If you have stock in this obviously inept company, I highly sugest you dump it ASAP, because within a month it won't be worth the paper it's printed on.

Another one bites the dust... which is fine with me, that much more business for the carriers I will fly, who I want to see stay afloat.

Anne

 

[Ted and Holly]

Pan Am is a miserable airline to fly anyway. They run like a small business and they'll fall like a small business making terrible decisions such as these. You'd think with only a few planes, that they could keep to their schedules. They couldn't before this whole ordeal, and making passengers check EVERYTHING is not going to make it better.

Bottom line, they'll lose passengers. They've already started charging as much or more than the other airlines... they're never on time despite flying out of small airports, and their planes are always breaking. "You are the weakest airline.... goodbye"

Holly P

 

[seashoreCM]

1. Find out what kind of extra baggage insurance you can purchase.

2. Ask for a no-charge change to a later flight so you can go out to UPS or the post office and send your valuables home insured.

3. Ask for an on the spot refund of your ticket and cancellation of your reservation. It does not make sense to have to choose between (a) forfeiting your airfare for sure or (b) taking a chance at losing your laptop computer.

More Disney tips:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

9/65 Disneyland
3/75 (World Inn* off I4 near DD)
4/85 (Kon-Tiki* on 192)
'80s Disneyland once or twice
7/94 PORiv
9/97 ASMu
11/98 ASMu
12/98 (Knights Inn on 192)
9/99 ASMo
12/00 ASSp
9/01 ASSp
11/01 ASSp still planned
*no longer exists

 

[dvm2b]

Originally posted by bigsis1970
They are gonna have tons of cranky kids !!! who will have nothing to do while flying but hit the seats ahead, run in the isles, play with the shades & pillows.. Hope the other airlines
DON'T follow suit.. Michelle
64 days to go...

Hmmm... you know what kept me well-behaved, quiet, and respectful when I traveled as a child? Good parenting skills from my folks. Anyone who uses this as a whine/excuse about their kids becoming bratty needs to take a look at themselves.

Brenda

 

[Firefighter Mickey]

I am truely sorry that the rest of us parents don't measure up to yours.

Speaking for myself, I try very hard not to abuse my children with threats of bodily harm (most of the time, anyway), and to provide them with an enjoyable travel experience. Something which having a carry-on allows me to provide in a variety of ways.

Kids are kids, and they will get "fidgety" on long flights if not kept occupied. Good parenting skills also involve understanding things from a kids point of view and trying to anticipate ways to keep your child happy. Simply telling them to shut up and be still doesn't cut it.

This is a stupid move on PanAm's part, and I will most certainly be very vocal about this to my congress-people/senators if the FAA begins to seriously consider this or implements it. It's a knee-jerk reaction to what has happened. Not having a carry-on would not have prevented what happened on 9/11.

 

[Planogirl]

My mother was adamant about me being well behaved at all times and we traveled to Europe from time to time. Those flights were particularly difficult for me as a child. She provided me with coloring books, paper dolls and things of that nature to give me something to do. I fail to see why a child should have to sit still throughout a flight that might take hours with nothing to do.

That said, I saw some VERY big purses at Target the other day...

 

[bigsis1970]

So i guess dvm2b your children can sit for 2-3-4 hours long without a thing to do and not get fidgety !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks planogirl and firefighter mickey !!! i am not going to respond any further on this matter after this post as i feel personal attacked and to let you know you should not judge others by what is written on this board is it was a generalization...i wasn't saying <MY KIDS> were going to be the ones doing that and to attack me personally was just wrong !!! my kids do need distractions but not because they are bad kids but because they are kids and use to being busy and to sit and sit and sit with nothing to do would even make some adults insane!! and I would think twice before putting them in that position and if those were the rules on my airline then i might even cancel for the sake of the other passengers comfort ... so dvm2b stick that in your pipe and smoke it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
sorry if i have offend anyone else in this discussion michelle

 

[kkzarnld]

Unfortunately, my family is scheduled to fly PanAm from Portsmouth, NH in 12 days. I have 3 kids ages 3, 8, & 11. Their carryon policy will make this a difficult trip. They said I could bring 1 coloring book with crayons for my 3 year old and weren't sure about gameboys for my 2 older boys. I have to call back for more info today. My husband wants to use his palm pilot to catch up on some work while flying but that is not allowed. We originally had a direct flight of 2 1/2 hours home but they changed it to a 4 1/2 hour flight with one stop. The short direct flight was the reason we went with them to begin with. I called about a refund and was given the run around. At this point I'm not sure if I'm going to push the issue or just go with them. It's a little too late to start shopping around now!

Enough whining!! We can't wait to go. We'll probably just make do with the inconveniences because we'll have a great time once we get there!

 

[ducklite]

Actually, if the flight is going to land you more than two hours after the original flight time, I'm pretty sure you can ask to invoke RULE 240 for a full refund. Check your times to be sure, and if that's the case, call back and get in their faces about it.

You could also file a dispute with your credit card company and take another carrier and hope for the best. I would use verbage along the lines of:

Pan Am has significantly changed their rules of carriage from when we initially booked and paid for tickets. They have changed the non-stop flight to a flight with an additional stop, as well as delaying our times of arrival by over "X". Additionally they are now making unreasonable demands of passengers by not allowing any carryons, including small items to keep three children entertained during the trip. Their unreasonable action goes far above any flight safety rules required by the FAA, DOT and NTSB, and is certainly more restrictive than any other commercial carrier. For these outrageous reasons we have decided not to fly on this carrier. We have serious concerns over the way this airline is currently handling customer care issues, and expressed our concerns to them. They refused to negotiate an equitable solution to our concerns, and denied our request for arefund of our fare. Due to their questionable business practices we are disputing the charges on our "X" card.

Good luck!

Anne

 

[Ted and Holly]

Not to add fuel to the Pan Am flame but I sure hope they don't decide to have one of their "unscheduled maintenance" delays. I have read of a few 5 and 6 hour delays, heard and experienced mid travel delays due to broken planes (our was the windsheild).

And they like to have to sit in the plane, on the tarmac, while they figure out what to do. And in those 727's, the air conditioning does not work well while they are sitting still...

kkzarnld I am sure you will have a great time anyway. The drive from Sanford to WDW is a breeze.

Pan Am is VERY convenient for us, being 15 minutes away from Pease (NH) and free parking. But with the price not really a value and the flights being changed to stop in Worchester, and the problems they have had, I would not fly them again. The carry-on deal makes it that much worse! Southwest from Manchester is what we are trying this time.

Ted

P.S. - Unfortunately, rule 240 is not a real rule anymore, but most airlines will honor it IF you ask for it. When we were stopped in Raleigh/Durham for 7 hours after the emergency landing, we should have known to ask. Usually, they will put you on the next available flight to your destination, even if it is a different carrier. I doubt Pan Am would do this anyway.

 

[kkzarnld]

Thanks Anne. Good suggestions. First I'm going to check the rates to fly out of my local airport which happens to be Portland, ME. But that happens to be where 2 of the terrorists originally flew from before getting on an airplane at Logan Airport from. Yikes!