Taking carry-ons to avoid luggage fees?

[UrsulasShadow]

I travel solo. I travel light. I have a perfectly sized carryon that has no wheels, but can be carried on my back. If I can run through an airport with it strapped upon my aging, overweight, arthritic body and not kill myself, I know it's well within weight limits. I can live for a week or longer out of that bag (along with my laptop briefcase), and have.

I don't do this to avoid luggage fees. I do this because I don't want those apes that handle luggage touching my stuff. I don't want to wait for 2-3 hours at a luggage carousel, waiting for my bags to show up (at either end of the trip). I don't want to lose my belongings. If it can't be carried, it will be shipped through a reputable carrier.

There is no reason for me to pack the house to go on a Disney vacation.

 

[dioxide45]

If it can't be carried, it will be shipped through a reputable carrier.

You don't think that there are "apes" at those reputable carriers tossing your belongings around?

 

[UrsulasShadow]

You don't think that there are "apes" at those reputable carriers tossing your belongings around?

Let me put it to you this way....


I can send CRYSTAL through UPS unscathed
I can send ELECTRONICS through Fedex without a scratch
I can't send a box of TISSUES through the airline's luggage handling system without it becoming a mangled mess.

Must be a better quality of ape.

 

[seashoreCM]

>>> ... our jackets don't take ...
>>> ... was really squished ...

Isn't it or shouldn't it be OK to put your jacket or your personal item on top of your properly stowed carryon to inhibit others from trying to cram in something that really does not fit?

>>> ... crystal through UPS ...

I have read here and there about eBayers having problems with stuff damaged by UPS.

 

[Gary M]

I think the idea of carrying on two items, is for one to be put in the overhead bin and the other under the seat. Many carry on 2 or 3 bags and try to stuff them into the overhead bin and not under the seat. Like anything else, you have some that try to beat the "system" and have more items than allowed and larger bags than required.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

We flew Airtran last week. Our carry on measured just under the combined "55" total inches for l+w+h. Well the stewardess at the terminal said it would not fit in the overhead compartment. So she "tagged" it,and it went with the rest of the checked luggage. We picked it up at baggage claim. We were never charged any "checked bag" fee. Did this both ways on our round trip flight. So why do they post the measurments if they won't fit?

 

[seashoreCM]

. Our carry on measured just under the combined "55" total inches for l+w+h. Well the stewardess at the terminal said it would not fit in the overhead compartment. So she "tagged" it,and it went with the rest of the checked luggage. We were never charged any "checked bag" fee. So why do they post the measurments if they won't fit?

1. To determine whether they can charge you for it as checked baggage.
2. Did you try and see whether it would not fit?
3. Remove valuables on the spot if told your carry-on has to be checked.
4. On some airlines the struts under the seat prevent allowable size carryons from being put under certain seat positions.

 

[aubriee]

We flew Airtran last week. Our carry on measured just under the combined "55" total inches for l+w+h. Well the stewardess at the terminal said it would not fit in the overhead compartment. So she "tagged" it,and it went with the rest of the checked luggage. We picked it up at baggage claim. We were never charged any "checked bag" fee. Did this both ways on our round trip flight. So why do they post the measurments if they won't fit?

I've posted on here before about the irate man who was on my Air Tran flight from Atlanta to Dallas last January. I was already in my seat when he boarded and was a few rows ahead of me. He had a carryon that was almost as big as my checked bag. He wriggled stuff around in the overhead bin and finally took out a lady's flat tote bag, asking who it belonged to, telling her she needed to put it under her seat, which she did. He then continued to try to force his bag in there. The FA saw what was happening, evaluated the situation and told him no way that bag was going to fit and asked him to give it to her to check. He became very irate saying he knew what the measurements had to be and had measured his bag, and it would fit. He kept trying and she kept insisting the bag had to be checked. She finally told him they would not charge him for the over sized bag, but he had to give it to her to be checked. He angrily told her the bag was not over sized as he had measured it and knew it was exactly 55", so was supposed to fit.

 

[NancyIL]

I usually check one bag on longer trips, in spite of the fees. But when I go to WDW next week, I will take a smaller bag that I can carry onboard, in addition to a backpack or tote bag. That's primarily because I hate waiting for my luggage at the Orlando airport, and not because I'm too cheap to pay the $15.

 

[dioxide45]

We have flown before with two 25" bags without problems. We just bought two new 25" bags. They measure out to less than the 55" maximum that AirTran has for carry-on. They should easily fit in to the left side overheads wheels first. If forced to plane side check, it won't be a problem.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

We have flown before with two 25" bags without problems. We just bought two new 25" bags. They measure out to less than the 55" maximum that AirTran has for carry-on. They should easily fit in to the left side overheads wheels first. If forced to plane side check, it won't be a problem.

My bag was a 22" bag and I had problems. I don't think your bags are going to work, least not on Airtran.

 

[hsmamato2]

So..... what is up with bag dimensions then? If I have a duffel for each of us that measures LxWxH at about 47 inches....will we be turned away from bringing them with us? they are well under the 55 inch rule,and if a child can carry it,then it's not too heavy.......since we're doing airtran,I'm getting a little nervous about this......

 

[BWV Dreamin]

So..... what is up with bag dimensions then? If I have a duffel for each of us that measures LxWxH at about 47 inches....will we be turned away from bringing them with us? they are well under the 55 inch rule,and if a child can carry it,then it's not too heavy.......since we're doing airtran,I'm getting a little nervous about this......

Exactly. Apparently it's the way it will fit with the wheels. It's crazy and really they should modify the stated dimensions. I met all the dimension criteria and they said it was too big. Take your chances and let them tag it for free if they truely measure up but still say it's too big.

 

[dioxide45]

My bag was a 22" bag and I had problems. I don't think your bags are going to work, least not on Airtran.

We have flown with two 25" bags in the past. They were taller and narrower than the new ones we bought. One of the old bags was able to fit in wheels first, the other was pushing it, but it worked by turning it sideways after shifting bags that others just lazily tossed in the overhead. The newer ones being a little shorter and wider should fit better.

I don't see where one could have a problem with a 22" bag as it would be well within the 55" limit dimension that AirTran has. If you are boarding late and the overheads are already full, then I could see a problem, but if you are one of the first to board when your zone is called, there shouldn't be a problem with space.

If we have to plane side check, that won't be a problem either. We have seen people board the plane with far larger bags (including super stuffed duffel bags) and they had no problems.

On our last flight while waiting to board board a guy standing close to us "warned" us that our bags might not work. He wouldn't let up and kept talking about how they might make us plane side check our bags. Of course we had no issues and we were hoping we could see him when we got off to let him know we had no issues and that perhaps next time he would mind his own business.

 

[dioxide45]

On AirTran the maximum dimensions for a carry on bag is 55". That is usually the size of a medium size suitcase that comes in three piece or larger rolling sets. This is quite large. The maximum for a checked bag is 70", that is usually the size of the large bags in those sames sets.

 

[RMulieri]

The amount and size of carryons is RIDICULOUS. I check my larger suitcase.I bring a purse and a small tote to hold my book,camera etc on the plane.I have never seen so many people think it is simply ok to smash and mangle others property to fit their stuff.Or better yet start ranting and raving and holding up take off because the FA tells them they need to check the bag that was obviously too large to begin with.

 

[dioxide45]

The amount and size of carryons is RIDICULOUS. I check my larger suitcase.I bring a purse and a small tote to hold my book,camera etc on the plane.I have never seen so many people think it is simply ok to smash and mangle others property to fit their stuff.Or better yet start ranting and raving and holding up take off because the FA tells them they need to check the bag that was obviously too large to begin with.

I have yet to see anyone rant or rave about having to check their bag. In fact, I have never seen anyone that has had to even have their bag checked after boarding. I have also not seen anyones bag or belongings get mashed. People need to understand that if they are putting a soft bag in the overhead, that it will be in there with larger hard sided bags. Items in the bins do shift during flight. We never put a soft sided bag in the overhead, those go under our seat.

 

[quantumottle]

<snip>Beware of huge suitcases. They might fail the size limit for checked bags resulting in an increased fee at the ticket counter let alone fail the size requirement for carry ons if lugged to the gate.<snip>...

I'm embarrassed to admit that I made this mistake a couple years ago. My family of four stuffed everything into one large suitcase to avoid multiple fees. When we went to check it in they charged us an overweight fee of 50 bucks, ouch! I felt stupid, hopefully someone else can learn from my mistake.

 

[DebbieB]

AirTran's 55 inch max is much higher than the other airlines. Most have a 45 inch max (22 inch length), SW is 50 (24 inch length). I saw somewhere that there is a proposed bill to make the max carry-on no more than 50 total.

 

[seashoreCM]

On our last flight while waiting to board board a guy standing close to us "warned" us that our bags might not work. He wouldn't let up and kept talking about how they might make us plane side check our bags. Of course we had no issues and we were hoping we could see him when we got off to let him know we had no issues and that perhaps next time he would mind his own business.

You could just agree with him. "Gud thang day takum at de gate cuz ah ain't gun back to no ticket cowner."