I'm not sure this is accurate. I believe the TSA doesn't care how much luggage a passenger has, or what size each piece is.
Yep, they've been around for a while, at least 15 years. So long as it meets their size restrictions, you're good, even if it doesn't fit under the seat. I have a Gura Gear bag that is the largest allowed on AA as a personal item to the inch, and it doesn't fit under the seat of any of their current domestic aircraft fleet thanks to new seats and equipment boxes underneath them, so I just throw it in the overhead and nobody cares.
until stumbling over this awhile ago when searching for a new under-seat bag that would work with spirit flights too. SWA is vague as to seat saving policies on their website, why not follow suit with carry on luggage too?
This is one where, well, they're both right. The TSA permits anything that the FAA requires be allowed on board, and beyond that restricts it to two items per person that they must fit through the X-Ray. If an airline wishes to allow more than that through, the fee charged to the airline by the TSA increases when this happens. Some middle eastern airlines notably permit two 21" rollaboard carry-ons for business and/or first class passengers. In airports where there's only one airline past a security checkpoint (read: most big ones) TSA will also help the airlines by enforcing baggage policies as well, and of course the airline may then further restrict size and weight based on its aircraft, policies, how money grubbing it is, et cetera.That’s what i thought too
https://www.southwest.com/html/customer-service/baggage/carryon-bags-pol.html
Per TSA regulations, carryon items are limited to one bag, plus one small, personal item.
Most airlines don't have any such, "Rule," at all, they simply allow two pieces, and give dimensions, but the wording is very specific that it doesn't have to fit under the seat in front of you. The cabin crew tells you something different to try to get people to be nice and get everybody to fit, but it's right in your CoC that you and the airline agreed to when you bought the ticket, as well as their long form luggage policies. And this makes sense: not every seat on an aircraft has room underneath it, they cannot penalize you because there's an equipment box and you can't fit anything under the seat in front of you, or if you're in a bulkhead seat. Also, not every aircraft has the same amount of room underneath the seat, and what fits on one aircraft may not fit on another.
All three of the legacies now offer Economy Basic fares without any add-ons at all, to compete with Spirit and Frontier. But at least AA pulls up this big warning about the luggage situation before you click buy on their website.
Are you sure you'd even want one that small? That's tight even for a rollaboard, let alone a spinner, I'd question how stable it would be and how much room you'd get inside of it. I go soft sided non-wheeled for my personal items precisely because I want to max out the space I have.
Yeah, almost all of the correctly sized ones are rollaboards though simply for interior space reasons, unfortunately. There's a BoardingBlue hard sided model that does fit the criteria though, otherwise just lots of rollaboards.
I just flew Delta this morning. I should mention while boarding basic passengers were being told no wheeled carried on bags permitted at that point in boarding. It was quite late. We were comfort class so ok even though late
There may be a different policy on codeshare and partner (non-mainline) flights.
Did you fly Delta Connection today, such as a flight operated by Republic or Sky West, but marketed through Delta? Due to the limited overhead bin space on flights on the smaller planes operated by DL Connection carriers, I believe they might make Basic Economy passengers gate check.
