Busted by United’s baggage police at SFO (Chris McGinnis)
U.S. airlines don’t always follow the lead of their foreign counterparts, but if they decide to adopt a newly announced policy from Air Canada, it could spell trouble for passengers who rely on overstuffed carry-ons to avoid checked baggage fees.
The Canadian carrier said on its website this week that it plans to start using what amounts to carry-on bag police, putting employees at airport check-in areas and security checkpoints to eyeball passengers’ bags and make sure they don’t exceed the proper size dimensions.
Carry-ons on Air Canada will need an “approved” tag to make it on board. (Image: Air Canada)
And they’ll tag appropriate bags with a red “approved” tag. “This will make it easier and safer to stow your personal items on board, may help reduce wait times at security, and will help avoid flight delays caused by larger bags being checked at the gate,” Air Canada said. If not, the bag will have to be checked.
If you make it to the security checkpoint with an oversized carry-on and get caught there, “We’ll give you a special card that will get you quickly back to a check-in agent, and then on to your departure gate,” the airline noted.
The new policy will start on May 25 at Toronto Pearson and gradually be rolled out to other airports during June.
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MadMac89 says
May 25, 2015 at 8:40 amI’d pay to carry on my bags… to avoid not only the bags check-in line – but the rush to the gate, the small number of E+ seats not in the first three rows… and finally, it would vastly simplify moving around the terminal. It’s a great idea…
Chris McGinnis says
May 25, 2015 at 8:38 amThanks, Mac! Someone said recently that airlines have the whole baggage fee thing backwards– that they should allow baggage to be checked for free, and should charge for carry ons. Kinda makes sense. Wonder if that will ever happen. Hmm. — chris
MadMac89 says
May 24, 2015 at 5:22 pmA part of me doesn’t care. If you can’t live all week out of a 21″ roll away, then you shouldn’t be a frequent flyer. Women have more to carry, so that’s not fair either. I carry two bags – a B&R rollaway and a LowePro backpack briefcase. The Briefcase – well under the specs for a rollaway at 12x9x18 is slightly larger than the UA “personal” item… but it’s the one that cannot be checked – never ever. Laptop, cables, and one full set of camera gear. I’ll get off of a plane first.
The entire luggage mess is due to airlines charging fees for baggage. I would much rather return to higher airfare, and never have to pay change fees again. And while I never check bags – my typical $500 round trip ends up being $800 due to change fees. Which is no different than my airfare was 15 years ago. Corporate Travel departments have a significant contribution to this mess, because they often refuse to pay fees of any kind, thereby shifting the costs to the employee.
Last – in a number of places in Europe, you can’t even get into the terminal without sticking your bag in a box. That happened to me a number of years ago transferring from UA to BA in London
…
cmcguinness says
May 23, 2015 at 7:15 pmWell, since congress(wo)men and senators are amongst the biggest of frequent fliers, I won’t hold my breath…
jos d says
May 23, 2015 at 7:03 amI cannot believe that you put fragile glass irreplacables in a soft side bag – for the belly of the plane or to be squashed in overhead ……..
walkpl says
May 22, 2015 at 12:03 pmFINALLY! HOORAY! I always check my bag as I am short and don’t want to bother anyone asking to help putting it up or getting it down. I carry a small briefcase OR a backpack and my handbag too, which I put under the seat ahead of me. I cannot tell you how angry I get at people abusing the system. Yes..even business people with a rollaboard, a large briefcase and then a backpack…all stuffed to the gills! How many times have I been hit in the head with someone’s overstuffed backpack or purse! It is totally stupid! How many times have flights been delayed due to people trying to stuff these huge things into the bins. At least now there are signs inside the bins (on DL) stating that the first rows in coach are for people in Comfort Class. At least these pushy business types who are sitting in the back and put their bags in the first bin in Economy will see a big red sign there.
Now with summer here, not only will we have to contend with the regular overstuffers, but people who seldom travel and don’t know or who don’t care who is inconvenienced…or hit in the head…with their huge bags! Right on Air Canada…hope this new trend travels south of the Canadian border!
Bob S. says
May 22, 2015 at 5:39 amFlying back to ATL from MIA last week, the Delta gate agent made us (and most of the rest of the plane) put our two carry ons in the “Size Wise” box. NEITHER bag quite fit (overall dimensions were about 1/4 inch outside), so we had to check it. We had carried BOTH of those bags on the outbound trip with no problem in the MD-90 (exact same aircraft) a week earlier. The rub is that one of those bags was filled with delicate glass objects, several of which were broken when we took the bag off the carousel, even though the gate agent put a “fragile” sticker on the outside. The good news is that Delta is reimbursing for the purchase value of the items. The bad news is they were irreplaceable, personalized, one of a kind memorabilia from our son’s wedding.
Shootfire says
May 22, 2015 at 5:18 amMore legislation to deal with legislation? The more legislation you add, the higher fares will go. If airlines can’t charge bag fees this day and age, they’ll raise fares.
Canthespam says
May 21, 2015 at 7:12 pmIt’s not the extra cost to check luggage that bothers me, it’s thefts, damage and misdirected luggage.
Mark Gerrard says
May 21, 2015 at 5:28 pmNot before time. Every time I fly, I email the airline when I return to comment on the carry on baggage size abuse. If you can afford to buy a ticket then you can afford to pay the extra $25 to check your bag. If I ran an airline, I would remove all the overhead bins, so you can only carry on what fits under your seat. Add a few closets for jackets in economy. Regarding miles,the company I used to work for already takes the miles for employees in the Munich HQ They tried to expand it to the US employees and it was investigated up to general counsel level but found to be unworkable due to tax laws.
Jeff says
May 21, 2015 at 5:11 pmThe rub isn’t the FFers. It’s the FFers wannabes. People are in a Catch 22 with the bag fees vs carry on. Right after 9/11 people started checking bags as it was somewhat of a hassle with the liquids. Now you have a choice to make if you want to pay $35 each way for $10 worth of toiletries, use the hotel’s or buy new stuff for every trip. The clueless say buy travel size but that’s a joke. Much to my distaste I think some kind of legislation is in order as it is becoming an indirect bag check mandate via imposed security and airline rules and regulations.
augias says
May 21, 2015 at 4:19 pmyes, miles are technically txable. I’ve been reporting miles in my income for the past few years. It is kind of up to you how you value them. I think 1 cent per mile makes sense — it’s not all that much money.you only need to report them if you are using them for personal travel. If the travel you use the miles for are also a business expense, then the miles are not really income.
It’s common sense really. But as for enforcing it… the IRS has much, much bigger fish to fry! If I was running a company where I have to pay for employee travel I would confiscate the miles though.
citi-zen says
May 21, 2015 at 2:46 pmWow, someone is bitter about frequent flyers.
Kirk says
May 21, 2015 at 2:20 pmThere’s a big difference between having sizers and enforcing them.
Kirk says
May 21, 2015 at 2:20 pmNever gonna happen.
garydpdx says
May 21, 2015 at 10:47 amUnited has had ‘sizers’ at their gates for at least a year, no? It seems like AC copied that before any other US carriers …
John R. Grout says
May 21, 2015 at 8:45 amA good idea for international flights.
For domestic flights, Congress should prohibit fees for the first two checked bags and for correctly sized carry-ons. It would ensure that expensive items that flyers don’t want stolen by baggage handlers and medical equipment are actually allowed on flights without facing mandatory gate check, speed boarding and end one of the numerous ways airlines try to hide the total cost of flying to gain an advantage over their competition. If they need the money they now get from baggage fees, let them increase their fares.
Congress should also end indirect compensation of business flyers from monies deducted as travel and entertainment expenses by their employers. If an employee gains a tangible benefit from business travel, it should be reported on their W-2 as direct compensation subject to income tax… that includes both frequent flyer miles and elite status. If businesses don’t want the paperwork involved in doing that, let them either confiscate the frequent flyer miles as a rebate on the travel expenses they are reporting to the government (lessening how much they can deduct) or book the employee in a fare class that does not pay frequent flyer miles at all.