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Mind the size of your carry-on bag

Friday June 09 2017
luggage

Given that airlines operate a mixed fleet of aircraft with varying sizes of overhead cabins, you will find quite a variation on the baggage policy even with the same airline. PHOTO | FILE

When this column carried a piece on inflight theft a fortnight ago, I did not expect it to elicit so much feedback from readers.

Most readers who wrote in said they had experienced loss of baggage particularly where a transit destination was part of their itinerary — but inflight theft was a new frontier for many.

One reader’s comments on the subject of theft stood out and I thought it would make for an interesting discussion on cabin baggage.

The reader said that more than twice they had to either leave behind some items at the boarding gate or get their hand luggage tagged and stowed away in the cargo hold, from where it simply vanished.

In one instance, after a session of binge duty-free shopping in Dubai during transit, the reader arrived at the boarding gate with a few minutes to flight closure only to be threatened with denied boarding owing to the bulky items she had purchased.

The airline ground crew informed the traveller that the hand luggage plus the items bought at duty free could not be allowed into the aircraft cabin given their weight, size and dimensions.

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The items were taken from her at the air bridge and were to be tagged and stored in the cargo hold. But, she did not get them back upon landing at her destination, despite earlier assurance from airline crew that her shopping would be “safely” delivered.

In a separate incident, another passenger had his hand luggage taken from him during boarding for a second leg of their journey.

According to handling staff at the boarding gate, though the passenger travelled the first sector with his carry-on bag in the cabin, the overhead bins in the subsequent aircraft for the onward journey were too small for the hand luggage.

The passenger gave up his carry-on bag to be tagged and put in the cargo hold. That was the last he saw of his luggage.

This loss of luggage is directly linked to the specifications of the carry-on bags. Much as many passengers would wish for it, there is no ideal carry-on bag size.

The original design of overhead bins was not meant for luggage but for holding hats, coats, pillows, blankets and emergency equipment.

The evolution of passenger travel forced manufacturers to change the design to accommodate travellers’ preference. Subsequent designs are however guided by operational and safety considerations for each aircraft model.

Every overhead bin in an aircraft has a sticker with the maximum allowable weight and dimensions of baggage.

Non-adherence to passenger carry-on baggage guidelines can lead to injuries when items fall out of the overheard bins. The industry average is some 12-15 injuries per day attributed to baggage- related incidents.

Because of this, airlines go the extra mile to train their staff about stowing away baggage in the overhead cabin.

Given that airlines operate a mixed fleet of aircraft with varying sizes of overhead cabins, you will find quite a variation on the baggage policy even with the same airline.

For instance, most regional airlines have a higher cabin baggage allowance for their business class or elite customers than for the economy class.

This variation is usually in the number of pieces, (maximum of two for first/business class travel and one piece for economy class travel) the dimensions and weight of the bag can vary depending on the airline.

While some regional airlines might not strictly enforce the cabin baggage policy, international carriers operating in the region have stricter guidelines that vary depending on operating carriers even within the same airline alliance.

Passengers can get confused when their journey involves multiple transits involving change of both aircraft and in many cases, change of operating carrier too.

In its efforts to crack the cabin baggage size impasse, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) a few years ago suggested standardising the carry-on bag to 21.5 inches (55cm) by 13.5 inches (35cm) by 7.5 inches (20cm), including wheels.

The initiative which was paused weeks after launch, aimed at giving passengers a voluntary option to use a “Cabin OK labelled bag” with the above dimensions.

Regardless of these developments and how they pan out, passengers must resist the temptation of “going bulky” and instead use carry-on bags that are within the average compliance range of the airline they choose to fly on.

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Michael Otieno is an aviation consultant based in Nairobi. Twitter: @pmykee143, E-mail: [email protected].

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