How to make enemies...! [by weighing carry-on]

[Popeye]

Airlines used to use 77Kg as the standard assumed passenger weight. It’s now slightly more complex and has different weights depending on gender and age group (adult, adolescent, child).

This is recommended by CASA and very similar to what the FAA (US) do. This publication is from 1990 but is still current.

Ha ha ha , how many 77kg Americans have you come across .... 88 kg would be more accurate

 

[maia200]

I generally travel very lightly - international around 11kg . Having said that I checked in hand luggage weighing 7.1kg this weekend BNE - SYD return and saw people getting on with a huge amount of what seemed to be very heavy hand luggage and arguments about the overhead locker and where to store luggage. Much better to board with only a little handbag because we were in no hurry. Flight attendants were having a difficult time storing passengers on board carryon's.

 

[Denali]

.... Much better to board with only a little handbag ....

Sometimes I watch people like this at the airport and I wonder how good it must feel, to travel so freely.

 

[suze2000]

The few times recently I have travelled with checked luggage was a completely different experience.

(though also, my luggage was lost for two days off one of those flights, sooo....)

 

[Vic]

Dont know what your hourly rate is but the majority of mine comes from retirement funds that are finite .... so when budget airlines do things like this it doesn't help

So book the plus pack for points earn and check in luggage...

 

[justinbrett]

Just finished packing for my US trip on Friday.

Small backpack: 8Kg (inc laptop)
Rollaboard: 6Kg (quite empty)
Checked: 19Kg (includes a second suitcase nested inside).

 

[Austman]

Sometimes I watch people like this at the airport and I wonder how good it must feel, to travel so freely.

I've travelled internationally with nothing more than my passport, phone, wallet, a pen and house keys. No bag at all, not even a small one. It certainly did feel "free".

But it caused me quite a problem and delay on my arrival into Melbourne. It seems I was far too suspicious for customs. I since learned to at least carry *something* even if it's some duty free purchased on arrival. Then, no problems!

 

[JohnK]

Rollaboard: 6Kg (quite empty)

So what does a rollarboard weigh when it's quite full?

 

[justinbrett]

So what does a rollarboard weigh when it's quite full?

Quite a lot. This one is a large hard shell Antler (matches my checked luggage) - useful for AA domestic flights because they don’t have a weight limit.

 

[eastwest101]

Thinking laterally here, but if weight is the primary consideration/problem of carry-on luggage then maybe elevate the Xray scanning machines at security checkpoints to approx 1.5m off the ground, so that if people cant lift their carry-on onto the x-ray security belt, then they are never going to get near the boarding gate with overweight hand luggage? The OHS implications of this are pretty clear as well - if you cant lift it to shoulder height then it dosen't belong in the overhead compartment of an aircraft and should be in the baggage hold of the aircraft. The opening of the xray machine also serves to already screen out oversize carry-on luggage.

Pretty brutal but effective way to control the weight of carry-on luggage on board aircraft!

Uses existing security and checkpoint infrastructure to monitor carry-on luggage weights and dimensions in place of airlines having gate agents trawling through passengers looking for the problem airside. Would require the airlines to agree on a carryon luggage standard but the cost savings in fuel, , aircraft turnaround, delays and gate checked baggage might make this solution economic?

 

[Justin]

May I ask which flights are always targeted? What is it about certain flights that means the cabin baggage is always weighed?

Most of flights to Melbourne and Sydney. It all depends on which port you are in as to what your chances of being caught are.
At the end of the day, if they aren't weighing your bags the cabin crew can still decide if your bag will make the flight or not.

 

[Justin]

That's cruel putting weights in your luggage so you have to pay more! No wonder you're buying the bundle. It's all part of the scam

I have seen the bulkhead in front of 1A-C but only once or twice - I think it was only fitted on the Asian fleet and perhaps some have been transferred into the Australian fleet. Usually you have all the legroom you could ever want.

As I keep saying, this all depends on the route, I fly Jetstar roughly four times a month (way more than I'd like to) and my bag is never weighed. They might be doing it before the lounge pax arrive, but certainly by the time I'm there to board they just want to get the pax on and close the gate.

Almost half of the A320 now have bulkheads on both sides of row one, and thats how all the aircraft will look by 2020

 

[Justin]

So all the rubbish we get told about hand luggage more than 7kg being a safety hazard can now be considered as acceptable risk because they can make more money. Also as if overhead locker space isnt under pressure already , this is going to make it worse.

Also while we are on the carry on baggage topic , what reeeeeeeaaally pees me off is the absolutely inconsiderate .......hole that puts their bag and stroller in the bin in row 5 and then goes and sits in row 36

Theres the safety aspect involved with where the weight is allocated on the plane. By charging for the extra 3kg, they can then add that weight to the total weight of the plane and make sure that there is enough fuel, it is correctly distributed etc and the plane doesn't overshoot the runway.

Even allowing you to take more weight onboard to the aircraft, it still has to fit into the size requirements as well. you can have 6.5kgs of cabin baggage but if it is too big it doesn't matter, it will still get checked in and you will have to pay the $60 flat fee

 

[Austman]

Theres the safety aspect involved with where the weight is allocated on the plane. By charging for the extra 3kg, they can then add that weight to the total weight of the plane and make sure that there is enough fuel, it is correctly distributed etc and the plane doesn't overshoot the runway.

One passenger can easily weigh 60kg more than the passenger sitting beside them! So what real difference does 3kg make? This argument is probably never about carry-on weight safety in large modern jets. It can matter in small aircraft. Some airlines seem to safely operate with 15kg carry-on limits while others seem to safely operate with no carry-on weight limit at all (but with restrictions on pieces and size).

A sensible carry-on weight limit based on the maximum carry-on size is probably what's needed. A 10kg weight limit seems to me to be more sensible than 7kg, considering the bag alone can weigh 4kg or more. And even Jetstar, for years and years, allowed 10kg with their cheapest fares.

 

[suze2000]

It's when the 10kg falls on someone's head that it's a problem. But then it would be if it was 7kg anyway. I've seen people (especially the elderly) lose control of their carry-on while retrieving it from the overhead. That seems to me to be the most likely cause of an injury, assuming the FAs stick to the rule of not lifting people's carry-ons (which I completely support). Once in a QF 767 I saw an overhead pop open during a rough landing, but that plane was a piece of junk anyway, internally, it really needed a re-fit, my husband's headrest came off in his hands and the guy in front of me's seat reclined itself during takeoff and he was stuck like that the entire flight, whether he wanted it or not (lucky for me, there was plenty of space in those old beauties).

 

[Austman]

It's when the 10kg falls on someone's head that it's a problem. But then it would be if it was 7kg anyway. I've seen people (especially the elderly) lose control of their carry-on while retrieving it from the overhead. That seems to me to be the most likely cause of an injury, assuming the FAs stick to the rule of not lifting people's carry-ons (which I completely support).

Studies have shown that it's the smaller, odd-shaped objects that cause most injuries. These can move around and are more likely to drop out when the bin door is opened. I've seen that happen many times. Even a 1kg object falling out can cause injury. A proper cabin-bag of maximum allowed dimensions tends to be more stable in the bin.

But for sure, passengers need to be able to safely lift their carry-on into and out of the bin. And some airlines clearly state that. I think I can lift 10kg single handed. But I agree that some pax might find it hard, even with both hands. And some pax might find it hard even with 5kg (or even less). And I've seen many pax that haven't a hope of even reaching the lockers in the first place!

 

[Maca44]

I travel with carry on only, and it would be rare if I were over the 7kg carry on limit (even international). In saying that, I considered myself obese, weigh roughly 126kg, and have never been weighed yet prior to boarding so wonder where the weight ratio comes into play. I have never fallen out of a bulkhead either, to which which the majority of posts relate .

 

[Justin]

One passenger can easily weigh 6 0kg more than the passenger sitting beside them! So what real difference does 3kg make? This argument is probably never about carry-on weight safety in large modern jets. It can matter in small aircraft. Some airlines seem to safely operate with 15kg carry-on limits while others seem to safely operate with no carry-on weight limit at all (but with restrictions on pieces and size).

A sensible carry-on weight limit based on the maximum carry-on size is probably what's needed. A 10kg weight limit seems to me to be more sensible than 7kg, considering the bag alone can weigh 4kg or more. And even Jetstar, for years and years, allowed 10kg with their cheapest fares.

The battle for carry-on and why bag weight rules matter

Maybe it would be more sensible if people just stuck to the rules of the airline and then everything would be ok. Jetstar is a LCC, you get what you are willing to pay for. You want more bag allowance, pay more money. If someone travels just for a day trip, there not going to need to pack 10kgs+ for themselves, why should they have to pay for something they don't need to use. If you plan on bringing and awkwardly or oversized checked in item you know that you have to pay extra for it, why is extra cabin baggage weight any different.

The people that pay for the tickets that come with 10kg of baggage get certain seats on the plane, which in turn means there 10kg of cough will be put into a certain part of the plane to help with the weight and balance of the aircraft (provided they put their bag where there supposed to)

 

[Beano]

I usually travel trans-Tasman then around Australia with carry-on bags only, usually weighing in at about 8 kg. Since reading these posts have limited to 7 kg. Over the last 4 weeks I have travelled to Mackay, Brisbane, Sydney (several times), Canberra and Melbourne and to and from Wellington. I was advised at check-in at Brisbane that bags could be weighed but nothing happened. I have seen no bag weigh-in at the gate in that time. Is there any consistency with checking bags at the gate?

 

[Austman]

The battle for carry-on and why bag weight rules matter

I didn't think much of that article to be honest. Its headline was hardly even discussed. And even with the questionable "no more than 100kg" limit for an overhead bin, that's 10 x 10kg bags. I've not seen a bin that could hold 10 maximum allowed size carry-ons. It seems bins get filled before their maximum weight becomes a factor. Which brings the argument back to maximum size and number of carry-ons. That IMO really is important.