Qantas Cabin Baggage Survey Results Email

[Lynda2475]

The 14kg carry-on limit on total weight (with no individual item being over 10kg) is not new being around for a few years now.

The previous weight limit per bag was 7 or 8kg.

4Kg for a personal item (handbag, small backpack, laptop) to go under seat is imo quite generous. 10kg in overhead bin in a carry-on case/duffel is ample for 4 nights (more in warm climates)

If you need to be lugging more stuff check a bag in and be smart don't book crazy tight connections so your extra stuff will make it.

On a leisure trip or in retirement you can afford to wait 10mins (even 30 mins) for your bags at the carousel rather than being the person who thinks rules don't apply to them and carrying on way too much inconveniencing others.

People needing to play bag Tetris with items in overhead bins to put their legit item due to others bringing too much is what delays Boarding and departures. Just selfish given on QF a checked bag is always included.

 

[Tiki]

I think 7kg is not enough for international. I have a small carry-on that easily fits sideways. But my camera for bird photography and my small travel laptop with chargers are already 3 kg between them. Who cares about weight when it fits neatly in the overhead without taking more than your fair share of space? That's why I chose to return on AA rather than QF (award ticket in Y) from the States last year as I knew I would be doing a lot of shopping. Much easier to buy a regulation sized carry on and not be stressing over how much things weigh. And I think there should be one FA policing people who put their things in the front row bins and then walk to the back.

 

[Brettmcg]

The 14kg carry-on limit on total weight (with no individual item being over 10kg) is not new being around for a few years now.

The previous weight limit per bag was 7 or 8kg.

4Kg for a personal item (handbag, small backpack, laptop) to go under seat is imo quite generous. 10kg in overhead bin in a carry-on case/duffel is ample for 4 nights (more in warm climates)

If you need to be lugging more stuff check a bag in and be smart don't book crazy tight connections so your extra stuff will make it.

On a leisure trip or in retirement you can afford to wait 10mins (even 30 mins) for your bags at the carousel rather than being the person who thinks rules don't apply to them and carrying on way too much inconveniencing others.

People needing to play bag Tetris with items in overhead bins to put their legit item due to others bringing too much is what delays Boarding and departures. Just selfish given on QF a checked bag is always included.

But not everyone is on a leisure trip or in retirement, particularly on the routes where this issue seems to be rearing its head.

Priority baggage delivery, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne (domestically), has been an absolute joke for the better part of 20 years.

If I'm travelling for business, generally I don't have the time to stand around and wait the length of the flight again just to be reunited with my bag because Qantas try to wring every last cent out of their ground staff contractors.

 

[DejaBrew]

Who cares about weight when it fits neatly in the overhead without taking more than your fair share of space?

I hear what you're saying, however the problem is that weight is very much a consideration as the overhead luggage compartments are only rated to carry a certain max weight. I would expect this becomes particularly relevant during turbulence, heavy landings et. al. when the overhead lockers may be subjected to excessive forces. If they are carrying more than their max weight, the forces exerted may well exceed their structural tolerances and that likely doesn't bode well for the nearby passengers.

 

[Lynda2475]

But not everyone is on a leisure trip or in retirement, particularly on the routes where this issue seems to be rearing its head.

Never said they were but the person threatening to flout the rules is retired and now only a leisure traveller.

IME road warriors those flying lots domestically for work (I used to be one of them) typically aren't the ones exceeding piece/size allowance. They have to art of packing to fit an approved carry-on mostly down pat.

In my observation those carrying the kitchen sink tend to be leisure travellers and those for shoo at the airport (including Krispy Kreme brigade).

Priority baggage delivery, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne (domestically), has been an absolute joke for the better part of 20 years.

I can count the time I've waited longer than 15mins after arriving at Dom carousel in SYD on one hand. Two of those times due to major disruptions was an hour.

If I'm travelling for business, generally I don't have the time to stand around and wait the length of the flight again just to be reunited with my bag because Qantas try to wring every last cent out of their ground staff contractors.

If I'm travelling for business I have no issue fitting a weeks worth of office wear in an approved bag and keeping it under 10kg.

 

[drron]

People in retirement are allowed to go on an HLO trip as much as anyone else. Over Christmas/New Year we spent a month in Bangkok and neither of our carry ons weighed over 10KG. My computer bag weighed nearly 6 KG. it is a proper well padded bag that weighs 1 KG. my laptop weighs 2 Kgs. throw in cables,chargers, adapters and a book with some other odd things there is no way it will only weigh 4Kg. It still fits easily under the seat in front of me. We never choose exit rows.

On our trips we don;t on nearly all our trips have a short connection as after a medium or long haul we have an overnight stay. However on arrival I think saying someone in retirement should wait 10-30 minutes at the carousel is both optimistic and ageist. On international flights that time would only happen at some Asian airports and is extremely unlikely especially in Sydney. And despite the combined weight of my carry on and computer bag weighing over 14Kg I have never kept anyone waiting when I reach my seat with the carry on in the bin straight away unless some idiot from row 20 has put their oversized bags there already. I then sit down and place the computer bag under the seat in front. When I used my Rex jacket on Rex flights I would unload the items from my jacket to the computer bag after I had taken my seat so didn't hold anyone up.

 

[Lynda2475]

I think 7kg is not enough for international.

Noting its 10kg in J and F.

I tend to agree if size limits are strictly enforced then 10kgs for all on international should be ok.

Bringing international into line with domestic Would make things simpler.

I have a small carry-on that easily fits sideways. But my camera for bird photography and my small travel laptop with chargers are already 3 kg between them. Who cares about weight when it fits neatly in the overhead without taking more than your fair share of space?

Weight is a consideration because the bins have weight limits. Also for safety, if a bag falls out and because crew may need to move bags or assist mobility impaired pax so lifting more than 10kgs to that height is unreasonable.

And I think there should be one FA policing people who put their things in the front row bins and then walk to the back.

AA do this well safe guarding J bins for J pax.

I've said it before but enforcing size per the bag testers, and labelling bins per seat with thin dividers to prevent oversized or too many items finding their way up top when they should be in the hold or under the seat would be awesome.

 

[Lynda2475]

However on arrival I think saying someone in retirement should wait 10-30 minutes at the carousel is both optimistic and ageist.

Not ageist at all as i never said only old people should check bags, only that leisure travellers generally have the luxury of more time to wait. Everyone who checks bags waits whatever the duration is.

If you exceed the weight allowed you are flouting the rules and are selfishly deciding you know better than the airline.

A desire to not want to wait at a carousel does not trump safety and clearly communicated carry-on rules. Don't want to wait stick to the limits that came with the ticket you purchased or buy a ticket with an airline which better meets your needs.

Whether I fly for business or leisure, I comply with size and weight rules of the most restrictive airline on my itinerary. It's not unreasonable to expect others to do the same, since we all agree to the same carry-on luggage allowance terms when buying a ticket for the same class. Status doesn't get you extra carry-on.

 

[Himeno]

On our trips we don;t on nearly all our trips have a short connection as after a medium or long haul we have an overnight stay. However on arrival I think saying someone in retirement should wait 10-30 minutes at the carousel is both optimistic and ageist. On international flights that time would only happen at some Asian airports and is extremely unlikely especially in Sydney.

Last week, it took over 30 mins for the bags to arrive at CPH. Meanwhile, last Friday, my bag had already been pulled off the baggage belt and was waiting for me when I got through immigration at HND.

 

[funnybrus]

Noting its 10kg in J and F.

I tend to agree if size limits are strictly enforced then 10kgs for all on international should be ok.

Bringing international into line with domestic Would make things simpler.


Weight is a consideration because the bins have weight limits. Also for safety, if a bag falls out and because crew may need to move bags or assist mobility impaired pax so lifting more than 10kgs to that height is unreasonable.


AA do this well safe guarding J bins for J pax.

I've said it before but enforcing size per the bag testers, and labelling bins per seat with thin dividers to prevent oversized or too many items finding their way up top when they should be in the hold or under the seat would be awesome.

BA manage with a 2x23kg (one up, one down) policy.

 

[drron]

You once again misinterpret everything I say. But a warning. I have never reported a post except when it is a commercial. But your posts 85 and 88 I interpret as personal attacks on me. So if you continue to do so I will begin to report your posts.

 

[flyingfan]

Wow, BA’s cabin allowance seems huge and prone to nasty accidents!

With QF I wouldn’t mind checking things in so much if they hadn’t taken so long to come out domestically even for premium. Things might have improved since.

 

[Brettmcg]

I have no issue with more checks, but I do have a massive problem with the way some QF ground staff go about it.

Case in point on a recent trip home from Europe, transiting SYD to MEL. Was standing at the front of the priority line waiting to board (P1 in J). A member of ground staff came up the line and very bluntly said to me "you'll need to check in that wheelie bag if you want it to travel on this flight, because it probably won't fit." This bag has done 100s of 1000s of kilometers, mostly with QF, and is considerably smaller than most carry-on bags I see floating around - it's certainly well within QF requirements. I responded that given I was at the front of the queue, and a P1 travelling in Business, that I would be doing no such thing, to which she snarkily retorted "well don't say I didn't warn you!"

In a second power play, once boarding commenced, she then singled me out to have my wheelie bag and backpack weighed by the cabin crew member processing the boarding. Unsurprisingly, she looked like a right idiot when neither came close to 10kg, nor both to the combined amount of 14kg.

That is just one example (not the first, mind you), but given the pretty pathetic overall experience on QF over the last 3-5 years, it did leave me thinking that it might be time to snap the golden handcuffs and just do BFOD domestically.

My other bugbear is the way they police baggage checks at or before security. In MEL and SYD, my experience has been that 9 out of 10 times they pick the crankiest, snarkiest member of staff to stand at the top of the Priority/Premium line, while there are no checks happening at the general lanes. Sure, status doesn't mean anything with regards to carry-on baggage, but what a way to p*** off your loyalty customers, mostly for no reason!

This whole survey and reaction process is typical of Qantas. We'll make you feel like we're listening (that's why we fleetingly mention the checked baggage delivery times) except we won't actually listen, but instead we'll go and do what we've been trying to implement anyway.

 

[Happy Dude]

it might be time to snap the golden handcuffs and just do BFOD domestically.

Fo sho. Why not give the others the chance to treat you just as poorly, but for less!!

 

[DejaBrew]

Case in point on a recent trip home from Europe, transiting SYD to MEL.

You had me thinking for a moment that you were the P1 I posted about the other day as they were similarly claiming their carry-on had already been on flights and they were travelling in J, but I saw firsthand that their carry-on was weighing well over 20kg combined and they definitely did not travel in J on the SYD>MEL leg.

The increased/random checks are perfectly fine (and in many instances should be lauded), and I would also agree with you that there's a way to go about it. Having said that, I've observed pax being exceedingly rude towards staff when singled out for random checks, and there is no place for people to take out their anger/frustration on staff who are just doing their job. The aforementioned P1 was an example of one of those passengers who defaulted to acting like a total #$!@$ when politely requested to have their luggage weighed. In such instances, I can certainly empathise with ground staff who are simply over being treated like garbage and are likely - and understandably - over it. Not suggesting for a moment that it gives them a license to be rude to customers, but I can empathise.

As for singling out passengers in the Priority Lane? Well I'd argue there's a good chance that these passengers are the ones who are more likely to "push the boundaries" and flout the rules owing to their status vs the casual flyer who doesn't know all the ins and outs and wants to largely stick to the rules. Is it a generalisation? Certainly. Is it wrong? My guess is more often than not, no.

FWIW, I've been checked randomly a few times in my recent flights. In all cases, I wasn't at all surprised that I was singled out as my carry-on did look like it would have been overweight. However the staff members have all been polite and amicable. But that's just my experience and of course, YMMV.

 

[1022]

I totally agree that the premium lane at security should have carry on limits enforced as stringently, if not more so than the general.

On yesterday’s flight when I boarded in group 2 and took my seat in row 13 I could see that there was basically no overhead space left between me and row 4 after all the WPs had filled window and aisle seats. That meant all the NBs in middle seats with an assortment of bag sizes had to play tetris while the DYKWIAs rolled their eyes at the plebs for apparently being the ones holding up boarding.

I’ve never encountered the same issue to this extent on VA on peak hour flights. Maybe the LCC culture over there means that people pack within limits in case they get stung with a charge at the gate.

So again, by the time we finally got going, more time had been wasted on the ground than would be spent at the other end waiting for bags to come out….which was just starting to happen as I walked past the carousel on my way straight from plane (row 13 admittedly) down to the train.

 

[Lynda2475]

Im all for the checks on size, number of pieces and weight; and ideally for everyone.

If the excess stuff doesn't get on board, then no overhead bin tetris is needed.

I weigh my bags at home and again on before security to verify all is good, so nothing to fear if checked at the gate or elsewhere.

I personally always find the bag tetris worse on leisure heavy routes than say syd-mel, ymmv.

Had the best crew on a flight to ool a couple of weeks ago, shaming those who were trying to board with too many items and sending them back to the gate to check some.

 

[DejaBrew]

Im all for the checks on size, number of pieces and weight; and ideally for everyone.

If the excess stuff doesn't get on board, then no overhead bin tetris is needed.

But it's a balancing act in reality. They obviously can't afford to check everyone otherwise all flights will be late, so targeted checks are likely the best compromise. When other passengers see people's carry-on being checked, then they at least get the idea that it's being policed and they'll think twice before taking the risk of bringing too much on board. I don't want to see QF go down the JQ route in terms of walking around with the mobile scales and an EFTPOS machine, but I have no problem with the random and targeted checks to keep the average punter honest.

Had the best crew on a flight to ool a couple of weeks ago, shaming those who were trying to board with too many items and sending them back to the gate to check some.

Shaming... not sure that's the best approach. No issue with them forcing excess luggage to be checked in, but openly shaming passengers isn't going to create the right behaviour or response.

Just my opinion here, but Qantas would do better to run a proactive comms/education campaign to FF members - and passengers on upcoming flights - that carry-on is being more proactively monitored with a view to ensuring luggage space for all and the timely operation of flights. It won't stop people from trying to flout the rules, but it will at least not given them any real excuses for not knowing.

 

[Lynda2475]

But it's a balancing act in reality. They obviously can't afford to check everyone otherwise all flights will be late, so targeted checks are likely the best compromise.

Agree it is a balancing act but also depends where and how the checks are done.

In airports like SYD and MEL which are dedicated terminals they just need one staffer at the entrance of the premium and another at entrance general line ahead of security.

They already have a sizer and scales there for random checks. So optimal time to say too heavy/too big go back to bag drop (or bin something) before going through security. Then at gate they need only watch for the extra purchases from inside terminal.

On AA domestic flights gate staff actively look for too large or extra bags and force people to gate check before boarding. Staff on board also indicate once overhead bins are full so at a certain point anything that won't fit under the seat is gate checked.

Shaming... not sure that's the best approach

Staring to work well with the queue jumpers getting sent away for trying to board before their group is called. Less likely to be subject to walk of shame again next time.

No issue with them forcing excess luggage to be checked in, but openly shaming passengers isn't going to create the right behaviour or response.

Embarrassment and more so the desire to avoid such can be great motivation. As can having $ penalties for gate checking large or overweight bags.

Just my opinion here, but Qantas would do better to run a proactive comms/education campaign to FF members - and passengers on upcoming flights - that carry-on is being more proactively monitored with a view to ensuring luggage space for all and the timely operation of flights. It won't stop people from trying to flout the rules, but it will at least not given them any real excuses for not knowing.

Can't hurt but I suspect many won't read past the first sentence of such emails, given those that flout the allowance rules already ignore the T&Cs of their ticket.

 

[DejaBrew]

In airports like SYD and MEL which are dedicated terminals they just need one staffer at the entrance of the premium and another at entrance general line ahead of security.

I have seen this happen and have also been the "target" of such checks, but certainly acknowledge it's not a consistent practice. I suspect they don't want to task someone to be the "baggage police" and would rather that passengers see the random spot checks and know that they could come under scrutiny at any time. Again, I suspect it's more about ensuring there aren't comparisons drawn with JQ and instead aiming to softly encourage behavioural change. Of course I could be way off base there.

Staff on board also indicate once overhead bins are full so at a certain point anything that won't fit under the seat is gate checked.

That is certainly something that could be done. I think QF tends to be more accommodating in doing their utmost to find a space, so perhaps that is an area they can indeed tweak.

Staring to work well with the queue jumpers getting sent away for trying to board before their group is called. Less likely to be subject to walk of shame again next time.

I think this one is far easier to police. Essentially it's a "computer says no" moment when the computer buzzes. Ground staff always have the excuse of "it's not me, it's the computer not letting you through." The event itself might be embarrassing for the passenger in question, but I see this as being a little bit different to ground staff actively shaming passengers in what can easily be viewed by others as a "power trip". I'm not saying that this is what they were doing, but I can see how it would give that perception - especially if not every passenger was being checked and this was only being done as the passenger attempted to scan their boarding pass and go through the gate. My experience in SYD the other day was ground crew walking around the waiting area at the gate prior to commencement of boarding, tagging some bags and asking the owners to put them under the seat in front, whilst taking more "suspect" carry-on to the scales for a weight check. It was fair and didn't embarrass anyone unnecessarily.

Can't hurt but I suspect many won't read past the first sentence of such emails, given those that flout the allowance rules already ignore the T&Cs of their ticket.

Fair point, but I guess there are always going to be people who think the rules don't apply to them. Again, I think this would be more with the intent of keeping the honest people honest and at least mitigating some of the issues. I certainly don't think it will solve the problem in isolation.