VA cracking down on carry on 7kg limit

[CPMaverick]

I found a 737MAX bin photo that shows the bin to be rated to 58kg.

http://3rjfy21znlo631twxe405qqvzc4-...p-content/uploads/2017/11/20171129_061518.jpg

 

[Austman]

The 7kg limit is all about money. It has nothing to do with safety. Or the inconvenience to other passengers.

What should be strictly limited is the size and number of the carry ons. That will help prevent locker hogs. And ensure that it will safely fit either into the overhead locker or under the seat in front.

 

[CPMaverick]

That's the thing though, VA has 1 free bag (at least) so they aren't even really making money off this policy, except in rare cases when a passenger has no status but is carrying more than 30kg of luggage.

Doesn't it cost them MORE to have passengers check baggage? Perhaps it is just carry-over from when they charged for the first bag.

 

[Wanderlust_tim]

Last Tuesday, I had a work colleague in Melbourne made to check her bag in - it weighed 7.1kg...

 

[Ausbt]

Day before Christmas my wife was flying J with VA and they weighed her roll-on bag. Came to 8kgs and she was told to check it in. Given that left her with no carry on bag at all she was forced to go buy one in the terminal. Somehow in the confusion she managed to lose her wallet so spent her lounge-time cancelling all credit cards. But, in a good news story upon returning to SYD one week later the wallet was at lost-and-found with cash and a bunch of mostly useless cards.

 

[pauly7]

Flying out of SYD last week, At the Primium entry, VA had someone at the scales weighing every single persons luggage. Anything over the 7kg limit was turned around and requested to check their bag in.

The gentleman in front of me with 9.8kg was blowing up delux. The agent remained calm and said that too many people were taking advantage of the 7kg and exceeding it so they were ”cracking down” on it.

At 8.1kg I was also asked to turn around and check my bags in, now before averyone goes, rules are rules whats the issue. I walked into the main terminal, straight through normal security and into the lounge. It was apparent that the same “cracking down” wasn’t happening at the normal check in counters or at the gates, walking through VAs terminal there were plenty of people with oversized and overweight bags.

For VA to be positioning themselves as a premium airline against Qantas (who has a 10kg cabin bag limit) I just couldn’t believe VA were turning around their elite passages who in a lot of cases would spend thousands or oven tens of thousands traveling with them. To not even give a verbal warning before the crackdown puzzles me.

Has anyone else had this experience?

Saw this in action in Melbourne - good on them for enforcing their limits IMHO.

Flying out of regional ports VA often weigh cabin bags when you check your hold luggage as well ... ‘Can you just pop that on the scales too sir’....

Have no issue with the crack down!

 

[Jack_OC]

Day before Christmas my wife was flying J with VA and they weighed her roll-on bag. Came to 8kgs and she was told to check it in. Given that left her with no carry on bag at all she was forced to go buy one in the terminal. Somehow in the confusion she managed to lose her wallet so spent her lounge-time cancelling all credit cards. But, in a good news story upon returning to SYD one week later the wallet was at lost-and-found with cash and a bunch of mostly useless cards.

Wow. That's seriously ridiculous behaviour from VA.

By the way, could your wife not have removed something (even just temporarily) to get under the 7kg limit? My carry on is probably >7kg sometimes, but I typically have my laptop, iPad and a notebook in it. VA's rules allow you to take one such item on in addition to the 7kg - see below - so if pushed I reckon removing my laptop might get me back on the right side of the law. In fact, I do have a "thin satchel-style laptop bag", which actually fits both my laptop and iPad (combined weight = ~2 kg).

"In addition to the carry-on baggage allowance, one of the following personal items may be carried in the cabin:

• A laptop computer*, handbag, pocketbook or purse (of reasonable size)
• A wrap, a blanket, or an overcoat
• An umbrella or a walking stick
• A small camera or pair of binoculars
• A reasonable amount of reading matter
• A pair of crutches or prosthetic devices – for use, provided that the guest is dependent on them for mobility

*A laptop in thin satchel-style laptop bag is considered to be a personal item. A laptop in a larger laptop bag will be counted as part of a guest’s carry-on allowance."

 

[VPS]

UA, DL, AA, & WN to name a few. They happen to be the four largest airlines in the world (by passengers carried). 600M+ passengers a year. 4000+ aircraft between them. Never heard of an overweight overhead bin problem. I'm sure there are other US airlines that don't have a carry-on weight limit. I've never even heard of a US airline that has a limit. It's no wonder Americans get caught out by this policy overseas pretty often.

BA has a 23kg weight limit.

And Ryanair - if you can lift it you can take it

 

[Ausbt]

Wow. That's seriously ridiculous behaviour from VA.
By the way, could your wife not have removed something (even just temporarily) to get under the 7kg limit? "

Yes absolutely, that is what you or I would have done for sure. But my wife probably wasn't aware of that. In fact her laptop might have been in that roll-on anyway, she could have just carried it. Clearly the check-in staff didn't help her out at all. My wife is SG with VA (gifted by me) and even though an experienced flyer just not across the tricks-and-traps that most of us are. But to ping a J pax for 1kg who has no other carry on at all, even their purse and phone in pocket? Weird.

 

[Jack_OC]

And Ryanair - if you can lift it you can take it

I think Ryanair has a 10kg limit per bag actually (but everyone is allowed 2 bags each).

Anyway, surely the real problem lies with the size of the bags people carry on board and/or the number of bags, rather than weight? If someone has a bag weighing 8kg rather than 7kg, it really makes no difference to anyone other than the person carrying it. Conversely, it's clearly a much bigger issue when people clamber on board with 2 or 3 bags, some or all of which exceed the size limit, which they can't even carry down the aisle without smacking random other passengers in the head. And IME, VA has never been particularly strict about the latter.

FWIW, I have only had my carry on weighed by VA once - at Maroochydore.

 

[VPS]

I think Ryanair has a 10kg limit per bag actually (but everyone is allowed 2 bags each).

Anyway, surely the real problem lies with the size of the bags people carry on board and/or the number of bags, rather than weight? If someone has a bag weighing 8kg rather than 7kg, it really makes no difference to anyone other than the person carrying it. Conversely, it's clearly a much bigger issue when people clamber on board with 2 or 3 bags, some or all of which exceed the size limit, which they can't even carry down the aisle without smacking random other passengers in the head. And IME, VA has never been particularly strict about the latter.

FWIW, I have only had my carry on weighed by VA once - at Maroochydore.

The last flight I did with RA there were no weight restrictions

 

[Austman]

... and Air France allows 12kg/18kg depending on the ticket class. There's quite a long list of major airlines that allow more than 7kg.

A 7kg limit seems to have nothing much to do with safety. Most actual injuries are caused by small items weighing much less than that. And studies have shown that it's almost impossible for passenger carry-ons to exceed an overhead bin's load limit. Allowing the bin to securely close seems more important.

 

[henrus]

In Brisbane they've been randomly selecting flights but it seems that most people coming through the priority boarding lane are sparred the scale.

I've also seen people who have had overweight bags only to be asked "have you got a computer in the bag" and if they answered yes then there were no more questions asked.

 

[Pleb Status]

I think Ryanair has a 10kg limit per bag actually (but everyone is allowed 2 bags each).

The last flight I did with RA there were no weight restrictions

There is a 10kg limit for cabin baggage on FR and only one bag in the cabin unless you pay extra/higher level fare...

Official Ryanair website | Book direct for the lowest fares | Ryanair.com

 

[Pleb Status]

And studies have shown that it's almost impossible for passenger carry-ons to exceed an overhead bin's load limit.

Would you care to share one of these 'studies'?

As the load limit on the current 73H overhead bins is only 45kg per bay, it would be extremely easy to exceed this limit...

 

[Austman]

I'm not sure of the 73H's bin dimensions - maybe you can tell us? But according to Boeing themselves the new 737 Max bins can fit 6 standard sized bags instead of 4.

Boeing: Space Bins

Four bags in a 45kg bin is 11.25kg/bag. I have a maximum dimension cabin bag. Stuffed full it's hard to get 11kg (with computer removed) into it.

I could find the studies, but they of course average out the weight of a typical pax's carry-on. Some will be more some will be less. Apparently it's not much of a safety concern. There's not much of a history of cabin bin failure due to weight overloading. Many major airlines that allow more than 7kg are just as safety conscious are other major airlines that limit it to 7kg.

 

[CPMaverick]

As the load limit on the current 73H overhead bins is only 45kg per bay, it would be extremely easy to exceed this limit...

Where did you get that 45kg number? All I can find is 58 kg for the 737MAX, and that appeared to be the 4 bag version (not the optional bigger space bins).

In any case I dispute is 'extremely easy' to exceed even 45kg. Possible? Yes, but can you point out ANY USA airline flights of the hundreds of thousands in the past 10 years where their lack of a carryon weight limit has caused a safety issue? I can't find anything. Based on these statistics it is laughable that 7kg is required for 'safety'. You could make a case for 15 kg, maybe.

 

[DC3]

AA had a 40lb (18kg) limit for carry-on at one time. Now there seems to be no upper weight limit. Whatever you can lift.

7kg would not be for safety reasons.

 

[Austman]

Would you care to share one of these 'studies'?

Here's one: http://airsafetygroup.org/sites/default/files/CAA2.pdf

 

[Oneworldplus2]

Is that a carry on bag + laptop for a total of 7kg on VA ?